Preservation and restoration of forests associated with new town development in Hong Kong

The new town program in Hong Kong initiated in the early 1970s has thus far shifted about two million people from the old city core to previous rural and countryside areas. Such massive urban sprawl, resulting in the creation of seven new towns, has brought extensive intrusion into farmlands and natural hill slopes, and imposed widespread influence on preurbanization natural and cultural vegetation. This study aimed at understanding the following aspects of the urban forests associated with new town development: the nature and magnitude of the positive and negative changes, the geometric pattern of forest cover changes, the present forest condition and performance, and the factors and processes leading to the vegetation modifications and restoration. The management implications of the findings will be explored. Copyright © 2007 Korea Forest Research Institute.