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  Straits Times 12 Aug 07
Hong Kong's green revolution
Eco-tourism and environmentalism have taken the urban metropolis by storm
By Vince Chong

A 61HA ecological park, throbbing with marshes and ponds that are filled with thousands of living species, lies right beside an urban township whose high-rise blocks and city sounds are juxtaposed awkwardly next to the presence of nature.

It is a picture that sums up Hong Kong in recent years: a financial bulwark that has begun to find a balance between economic development and the preservation of nature.

This should not be a surprise given that 40 per cent of the territory has, for decades, been dedicated to parkland, much of it in the rugged New Territories area bordering mainland China.

The Hong Kong Wetland Park for one - the ecological equivalent of the city's famous urban vibrancy - attracts every year more than 400 types of birds, some 240 species of butterflies, and over 110 kinds of dragonflies that exceed the number found in the whole of Europe.

These are amazing statistics, conservationists told The Sunday Times, given that Hong Kong, with an average of some 6,350 people living in each square kilometre, is one of the densest cities in the world.

And thanks to the promotional efforts of green activists, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the media, hordes of ordinary Hong Kongers have jumped on the environmental bandwagon over the past few years.

'I remember watching mudskippers flying over the water's surface,' recalled eight-year-old Gavin Ng, who visited the park with his parents last year. 'It was like they were walking on water. It was incredible.'

Such interest is exactly what conservationists want nurtured in the next generation, if ecological friendliness is to be preserved.

Signs are encouraging as NGOs are receiving more donations and funding than before, while visitors to Hong Kong's country parks have risen from 11.2 million in 2003 to 12.1 million in 2004, and the numbers are still growing.

In the early 1990s, recalled Professor Billy Hau of the Hong Kong University's division of ecology and biodiversity, a campaign against the building of a golf course in a nature reserve was met with opposition, even in the media.

'The general view then was that it impeded development,' he told The Sunday Times.

'Things cannot be more different now, with NGOs leading the offensive to promote green efforts, like discouraging the use of plastic bags, encouraging recycling and keeping air-conditioning (use) down.'

As it is, the government-managed Wetland Park attracted 1.2 million visitors in its very first year since opening in May last year, more than doubling its initial target of just 500,000. Eco-attractions such as a Stream Walk, Mangrove Boardwalk and Bird Hides - where people can observe wild birds from behind inconspicuous shelters - are immensely popular among locals aged five to 50, especially in the cooler autumn and winter months.

And if the park, which charges an affordable HK$30 (S$5.80) per entry, seems too man-made for some, the neighbouring, less accessible but larger Mai Po nature reserve is there for more serious bird-watchers and naturalists. Managed by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), the latter attracts tens of thousands of migrating birds during the spring and autumn migration seasons from as far away as Siberia and Australia, where they feast on small fish and shrimp.

Hong Kong, it seems, is a must-stop destination for these birds to refuel and rest. Highlights include rare species such as the Spoon-billed Sandpiper, Spotted Greenshank and the Asiatic Dowitcher.

'It is amazing, especially when you see flocks of birds packed like sardines, feeding in the swamps,' said Ms Jackie Lim, an executive with a local food and beverage company in her late 30s, and a self-confessed nature lover. 'People should really get out of Hong Kong's urban centres more often.'

Mai Po also attracts a far smaller crowd of just some 40,000 visitors a year, with many preferring that it stays that way, even if demand for the outdoors is rising.

Mr Steven Cheung, a partner at eco-tourism agency Hktraveller.com, now takes some 30 people a month to Mai Po on birdwatching and mangrove walking tours - a vast improvement from 15 people or fewer in previous years.

'We avoid the Wetland Park as it is too crowded already, which is not good for what we're trying to promote and protect,' the 35-year-old told The Sunday Times. 'We try to limit our tour numbers so as to ensure that the environment is not overburdened.'

His firm also organises marine tours - coral appreciation and dolphin-watching, among other things - which have grown from 50 to 100 people per tour last year to some 300 so far this year.

A spike in free time, especially for civil servants, is one key reasons for the increased numbers, Mr Cheung said, given that the government has implemented the five-day work scheme.

Government architect Mabel Chan, who recently went on a marine appreciation trip, agreed. "More people like me are trying to get into an active, healthier lifestyle after 2003's Sars scare,' said the 31-year-old.

The rise in demand meant that Mr Cheung has taken on more than 50 part-time eco-guides this year, more than double the number last year.

Along with visitor numbers, non-profit funds have ballooned as well, with the rise in social awareness.

Mr Eric Bohm, chief executive of WWF Hong Kong, estimated that the NGO has collected some HK$12 million in membership fees in its last fiscal year that ended in June. This has quadrupled from just HK$2.5 million to HK$3 million in 2003, when he joined the organisation.

Members, the 63-year-old said, understand that their fees support a myriad of efforts like helping to create sustainable fisheries and climate change research.

'I wake up every morning feeling very optimistic about my job,' he said. Mr Bohm believed, however, that the Hong Kong government could do more to help out.

He cited the ongoing 'borrowing' of nature reserve land to extend landfills - which has gone on for about a decade - as an example of what should not be done.

Authorities have pledged that such land will be replaced and returned to Mother Nature at a later date.

The status of ecological protection should also be boosted by setting legal standards for eco-guides, among other things, said Mr Cheung.

Such debates are inevitable, said Prof Hau. For instance, it is easier and more cost- and environmentally-effective for the government to extend existing landfills than dig new ones.

'So it actually makes some sense to continue doing it in the nature reserve, as long as no new ones are dug in the future,' he said. 'But certainly, the government can do more.'

On the bright side, Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang has made environmental protection one of his top priorities - which was seldom the case with previous governments.

'It is unfortunate that people start thinking about the environment only when cities get more developed and crowded,' the don said.
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