Wild About Hong Kong - hiking, wildlife, conservation and more
Wild About Hong Kong - hiking, wildlife, conservation and more
In the movie The Blues Brothers, an enthusiastic live music bar owner is asked about the kinds of music played. “Oh we got both kinds of music,” he replies. “Country … and western.” And after my recent first visit to…
I have organised and led several outings to the Hong Kong countryside for school groups, chiefly for one school, for which I developed a “Hidden Hong Kong” week covering Mai Po Marshes, Kadoorie Farm, Cheung Chau, the northeast New Territories,…
Here’s an email I’ve just sent to Hong Kong’s Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, regarding excessive spraying of anti-mosquito pesticides, and apparent devastation of local wildlife as a result: Further to various emails. I saw this patch of soil and…
Some years ago, I was asked to meet two or three people who were starting a new “environmental” ngo in Hong Kong, the World Green Organisation. Didn’t seem quite right to me – hardly ecowarrior type stuff, not up to…
While the Hong Kong government has touted ideas for “development in the north” and “conservation in the south” of Lantau, it seems more hell-bent on development: even an “eco-corridor” for the south seems to involve only development, zero boost for…
Table of Contents Policy framework ideas mostly ignored as incineration emphasised Presentation I gave to legco: No environmental impact assessment focused on Shek Kwu Chau site Email to me a few days ago: My name is Steven Chan. I am…
Conservation not a slogan South Lantau Biodiversity and Ecosystems Beach Water Quality as Indicator of Development Table 1. Beach water quality of bathing beaches in proposed South Lantau Eco-recreation Corridor in 2023: Bathing Beach Annual Grading Annual Ranking Weekly Grading…
A response to the South Lantau Eco-Recreation Corridor public consultation The Hong Kong Government’s latest wheeze for developing south Lantau is a proposed “South Lantau Eco-Recreation Corridor” – which seems eco in name only. As noted by the Sustainable Lantau…
If you’re among the privileged few with access to the inner sanctum of Deep Bay in northwest Hong Kong – a viewing hide at the seaward edge of the mangroves, you can experience one of the finest bird spectacles in…
If you’re unfamiliar with the Deep Bay wetland shared by Hong Kong and Shenzhen, you might wonder about the significance of the expanse of fish ponds in the area of north Hong Kong that will be the site of a…
I’ve lately noticed mention of nature-based solutions, abbreviated to NbS, regarding conservation ideas for Hong Kong. It seems all very well as an idea, but can it widely catch on – or is it fancypants jargon, which won’t appeal to…
One of the best arguments for protecting the San Tin fish ponds area – rather than destroying a large area to build the San Tin Technopole – should be mitigating flooding risk, including in downtown Shenzhen, which is also on…
The period for commenting on the EIA for Agreement No. CE 20/2021 (CE) First Phase Development of the New Territories North – San Tin / Lok Ma Chau Development Node – Investigation – to give it the official name – ends tomorrow,…
Though Shalotung is less than 4km from the hustle and bustle of Tai Po Market – around the same distance as Central to Causeway, should a kite care to fly direct – it seems a remote place, hidden away in…
I’ve just emailed views re government’s recently announced plan to create San Tin Technopole, including by destroying a substantial area of San Tin fishponds: I’m emailing to object to plans to destroy an area of San Tin fishponds to make…
Hong Kong will face more intense heat, flood, storm surges and biodiversity depletion under climate change. Healing Parks, an advocacy group, says that urban parks can help to mitigate these hazards – but current park design guidelines fail to consider…
Hong Kong government has plans for a massive reclamation, in waters between Lantau and Victoria Harbour, for something like a new mini city with central business district. First named East Lantau Metropolis, then Lantau Tomorrow Vision – even though not…
The project that started as East Lantau Metropolis, became Lantau Tomorrow Vision, and now called Kau Yi Chau Islands Reclamation could be the most disastrous infrastructure project in Hong Kong’s history – costing huge sums of money, unsustainable, and ultimately…
