Phillip Forsyth's hiking group, Hong Kong Hiking Meetup, is petitioning the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department to cease its concrete binge before what the group calls, irreversible damage is done to country parks. He said he has seen more works at several sections in the natural trails in Lai Chi Wo and Hoi Ha.

"I notice that in the petition, people are saying the same thing, why bring something artificial into nature? Just leave it natural, that's why people come out here because it's a natural path, it's natural grass," said Nic Tinworth, a professional trail runner and two-time participant of Oxfam's Trailwalker.

The response was overwhelming. The message is circulating among different hiking groups. There are at present more than 1,200 supporters of the petition, who all love the natural landscape and beg the Hong Kong government to leave the trails unspoiled.

"Hong Kong is already renowned as a concrete jungle - no need to pave over the rest of our natural terrain!" writes Chung Liu, one of the supporters.

Another supporter, Iurgi Ruiz de Gauna Itza, says, "When I came here, and that is only nine years ago, most of the trails that I discovered with amazement (so nice and so close to such a big city) were just natural. Since then quite some of them have been 'concreted', losing all their charm."

(HK Edition 12/13/2013 page3)