Environment of Hong Kong

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The ecology of Hong Kong is mostly affected by the results of climatic changes. Hong Kong's climate is seasonal due to alternating wind direction between winter and summer.

Contents

Hong Kong has been geologically stable for millions of years. Flora and fauna in Hong Kong are altered by climatic change, sea level alternation, and human impact.

Climate

Hong Kong has a subtropical climate, which is additionally influenced by the monsoon in spring. The average daily maximum temperatures range from 19 to 32 degrees, depending on the season. There are hot, humid summers and temperate, dry winters. With daily highs of 33 °C, it is warmest from late May to mid-September. Over 2200 liters of rain per square meter fall annually - 80% of it between May and September. Of these, June and August are the wettest months, with rain falling on almost four out of seven days. With only one rainy day per week in January and December, these are the driest months. Between late May and mid-September, typhoons and violent thunderstorms can occasionally occur.

Land

The total land area of Hong Kong is 1,076 square kilometres, but about 75% of this land is open countryside[ citation needed ], which contains more than 2600 species of vascular plants, about 450 species of birds, about 200 species of butterflies, about 100 species of dragonflies, 40 species of mammals, 80 species of reptiles and more than 20 species of amphibians, including some that are endemic to the territory.

Species richness in Hong Kong

Hong Kong is considered rich in species variety. The number of bird species in Hong Kong is fully one-third of that in China along with one-sixth as many butterflies species, according to surveys. [1]

The horseshoe crabs Tachypleus tridentatus and Carcinoscorpius rotundicauda are found in Hong Kong's waters, and there are reported sighting of Tachypleus gigas . [2]

Ecosystems in Hong Kong

Mangroves

Mangroves are habitats of enclosed intertidal mud flats with greatly reduced wave action, located near sources of fresh water. Popular mangrove habitats in Hong Kong are located along Deep Bay, such as Pak Nai and Tsim Bei Tsui, where salinity is very low under the influence of fresh water from the Pearl River, and along some mud flats where salinity is lowered by surrounding streams, such as Three Fathoms Cove and Ting Kok. Trees living in this habitat are called mangrove trees.

The following are sites of mangroves in Hong Kong:

Mangroves in Tai O - 2007-05-05 15h58m58s+++.JPG
Mangroves in Tai O

Rocky shores

The tidal range of Hong Kong is about 2.5 metres and the distribution of species situated in this region must be tolerant of conditions when the shore is covered with seawater at high tide and when the shore is directly exposed to the air at low tide, for hours or days. Species may adapt to these varying conditions by successfully exploiting narrow vertical zones along the rocky shore.

The species inhabiting Hong Kong's rocky coastal areas vary depending the exposure to the wave action from the sea. The sessile filter-feeding organisms inhabit the wave-exposed shoreline. They are able to attach on the rock surface and remove food particles in the turbulent water, while the mobile herbivores and carnivores prefer the sheltered shores. The varieties of organisms also varies with the season, especially in Hong Kong where oceanic currents change through the year. For instance, very few erect foliose macro-algae can tolerate Hong Kong's summer heat, but they are common in winter.

The following are the sites of rocky shores in Hong Kong:

Streams

There are two kinds of freshwater habitats: lentic (still, or very slow moving) water, such as lakes, ponds, ditches, and lotic (flowing) water, such as rivers, streams.

There are three main factors to differentiate the habitats in Hong Kong: variability of current, amount of detritus and variable oxygen content. These factors influence animals' various adaptive responses. They have to attach themselves to the surfaces, become predominantly detritus feeders and have a mechanism for obtaining maximum oxygen supply.

The following are the list of rivers in Hong Kong:

Sandy shores

The following are the site of sandy shores in Hong Kong:

Problems

Pollution

General

Chinese white dolphin Pink Dolphin.JPG
Chinese white dolphin
Black-faced spoonbill Platalea minor.jpg
Black-faced spoonbill

In 1989, the Hong Kong government realised that Hong Kong was in danger of becoming a vast, densely populated city. Due to the growth of the economy and business sectors, the water, waste and air pollution cause an adverse effect on the balance of ecology in Hong Kong.

