【明報專訊】The Advisory Council on the Environment (ACE) is to meet today (19 August) to continue the discussion about the environmental impact of the housing development plan at Fanling Golf Course and is expected to come to a decision. The plan has ruffled vested interests and ecological conservation has been cited as the reason for opposing the plan. An ACE member revealed that lobbying efforts by the Golf Club have been much greater than those related to other projects reviewed by the ACE in recent years, giving people the impression that it wants to obstruct the housing plan by way of the ACE. As an advisory organisation for the government, the ACE only has to decide whether the government's Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report meets the requirements of the technical memorandum. Other information is only for reference. Even if some shortcomings are found in the EIA report by ACE members, the report can still be given a "conditional pass". People expect the ACE to handle the EIA on the housing plan at Fanling Golf Course in a just, impartial and professional manner, rather than endorse vested interests.