Landscape_eng | hk-outdoor-ethics

Protect the natural landscape and human heritage. Don’t take away or change any items (e.g. picking flowers or plants, or stacking up stones). Let the others discover and appreciate them in their current states, i.e. TAKE ONLY PICTURES
Do not leave markings on any trees, stones, monuments or objects, nor damage their appearance or structures.
Many people like tying trail markings to trees. However, trees are harmed if entwined with any objects for a long time. Trail tags will become trash when they drop off. Make use of maps and compasses instead. If tags are really necessary for group activities, remove them immediately after use.
If binding ropes on trees is necessary, put paddings between the rope and the tree to protect the bark.
Non-local plant seeds can disperse and reproduce at places far away from their origins, causing potential threats to the local ecosystem. Don’t take away any fruits or seeds. Also, pay attention to see if they are brought along with your clothing or shoes to other sites. Clear them properly from your outfit and gear when leaving the site.

Try to stay on established path or durable ground surfaces.
Walk in single file along the trail. Don’t make shortcuts. Avoid tramping on the vegetation on both sides of the trail. Repeated tramping will make the vegetation difficult to recover, and aggravate the erosion. The path will be broadened as time goes by, affecting the environment as well as the landscape.
Even on rainy days or when walking on muddy surface, try to stay on the path. Wear waterproof hiking shoes or gaiters to keep your feet dry, and reduce your speed, keep your center of gravity low and use hiking poles to keep your balance. Avoid stepping on vegetation on both sides.
If it is really necessary to cross fragile surfaces, disperse and move around the area. Avoid repetitive stepping on the same spot and creating a new path, resulting in non-recoverable scars on the ground.
Use existing campsites or durable ground for setting up tents. Avoid leaving your tent on the same spot for over two days. Switch camping grounds if you need to camp for long periods so as to avoid prolonged pressure on soil and vegetation on the same spot.
If there are multiple tents, scatter them around the site. At the same time, try to reduce the areas for your tents and cooking. In the campsite, wear soft-soled shoes like sandals and reduce the impact on soil and vegetation.
Don’t recreate your camping sites by felling trees and shrubs.

Make use of camping lanterns or light-weight stoves instead of campfires for lighting and cooking purposes.
When using cooking stoves, should put on a heat resistant substrate and use wind shields to prevent ignition of surrounding materials.
Even when setting up a fire outside country parks or special areas, one should avoid setting file on any organic soil, grassland or leaf litter
Do not set fire on piled-up stones, which blackens the stones and leaves behind ugly marks.
Build a fire on a fire pan on top of stones or sand, or on inorganic sand or gravel (8-13cm thick) collected from damaged site placed on top of a piece of cloth of to shield off the heat.
Pick only small dried twigs for making a fire and control the scale of the fire.
Don’t leave fire unattended.
Do not burn any trash.
Thoroughly burn all the fuel to ash. Make sure that all the flames are put out.
Wait until all the flames are put out and ash cools down, then grind all the ash and charcoal into powder. Wet them thoroughly with water to cool it down and disperse the sand and ash around an area at a distance from the campsite.
When worshipping ancestors, burn joss sticks and paper in metal containers to reduce the risk of hill fire.
Do not fly sky lanterns.
Avoid smoking in the countryside. Even when you smoke you should make sure all the cigarettes are put out and use your own container to take away the cigarette butts and ash to prevent hill fire.