Prisca Tang
The Environmental Protection Bureau (DSPA) told Macau’s government-owned broadcaster TDM yesterday that the ongoing Light Rail Transit (LRT) project between Cotai and Hengqin, which got off the ground earlier this year, will need to cut one percent of the mangroves near the Lotus Bridge, but the bureau insisted that the removal “is good for the ecosystem”.
According to the TDM report, the bureau said that after assessing the project and the environment nearby, it had concluded that the construction will affect just one percent of the mangroves. The bureau said that the density of the mangroves is too high, which could affect birds’ hunting ability so the bureau thought that clearing away some of the trees was better than relocating them.
The bureau stressed that the construction company will aim to recover the ecosystem as soon as possible by replanting trees and scrub. The statement said that the company would need to hand in monthly reports to the bureau.
The report did not specify how the bureau responded to a request for information by TDM about the matter.
This photo taken yesterday shows the mangroves near the Cotai-Hengqin Lotus Bridge. Photo Courtesy of TDM