Factories, farms and restaurants in the New Territories dump large amounts of sewage and even untreated waste into the streams and the sea. It makes the New Territories' streams be 'no better than open sewers'. This severe damage is irreversible and the creatures in the sea are the direct victims. [5]

The pink dolphin is one of the victims. Under threat from chemical pollution, increased sea traffic and the destruction of much of the natural shoreline for land reclamation, the number of pink dolphins has dramatically declined with the city's ongoing development. [6]

The nature reserve and birds in Mai Po Marsh are also victims. They are threatened by pig sewage flooding as well as the increased pollution from Shenzhen. Yet according to World Wide Fund for Nature Hong Kong the number of the endangered black-faced spoonbills wintering in Mai Po has risen from roughly 35 in the late 1980s to 152 after 10 years. About 400 have been spotted after 2000[ citation needed ]. Estimates on how many of these birds remain in the wild vary from 1,000 to 2,000. [7]

The oyster farms have been throttled by a mixture of pollution and competition from cheaper oyster cultivation across the border in China.

Air pollution

Air pollution is another serious problem. Smoke-belching factories, intense construction and large numbers of diesel vehicles have led to dangerous levels of particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide. It's not only the flora and fauna that are affected – humans are too. Cases of asthma and bronchial infections have soared in recent years, and doctors place the blame squarely on poor air quality.

Thermal pollution

According to a Baptist University study, daily average minimum temperatures have increased by 0.02 degrees (Celsius) annually between 1965 and 2003, due to the urban heat island effect, which traps heat during the daytime and releases it at night. Average daily maximum temperatures have fallen by 0.014 degrees each year, as air pollution blocks solar radiation. Resulting increased nighttime ambient temperatures incite families to use domestic air-conditioning, which further compounds the problem. [8]

Research has shown that the ambient air-temperature in urban areas can be some 5 °C higher than non built-up areas. The Hong Kong Polytechnic University commissioned NASA to take a high-resolution thermal image of urban Hong Kong by satellite at 22:40 on 4 August 2007, which showed at least a four-degree difference between the coolest areas and the "urban heat islands". The variations are attributable to greater absorbency of man-made materials, and building density that restrict air-flow. The affected area had expanded into Hung Hom since January, when the first image was taken. [9]

"Wall effect"

Highly-dense buildings can be seen in Tseung Kwan O. Kin Ming Estate.jpg
Highly-dense buildings can be seen in Tseung Kwan O.

There has been increasing concern since 2006 over the "wall effect" caused by uniform high-rise developments that adversely impact air circulation. Due to the density of Hong Kong's population and the economies of scale of mass developments, there is the tendency of new private tower block developments with 10 to over 100 towers, ranging from 30 to 70 stories high. Developers of housing estates are financially motivated to maximise the view, at the expense of the free flow of air. Huge wall-like estates along the waterfront are often constructed. [10]

In-fill developments are typically constructed by smaller developers with less capital. These will be smaller in scale, and less prone to the wall effect.

Environmental group Green Sense expressed concern that their survey on 155 housing estates found 104 have a 'wall-like' design. It cited estates in Tai Kok Tsui and Tseung Kwan O as the "best examples". [10] In May 2007, citing concern over developments in West Kowloon, and near Tai Wai and Yuen Long railway stations, some legislators called for a law to stop developers from constructing tall buildings that adversely affect airflow in densely populated areas, but the bid failed. [11] In 2007, residents of Tai Kok Tsui, increasingly aware of the problem, have been lobbying against the further proliferation of such high-rises in their area that threaten the last air corridor. [9]

Threats to flora and fauna

Destruction of habitat

  • Encroachment of the green belt
  • Effect of the Building Waste Levy

Illegal hunting of species by mainland Chinese

With increasing affluence of mainland Chinese, some of them become affable to some luxury flora and fauna, like Podocarpus macrophyllus (羅漢松; Cantonese: lo hon chung) and Cuora trifasciata (金錢龜; Cantonese: kam chin kwai). Some luxury species are becoming increasingly rare in South China due to increased hunting, and hunters turn to Hong Kong.

Introduction of non-indigenous species

Most of the introduced species do little harm to the ecology of Hong Kong. However, some species are invasive and cause massive damage to the ecology and/or economy of Hong Kong. [12]

Examples are the pinewood nematode from North America and pine-needle scale insect from Taiwan, which together virtually eliminated the native Pinus massoniana in the 1970s and 1980s. [13]

See also

Related Research Articles

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Kowloon is an urban area in Hong Kong comprising the Kowloon Peninsula and New Kowloon. It has a population of 2,019,533 and a population density of 43,033/km2 (111,450/sq mi) in 2006. It is one of the three regions of Hong Kong, along with Hong Kong Island and the New Territories, and is the smallest and most densely populated.