Yes, this is may seem impossible, ridiculous; but continuing with current state of affairs doesn’t look good for long term future of Deep Bay wetlands. The government is currently planning to establish “a system of wetland conservation parks for the…
I live on Cheung Chau, a small island in southwest Hong Kong – and became very used to it hosting many nesting pairs of Barn Swallows, which start arriving around mid-February, and stay till late summer. Been this way since…
Visit Sai Wan on a hot sunny Sunday, and it can seem like the type of tropical “paradise” that many seek, yet few find. In this bay on the eastern Sai Kung Peninsula, tens of people unwind on beaches and…
Last decade, the future looked bright for the Deep Bay wetland, in northwest Hong Kong. [I wrote this for the South China Morning Post in late 2004; it seems the mudflat level has about stabilised since, but still with issues including…
The WWF Hong Kong managed Mai Po Marshes Nature Reserve is undergoing an infrastructure upgrade, with a HK$347 million grant from the Hong Kong Jockey Club – Hooray! But the reserve is hard to visit for most people, and tries…
With the apartment blocks of Yuen Long and Tin Shui Wai to the southwest, Fairview Park estate to the south, and the urban sprawl of Shenzhen fringing the north coast, Deep Bay may seem an unlikely location for one of…
There is a Mai Po upgrade project underway [spring 2023], funded by a HK$347.86 million grant from the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust. This seems a substantial sum, especially as it is for infrastructure only, and chiefly a new visitor…
A “battle of the ponds” is underway in Hong Kong’s northwest corner. It focuses on Deep Bay, a wetlands area that borders on China, near Shenzhen. Developers who want to build here are tussling with conservationists who want to see…
“If you look at satellite photos of the Pearl River delta, Deep Bay really shows up. There is nothing else like it.” David Melville Published in Asia Magazine (South China Morning Post), November 1990 An estuary shared by North-West Hong…
Though Mai Po Marshes is at the heart of Hong Kong’s internationally important Deep Bay wetland, there are other important sites in the area – including the fishponds at Fung Lok Wai. These have been in the news at times…
So here we are. The heating is on. No longer are we at a stage of predicting global warming may occur, with experts cautiously saying this or that weather event just might be attributable to climate change, in turn due…
WWF calls for urgent ferry traffic mitigation measures before cross-border traffic resumes Hong Kong, 21 July 2022 – Acoustic and visual monitoring conducted by WWF-Hong Kong (WWF) has revealed dramatic increases in Chinese white dolphin occurrences and more diverse dolphin behaviours since…
Chaba has recently intensified to typhoon strength. Has a large eye on radar images, with rainbands across wide area – inc passing over Hong Kong (though rain here not so intense just now). The track is not as much to…
The tropical cyclone now named Chaba has intensified to Severe Tropical Storm strength – intensifying rather more and faster than forecast; perhaps another storm development influenced by climate change. Looks set to make landfall as a typhoon; and T8 signal…
In past few days, computer forecast models have indicated a chance of stormy weather developing over the South China Sea near Hong Kong at the beginning of July. Updating on evening of 29 June. The T1 signal is in effect,…
The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) launched the Hong Kong Biodiversity Information Hub (HKBIH) (bih.gov.hk) today (1 March 2022) aiming to foster a better understanding of local biodiversity by members of the public. The HKBIH is a one-stop website…
Yi O, by a small bay of the same name south of Tai O on Lantau, was for some decades an abandoned area. As in much of Hong Kong’s less accessible New Territories, making a living through farming was tough,…
Stephen IP GBS JP,Secretary for Economic Developmentand Labour Bureau, RE: Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Receiving Terminal and AssociatedFacilities As part of the PublicConsultation towards the aforementioned project, I would be grateful if theGovernment would for the record consider my…
Typhoon Mangkhut helped show “storm surge” is a threat to modern cities, not just something for the history books.
Some places in the countryside can be crowded nowadays, perhaps with queues waiting to start on trails.