Which should come first - a tree or a human life? Hong Kong must again ask itself this question after our latest falling-tree incident, when a 6-meter banyan collapsed on to a girl walking along Pok Fu Lam Road recently. By good fortune she was uninjured - in complete contrast to what happened on Robinson Road 13 months ago when a 15-meter Indian oak tree fell and killed a pregnant woman on the footpath.

The 37-year-old victim, Zhang Qin - whose baby was saved - was the third person in six years to be fatally injured by a falling tree. In 2008 a 19-year-old university student was killed at Stanley, and two years later a cyclist was fatally injured in a tree collapse at Sha Tin.

Prior to these fatalities Hong Kong had already gained notoriety for a string of incidents where innocent passersby were killed or seriously injured in collapses of trees weakened by diseases, suffering from other flaws or planted in unsuitable soil.

So how is it that so many dangerous yet tolerated trees are collapsing on people? The painful truth is that this danger will always exist while our environmental lobby is so powerful. Yes, extremists among the "tree-huggers" place greater importance on the retention of trees than they do on the very real dangers many trees pose for pedestrians.

Every time another tree incident happens and it is announced that suspect trees in the neighborhood area are to be culled as a precaution, the "greenies" swing into action and fight root-and-branch to save most if not all of them, lodging various objections to thwart the trees' removal. Somehow these campaigners suffer from a form of tunnel vision that confines their spectrum to all things green.

People who regularly pass by the site of the latest collapse in Pok Fu Lam Road have long feared that such an incident was inevitable, especially considering the earthworks and blasting necessary for construction of the MTR line. Unsurprisingly, the condition of five other trees at the site is to be carefully scrutinized.

These trees have sprouted from seeds in the earthen filling between the granite blocks of an imposing wall about three stories high. The only way these trees can survive in their precarious position is for their roots to penetrate ever more deeply among the granite rocks that are their hosts. How they have survived for so long in their highly treacherous perch is a marvel of the tenacity of Mother Nature that defies logic. Almost certainly, over time all the other trees sprouting from among other crevices in that very large stone wall will also force their way out and tumble down without warning onto the footpath below, at the peril of those pedestrians who might be passing by.

It is simple common sense that all the large trees now sprouting from the wall should, with utmost care, be extracted from among the granite blocks and removed, and perhaps replanted elsewhere better suited for their continued growth. As for any younger and smaller trees that have more recently taken root in the wall, they too should be carefully removed so the strength of the combined blocks is not impaired, and there is no danger of the whole wall collapsing.

No doubt the "greenies" will be aghast at this proposal, but the alternative is to put at risk human lives for the sake of some dodgy greenery in close proximity to a busy exit from an MTR station.

Interestingly, there were several common factors about both incidents, as follows: Both occurred during one of the rainiest months of the typhoon season; both the dead woman and the girl who escaped were using public footpaths which all of us take on trust as being safe for pedestrians; and neither tree made a warning noise before falling, nor did they fall slowly. One second they seemed to be quite stable, the next they were crashing down. Oddly, too, both had a connection with public transport. The dead woman, Zhang, was waiting to catch a minibus, while the other incident occurred on the other side of Pok Fu Lam Road from an exit from the MTR's HKU Station.

In neither case were the trees that collapsed listed on - wait for it - Hong Kong's Register of Old and Valuable Trees. Yes, believe it or not, the pressure on the government from the tree-huggers has been so formidable that for the past 11 years we have had such a register! Its purpose is to ensure that applicable trees can be well-preserved and maintained since they are precious resources and part of our heritage.

To qualify, a tree must be of large size, of a precious or rare species, preferably at least 100 years old, of cultural, historical or memorable significance, and have an appearance of "outstanding form" - bearing in mind its health and physical conditions, the tree's location and its life expectancy!

The author is a journalist and former civil servant.

(HK Edition 09/18/2015 page10)