The Kowloon–Canton Railway was a railway network in Hong Kong. It was owned and operated by the Kowloon–Canton Railway Corporation (KCRC) until 2007. Rapid transit services, a light rail system, feeder bus routes within Hong Kong, and intercity passenger and freight train services to China on the KCR network, have been operated by the MTR Corporation since 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sham Shui Po</span> Area of Kowloon, Hong Kong

Sham Shui Po is an area of Kowloon, Hong Kong, situated in the northwestern part of the Kowloon Peninsula, north of Tai Kok Tsui, east of Cheung Sha Wan and south of Shek Kip Mei (石硤尾). It is located in and is the namesake of the Sham Shui Po District.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yuen Long District</span> District in Hong Kong

Yuen Long District is one of the districts of Hong Kong. Located in the northwest of the New Territories, it had a population of 662,000 in 2021

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tai Po District</span> District in Hong Kong, China

Tai Po District is one of the 18 districts of Hong Kong. The suburban district covers the areas of Tai Po New Town, Tai Po Tau, Tai Po Kau, Hong Lok Yuen, Ting Kok, Plover Cove, Lam Tsuen Valley, Tai Mei Tuk and other surrounding areas, and its exclaves Sai Kung North, in the northern part of the Sai Kung Peninsula and including islands such as Grass Island, and Ping Chau. Tai Po proper and Sai Kung North are divided by the Tolo Channel and the Tolo Harbour. The district is located in the Eastern New Territories. The de facto administrative centre of the district is Tai Po New Town.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sha Tau Kok</span> Closed town in the North District, Hong Kong

Sha Tau Kok is a closed town in Hong Kong. The last remaining major settlement in the Frontier Closed Area, it is Hong Kong's northernmost town.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Po Toi</span> Island in Hong Kong

Po Toi is the main island of the Po Toi Islands and the southernmost island of Hong Kong, with an area of 3.69 km².

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Kowloon</span> Geographic area of Hong Kong

West Kowloon is the western part of Kowloon Peninsula in Hong Kong, situated within the Yau Tsim Mong District and Sham Shui Po District. It is bounded by Canton Road to the east, Victoria Harbour to the west and the south, and Jordan Road to the north. Further to the north, the area extends to Tai Kok Tsui to the west of the West Kowloon Highway. Nam Cheong, Olympic, Austin and Kowloon stations are within the area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ocean Park Hong Kong</span> Amusement park in Ocean Park, Hong Kong

Ocean Park Hong Kong, commonly known as Ocean Park, is a marine mammal park, oceanarium, animal theme park and amusement park situated in Wong Chuk Hang and Nam Long Shan in the Southern District of Hong Kong. It is the second largest theme park in Hong Kong, after Hong Kong Disneyland, as well as the largest theme park in Hong Kong by area. It is also the second oldest theme park in Hong Kong, after the now-defunct Lai Chi Kok Amusement Park which closed on 31 March 1997, four months before the 1997 handover.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tai Kok Tsui</span> Suburb in Kowloon, Hong Kong, China

Tai Kok Tsui is an area west of Mong Kok in Yau Tsim Mong district in the Kowloon region of Hong Kong. The mixed land use of industrial and residential is present in the old area. The Cosmopolitan Dock and oil depots were previously located there. Blocks of high-rise residential buildings have been erected on the reclaimed area to the west, which marked the revitalisation of the area with many restaurants and bars setting up shop. Many of the older residential buildings have been vacated and are set to be replaced by high-rise residential and commercial buildings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conservation in Hong Kong</span>

Out of the total 1,092 km2 land in Hong Kong, three-quarters is countryside, with various landscapes including beaches, woodlands, and mountain ranges being found within the small territory. Most of Hong Kong's parks have abundant natural diversity, usually containing over 1,000 species of plants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Private housing estates in Hong Kong</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stone wall trees in Hong Kong</span>

Masonry wall trees refer to trees grown from openings in masonry stone retaining walls. In alleviating hazards from landslides, many slopes adjacent to main roads and developments on Hong Kong Island in Hong Kong needed to be secured. Between the 19th century and World War II, the Hong Kong Government and other contractors constructed masonry stone walls to prevent these hazards. Not until the last two decades have slopes been stabilised through cementing. In early constructed walls, opened joints between stones allowed strong species like banyans to sprout. Traffic and human activities carry on despite the growth of these plants, which further stabilise the retaining walls they are growing on. As time goes by, sprouts mature into fully developed stone wall trees.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lai Chi Wo</span> Village in Hong Kong

