【Interview with expert at Rocks Net-Ng Chun Yeung】

Famous Marble Arch Caves in UK is the best preserved stalactite cave in Europe, which attract tourists every year. Marble Arch becomes a world resort through application for geopark, and promotes local geographical study. Ng Chun Yeung, president of Hong Kong Association for Geoconservation believes that Hong Kong can build a geopark comparable with Marble Arch sooner or later.

Geopark is a new word in conservation history. The United Nations proposed the concept of geological conservation only about 10 years ago. Ng Chun Yeung says, "At first, habitat conservation only concerns creatures. Many organizations under the United Nations supervise the protection of global creatures, but nobody notices the important value of non-living resources like landforms."

The first geoparks around the world can be dated back to 2003 and 2004, when conservation experts came to realize that the precondition for the protection of animals and plants is to protect the geographical environment that they live in. The concept of the geopark came into being and totally relates to protection of non-living resources. UNESCO advocated building 500 geoparks in the world in order to conserve the natural lands with scientific value.

Now, 57 geoparks have been built in 18 countries in the world, with 20 ones in China. Ng Chun Yeung said the geoparks have three functions:
1. geological conservation;
2. education;
3. promoting local economy.

UNESCO specified that different countries and regions can appropriately prioritize the three functions according to their own economic and social environments.

The country areas in the Chinese Mainland underdeveloped, so many geoparks there prioritize building tourist facilities to promote local economy, spoiling the natural environment. Ng Chun Yeung held that Hong Kong, which is already rich enough, doesn't need to earn money through geoparks but should avoid similar mistakes and aim at geological conservation and education.

However, geological conservation is not an armchair idea. Geoparks can't be enclosed to keep out tourists, which is no good for spreading of geographical knowledge. "The United Nations hopes the geoparks can make more people know the value of landforms and cultivate their sense of belongingness to their lands, thereby motivating them to protect and treasure their lands."

Ng Chun Yeung is not worried that the establishment of the geopark in Hong Kong will have great pressure on the natural landforms. "Take Bluff Head as an example. It is so remote that there is no public vehicle to there," said he. "Only if the relevant authorities keep it as it is and don't build roads or wharfs will the natural scenery not attract too many tourists after it becomes a geopark."

However, it remains uncertain whether Hong Kong can succeed in having a geopark approved. As defined by the United Nations, a geopark must have unique geological phenomena and scientific value certified by scientific researches. The area of the geopark is not stipulated but should not be less than 80 km2 generally. The local government should have well-developed management capability, management regulations and conservation plans.

Ng Chun Yeung hopes the geopark can promote Hong Kong people's geographical knowledge. Take for example Marble Arch at Northern Ireland. Stalactite and crystal wall sceneries there are popular geographical places of interest. However, the local government didn't have any management plan or much education data about Marble Arch before it was announced as a geopark. Some schools even organize investigation teams for it. The current Marble Arch not only attracts tourists but also promotes science popularization.

That successful case should be learned by Hong Kong. Ng Chun Yeung said Hong Kong has many ecological tourism escorts at present, but their qualifications are different. As the image of sceneries is vague due to lack of the brand effect of geopark, local people are not enthusiastic about relevant knowledge. Once Hong Kong succeeds in having a geopark approved, it will become a part of Hong Kong people's life and encourage more teaching investigations and scientific researches and further drive the geological researches in Hong Kong.

Ng Chun Yeung, who is called "rock protector", became a geography major in college from a member of Civil Aid Service Cadet Corps running on mountains, and finally founded a special organization to conserve rocks and landforms. He wishes all Hong Kong people knew the origin of the hexagonal rock columns at High Island Reservoir and treasures the sedimentary rocks of millions of years of age at Ma Shi Chau for future generations.

"Rock and soil researches in Hong Kong are not insufficient, but such researches in the past focused on practical economic aspects. like where buildings can be constructed and where there are minerals rather than the conservation of natural landforms. Therefore, more soil researches mean more development and damages of natural lands." Ng Chun Yeung said.

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