Concerned about possible threats to the overall landscape around the Taipa Houses-Museum, Iun Ioc Va, president of the Commercial Association of Macau’s Islands and deputy director of the Taipa and Coloane branch of the Macau General Union Neigh-bourhood Associations (popularly known as Kai Fong) yesterday urged the government to protect the area surrounding the museum.

 

Iun made the appeal after a press conference about the programme of the upcoming taip and Coloane Summer Carnival.

 

When asked what he though about rumours that a car park for tourist coaches would be built close to the Taipa Houses-Museum, Iun said, “The Taipa Houses-Museum and the lake in front of it are important tourism resources in Taipa. Altough the government has not de use of the land yet, I hope it will green the land around the Taipa Houses-Museum instead because anthing nearby should be in harmony with the neighbourhood. Otherwise, it will cause a really serious impact on the environment there.”

The government took back an about 9,000 square metre plot of illegally reclaimed wet land in front of the Taipa Houses-Museum in late March and originally planned to turn it into an ecological protection zone.

 

High-profile lawmaker Jose Pereira Coutinho Told the media last week that he had received information from a source in the Consultative Committee of the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau (IACM) that the government would lease the land to Macau’s new public bus company (Reolian) to use as an overnight bus depot and for tourist coaches to park there during the day.

 

Coutinho said that the reclaimed land was originally a part of the wetland that has become an important habitat for migratory birds such as the extremely rare and internationally protected black-faced spoonbills. “The government should announce what the land will be used for and have a good plan for wetland protection because it is very scarce,” the lawmaker-cum-civil service unionist said last week.

 

Regarding public concern about the land in front of the Taipa Houses-Museum, the Lands, Public Works and Transport Bureau (DSSOPT) told reporters on Friday that the government had not yet decided the use of the land.