Extant research on guerilla gardening, defined as the unauthorized cultivation of land belonging to another, has hitherto focused on public space in urban areas, neglecting those that occur in rural settings. This rural land policy study examines a form of guerilla gardening in the countryside in Hong Kong, carried out by specific walker communities who routinely do early morning walks. Most of the gardens they have cultivated have become part of country park protected areas. This study identifies five phases of land use status evolution undergone by these morning walkers' gardens (MWG), from the time the phenomenon of guerilla gardening in the countryside began in the 1960s to recent times, illustrating the role of land use change in enabling squatters with a degree of property rights by way of informal land resource co-management. Through the three case studies presented in this article, it is argued that MWGs can represent the emergence of incipient forms of natural resource co-management in Hong Kong. This study emphasizes the important role of resource user leadership in enhancing the land use value of land in itself and for the wider community. Some recommendations are provided to enhance resource user participation in land resource management.

Built-heritage conservation has increasingly become Hong Kong people's urgent concern since the years leading up to the territory's change of sovereignty from Great Britain to China, under political rules in which development takes priority over conservation. Built-heritage is a symbol of cultural identity and thus Hong Kong people's awareness of the importance of preserving them (Henderson, 2008). NGOs' sense of urgency in getting involved in built-heritage conservation also stems from operating within a political system which Scott (2010) describes as having a restrictive policy-making process, lacking in responsiveness to public demands and expectations. NGOs have three basic functions, namely, service provision, advocacy, and monitoring. Two case studies are used to illustrate these functions. The findings indicate that NGOs are most intensely involved in advocacy. NGOs involved in service provision have been selected through tightly-controlled processes. NGOs' monitoring activities were very limited. I argue that NGOs' role in built-heritage conservation is limited due to the restrictive political system. However, NGOs demonstrated insistent and resilient opposition to any top-down approach to decision-making is a sign that leads to the belief that despite of and because of the nature of the political system, NGOs' involvement in built-heritage is not only likely to intensify but also expand with government increasing the openness of the policy process to contain public pressure.

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