Every winter, dozens of black-faced spoonbills, an endangered giant wading chook species, fly a good distance from the freezing north to get pleasure from a heat winter in Hong Kong.
According to the Hong Kong Bird Watching Society (HKBWS), there have been 78 black-faced spoonbills within the fishpond wetlands of San Tin in early 2023, accounting for practically 30 per cent of the whole inhabitants within the metropolis. Currently, there are round 6,000 black-faced spoonbills on the earth.
However, the migratory birds may not be capable of discover their winter habitat subsequent 12 months. San Tin, an space within the northwest of Hong Kong close to the border with mainland China, will quickly be redeveloped right into a large-scale “technopole” – a part of authorities’ ambition to build Hong Kong’s Silicon Valley.
The proposed San Tin Technopole, which covers 627 hectares, together with some 300 hectares for tech functions and greater than 50,000 properties. Adjacent to the mainland Chinese metropolis of Shenzhen, the world can also be imagined to create synergy with town throughout the border.
According to the federal government, the reclamation of land will begin as early because the fourth quarter of 2024.
When the idea was first raised, it lined a growth space of 175 hectares and no wetland.
It was not till May 2023 that authorities revealed the tech hub had been enlarged to over 600 hectares, ensuing within the injury of 248 hectares of wetland conservation space and buffer zones.
According to HKBWS data, these wetlands, which exist as fishponds, grassland and peatland, are home to 205 chook species, together with 19 which can be globally endangered, such because the black-faced spoonbills.
Animals protected on a nationwide degree have additionally been seen there, together with the Eastern imperial eagle, the higher noticed eagle and Cinereous vulture.
According to a study by the Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), there are a minimum of seven Eurasian otters in Hong Kong. The endangered species lives in wetlands within the northwest aspect of Hong Kong, which incorporates San Tin.
“This development neglects not only ecology, but also the fishpond operators who have been managing the San Tin fishponds for the past half century,” Yu Yat-Tung, director of HKBWS, stated throughout a media tour of the Sin Tin wetlands final Tuesday.
Lam Chiu-Ying, former director of the Hong Kong Observatory and honorary president of HKBWS, stated through the tour that the proposed growth plan contradicted China’s coverage of “ecological civilization” and “high-quality development.”
Lam advised reporters that the federal government’s plan would expose Hong Kong to greater dangers of a number of flooding incidents sooner or later, as wetlands labored as pure reservoirs, reserving waters throughout flooding.
In June, 9 environmental concern teams issued a joint assertion condemning the authorities’ plan for Sin Tin, saying it might injury the huge wetlands. The teams embody HKBWS, WWF, Greenpeace, Green Power, the Conservancy Association, Green Earth, Greeners Action, Green Sense, and Designing Hong Kong.
They additionally criticised the federal government for not submitting the up to date the challenge profile of the San Tin growth plan to the Environmental Protection Department when it utilized for an environmental affect evaluation in May 2021.
The authorities launched a public session on the San Tin Technopole in June. The session lasted for 2 months. There was no public discussion board for debate, solely exhibitions in Hong Kong and Shenzhen.
Additional reporting: Irene Chan
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