Nature needs a voice in Hong Kong to protect Chinese white dolphins
Michael Lau says the plight of the Chinese white dolphin in Hong Kong waters shows how development continues to take priority over conservation, with ecologists' views increasingly ignored
It is difficult not to be amazed by the diversity of life forms when you venture into a tropical rainforest or dive into a coral reef. Locally, a trip to a mudflat, such as at Lung Mei at low spring tide, or to the Deep Bay wetlands in winter equally yields wonders.
Some 1.2 million species have been found and named by biologists but incredibly, it has been estimated that there are 8.7 million species sharing the earth with us. Clearly, our knowledge of biodiversity is limited, with some 86 per cent of the life on earth still awaiting our discovery.
The once-proposed Southwest Lantau and Soko Islands marine parks have yet to become reality
Ecologists are tasked to study, understand and sometime even predict - for example, in impact assessments - the complex relationships among plants, animals, fungi, bacteria, and the like, and the environment. This is an awesome task and the reason why ecologists often cannot give clear, definite answers.
Ecology is the cornerstone of conserving species because we need to understand their requirements and their interaction with other species and the environment before we can ensure their survival. This professional discipline provides critical information on the state of the environment and allows decision-makers to make informed choices on what development could be carried out and where it should be sited, in order to avoid a severe impact on our life-supporting system.
In recent years, however, the influence of ecology in major decision-making processes on development in Hong Kong seems to have weakened.
As an example, take the Chinese white dolphin, an apex predator and an indicator of the health of the marine environment. We have long-term data on the population in its primary habitats in Hong Kong waters based on Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department-commissioned monitoring surveys. These expert surveys reveal a significant decline in dolphin numbers, from an estimated population of 158 in 2003 to 78 in 2011, a 50 per cent drop in less than 10 years.
There is a certain bitter irony when observing the popularity of this intelligent species among the Hong Kong public, when this is balanced with the fact that our development and other demands put us in direct competition with the dolphins for increasingly scarce resources and space. This competition has resulted in numerous threats to the dolphins.