Lai Chi Wo is a Hakka village near Sha Tau Kok, in the northeastern New Territories of Hong Kong. It is described as a "walled village" by some sources. Lai Chi Wo is located within Plover Cove Country Park and near Yan Chau Tong Marine Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Port Shelter</span> Bay / harbour in the New Territories, Hong Kong

Port Shelter, known in Cantonese as Ngau Mei Hoi, is a harbour south of Sai Kung Peninsula in Hong Kong. The water body connects to Inner Port Shelter, as well as Hebe Haven (白沙灣), Rocky Harbour (糧船灣海) and other water body. Outer Port Shelter, is situated at the mouth of the harbour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KMB Route 1</span>

KMB Route 1 is a bus route operated in Kowloon, Hong Kong. It is run by Kowloon Motor Bus and connects the Star Ferry Pier and Chuk Yuen Estate in Wong Tai Sin. The bus runs via Tsim Sha Tsui, Yau Ma Tei, Mong Kok, Kowloon City and Lok Fu.

Articles related to Hong Kong include:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tai Ho Wan</span> Bay of Hong Kong

Tai Ho Wan or Tai Ho Bay is a bay on the north shore of Lantau Island in the New Territories of Hong Kong. It is located west of Siu Ho Wan, and northeast of Tung Chung and Kei Tau Kok. The surrounding land was originally planned to be part of the North Lantau New Town scope, but there is a current slowdown in its plans because of the lack in population growth and environmental groups opposed to the next in abeyance.

The Hong Kong Bird Watching Society is an environmental non-governmental organization dedicated to the conservation of birds and their habitats in Hong Kong, a territory on the southern coast of China. It is a BirdLife International affiliated organization. The emblem of the HKBWS is the Chinese egret which visits Hong Kong on migration and used to breed in the territory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rooftop slum</span> Type of illegal housing

Rooftop slum or penthouse slum generally refers to illegal housing on the rooftops of apartment buildings. In Hong Kong, some people are unable to afford traditional apartments and are forced to wait years for affordable public housing. They therefore live in squatted shacks on top of buildings. According to the Hong Kong population census, there were 47,091 rooftop dwellers in 2011 and this number is likely to have dropped as working class areas are redeveloped.

References

  1. ↑ Ecology of Hong Kong Archived 2 August 2012 at archive.today , Hong Kong Nature.net
  2. ↑ "Horseshoe Crabs in Hong Kong". Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  3. ↑ "Environmental Impact Assessment Report for 132 KV Supply Circuit from Pui O via Chi Ma Wan Peninsula via Sea Crossing towards Cheung Chau. Ecological Impact Assessment. 2001". Government of Hong Kong. 2 February 2001. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
  4. ↑ "Site of Special Scientific Interest - Tai Ho Stream, Lantau Island" (PDF). Planning Department. 30 September 1992.
  5. ↑ Reyes, Renato (21 December 1995). "Victoria Harbour to continue choking on sewage". The Standard. Retrieved 15 May 2007.
  6. ↑ Keegan, Matthew (11 August 2020). "The world's growing concrete coasts". BBC Future Planet. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  7. ↑ "Threatened Birds - Black-faced Spoonbill Platalea minor". Archived from the original on 26 March 2009. Retrieved 9 March 2008.
  8. ↑ Agnes Lam, "Nighttime temperatures creeping ever higher", Page C1, South China Morning Post, 7 June 2007
  9. 1 2 10.40pm, 32°. The future's red hot for HK, pg 1, South China Morning Post, 30 September 2007
  10. 1 2 Yung, Chester (21 December 2006). "'Asia's walled city' leaves – residents longing for air". The Standard. Archived from the original on 17 December 2007. Retrieved 2007-03-21.
  11. ↑ Olga Wong, "Call for the law against 'wall effect' fails", South China Morning Post , 10 May 2007
  12. ↑ "Richard Corlett."Hong Kong's Bad Biodiversity"". Hku.hk. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
  13. ↑ "Porcupine! 23 - Hong Kong's Bad Biodiversity!". Hku.hk. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
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