The Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) held a community forum for Taipa and Coloane yesterday, announcing its forestry restructuring project for the first quarter of this year on about one hectare of wooded area in Hac Sa Reservoir Nature Park, including clearing withered trees, vines and Mikania micrantha*, excavating trees and improving soil, as well as replanting the area with native tree species.
According to the bureau, the project will be launched in response to numerous collapsed or withered trees covered by lianas, which pose a serious threat to the trees’ growth.
“Given that the wooded area is within Hac Sa Reservoir Nature Park, we aim to begin the forestry restructuring project in the first quarter of this year to prevent further landscape deterioration, loss of ecological functions, and potential risks to the surrounding healthy woods. The project will prioritise clearing withered trees, vines, and Mikania micrantha, building a small access road, drilling holes in the soil, improving soil, and planting around 1,000 new seedlings by mid-March,” IAM Administrative Committee member To Sok I said during yesterday’s community forum at Seac Pai Van Activity Centre.
To added that the tree seedlings will be primarily native to Macau. “We plan to plant native broad-leaved tree species that are suitable for growth, have a long life and are highly resistant to adversity, including Bauhinia variegata (orchid tree), Schima superba, Syzygium cumini (java plum), Liquidambar formosana, Elaeocarpus sylvestris and Ilex rotunda, among other native tree species”.
Seven members of the public registered to speak at yesterday’s forum, where they presented various concerns and suggestions to the bureau’s officials, including IAM President Chao Wai Ieng, on setting up lifts at the footbridge at the junction of Avenida Dr. Sun Yat Sen and Rua de Tai Lin; installing a parent-child toilet at the Flower City Park playground, where improvement measures are underway; and create ancillary facilities for the Giant Panda Pavilion in Seac Pai Van Park, among others.
A member of the public also expressed concern that some residents have released saltwater fish in the wetlands at the Taipa Houses Museum, affecting the cityscape and environment. Chao responded that the bureau has been carrying out relevant inspections, but due to the large amount of coastal waters in Macau, IAM officials “may not be able to arrive at each site upon receiving relevant reports and take enforcement actions”, stressing that the bureau would continue to raise the public’s awareness of environmental protection through education campaigns.
* Mikania micrantha, commonly known as bitter vine or Chinese violet, native to tropical America, is a perennial vine. – Poe
Members of the public attend yesterday’s community forum for Taipa and Coloane at Seac Pai Van Activity Centre, which was hosted by several Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) officials, including its President Chao Wai Ieng (third from right) and Administrative Committee member To Sok I (right). – Photo: Yuki Lei
