Ian Brownlee

Opinion | Hong Kong’s trees are at risk – more from people who don’t want them in urban areas than from typhoons

Ian Brownlee worries about tree replacement in the aftermath of Typhoon Mangkhut. The government needs to rethink how to plant storm-resistant trees, and to overcome emotional public resistance to the idea of urban trees

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Children walk under collapsed trees along Tin Ping Road in Sheung Shui after Typhoon Mangkhut. Photo: Sam Tsang

Ian Brownlee

Published: 3:00pm, 17 Oct 2018Updated: 7:57pm, 17 Oct 2018

Trees are living things that grow and change and eventually die and fall. They are important to a dense city like Hong Kong and are a vital antidote to our masses of concrete and hard surfaces. They are a major part of our soft infrastructure – they green, they shade, they provide oxygen and they cool the city from the ever-increasing urban heat island effect. A concentrated effort has been made to green the city and plant trees, especially over the past 30 years.

Typhoon Mangkhut was merciless, felling tens of thousands of trees. Fortunately, they did not kill anyone this time, though there have been isolated cases of death from a falling tree or broken tree limb.

Still, the trees hit by the typhoon made their presence felt everywhere – blocking roads, falling on buildings and cars, blocking trails, obstructing footpaths and parks. Everywhere, there were fallen trees. Weeks later, most roads, like the city, are back to normal, but tonnes of tree debris are still lying along roads where they don’t obstruct movement.

Although many trees also fell in forest areas, that is not significant. Unless they block access to our country parks, those fallen trees are just part of the natural cycle and should be left as they are.

What worries me, however, is what will happen to our urban trees. These are our most important trees and already there are rather emotional reactions against having trees in the city. Should these feelings grow, there is a real risk that people will not want trees in their neighbourhoods or along our roads, which is where we need them most.

Thankfully, the chief executive’s recent policy agenda offers a ray of hope – specifically, a series of steps under the heading of “Urban Forestry”.

Opinion | Hong Kong’s trees are at risk – more from people who don’t want them in urban areas than from typhoons

Ian Brownlee worries about tree replacement in the aftermath of Typhoon Mangkhut. The government needs to rethink how to plant storm-resistant trees, and to overcome emotional public resistance to the idea of urban trees

Documentary: Typhoon Mangkhut – the whole picture