Sham Chung conspiracy?
Sham Chung conspiracy?
by Billy Hau
Ken Chu and I first noted the destruction of wetland at Sham Chung in late 1997. We immediately alerted WWF Hong Kong about this and despite their efforts to stop the destruction, it was still ongoing until very recently. I visited Sham Chung on 25 February 1999 and found that almost all abandoned paddy fields had been destroyed. A bulldozer was creating water channels in the last patch of paddy fields that was in front of the village houses so as to drain water away. The work must have finished by now and all wet paddy fields would have been turned into dry land with no vegetation cover. The stream bed was covered with silt and mud. The (protected) mangrove beyond the sea wall was not dredged but damaged by bulldozer tracks. Currently, the so-called organic farm occupies less than 1/7 of the former wetland.
As far as is known, the developer still owns the land, which is zoned as 'agricultural'. Despite the known ecological importance of the wetland (Dudgeon & Chan, 1996), Sham Chung is not under any form of protection. This has opened the possibility of a quick route to property development without being hindered by constraints arising from the ecological importance of the site. Under the name of organic farming, the marsh - which had developed on abandoned paddy fields - was destroyed without instigating a change of land use, since 'agricultural land' does not specify wet or dry farming. This may explain why the Government was unable to stop the destruction. Once the wetland was destroyed, most of the ecological value of the site was lost. In a couple of years, any application for property development at Sham Chung will still require an environmental impact assessment (EIA), but by that time, the EIA will unlikely reveal any ecological importance that would impede the application.
Of course, until a development application at Sham Chung is submitted to the Government by Sun Hung Kai, this remains only a conspiracy theory. Nevertheless, the Government should look at this case seriously as it could set a precedent for wetland destruction. Many of the other ecologically important wetlands in Hong Kong are also on abandoned or active agricultural land and are therefore unprotected e.g. Kuk Po, Sam A Tsuen and Long Valley. These wetlands, and all of their ecological value, could first be destroyed by 'dry farming' prior to potential developers submitting their applications for a change of landuse.
Dudgeon, D. & Chan, E.W.C. (1996). Ecological Study of Freshwater Wetland Habitats in Hong Kong. Agriculture & Fisheries Department, Hong Kong Government.
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Shuen Wan also under threat
The Spring 1999 bulletin of the Hong Kong Bird Watching Society contains a report detailing recent disturbing events at Shuen Wan marsh, which lies on the southern side of Pat Sin Leng (HKBWS Bulletin 171: 6-8), summarized below.
Over 200 species of birds have reportedly been recorded at this brackish/fresh wetland complex, including endangered species such as Oriental White Stork. The site is a Conservation Area.
Villagers in the area have been encouraging illegal dumping of soil from a nearby construction site into the marsh, in spite of efforts to prevent this by the company which owns the land (Wheelock). Attempts to remove the illegally dumped soil have been obstructed by villagers, who have laid an access road across the filled area to the village of Ha Tei Ha.
Fortunately, the Government has stated that, due to fears of flooding during the rainy season, it intends to move directly ahead with removing the soil from the marsh.
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Sham Chung 'organic' farm
by David Sanders
KFBG Horticulture staff visited this farm in March 1999, and were told that the farm's aim was to offer an educational opportunity for people to participate in sustainable, environmentally responsible agriculture. Sadly, our observations led us to conclude that this aim was not being met. Heavy machinery, with caterpillar tracks and scoop, was used in preparing the site. This will have caused serious compaction harmful to soil microorganisms and structure. Much topsoil had been removed along with the wild plant cover, causing severe depletion of soil fertility. Heavy machinery is being used to create raised soil beds, bringing large amounts of subsoil to the surface. This form of land clearance and soil cultivation cannot in any way be associated with recognized organic farming procedure. In conclusion, it appears that little can be done in the short term to remediate soil conditions.
However, in the long term, by adhering to organic agriculture principles and codes of practice, the farm could become a responsible, and sustainable, agricultural project. This would demonstrate their commitment to educating the public in matters of agricultural biodiversity and environmental awareness and protection, all of which are linked to organic farming practices.
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Black Paradise Fish salvaged from Sham Chung
by Bosco Chan
Bosco Chan, Paul Crow and Lee Kwok Shing of KFBG went to Sham Chung on 6 March 1999, in a desperate effort to rescue the surviving globally-rare Black Paradise Fish (Macropodus concolor) from devastated marsh. This effort apparently complements an earlier fish evacuation carried out by AFD staff.
Most of the 202 Black Paradise Fish collected were rescued in an overgrown earthen ditch about 30m long and lm wide. Sadly this ditch was the only remaining available habitat for the fish when we went there. The exceedingly high concentration of fish in the channel was considered to most likely be the result of fish being forced into this last patch of refuge, surrounded by dried-up soil. A few fish were also collected in the main stream and other newly excavated ditches, but these were likely to be strays. The relatively fast flow rate (at least for M. concolor) makes these water bodies unlikely to be optimal habitat, especially for breeding, and the prospects for the remaining fish look grim. All individuals collected are being kept in aquaria at KFBG, prior to identification of appropriate release sites. In the meantime, captive breeding is underway (see below).
I visited Sham Chung in early 1996. At that time M. concolor was literally all over the marsh. Hong Kong is the ONLY LOCATION on earth in which wild populations of M. concolor have been recorded. Locally it occurs in 5 locations (see Dudgeon & Chan, 1996, for a detailed account of world distribution; also Pinter, 1986). Unfortunately, the Sham Chung marsh apparently rated highest of the five in terms of habitat size and fish density, and hence, presumably, population size (Graham Reels, pers. comm.).
Comparing the protection status of Romer's Tree Frog (Philautus romeri), which is in a somewhat similar situation (only found in Hong Kong and recorded from 4 locations) to the Black Paradise Fish, the attention drawn to this matter has been minimal. I have heard people questioning the endemicity of M. concolor and worrying that we may be "wasting resources" to rescue "something that MAY occur somewhere else"! However, we have laws preventing habitat destruction and hunting of the Masked Palm Civet (Paguma larvata), which is widespread and common all the way from northern China down to India, so does it really matter if the Black Paradise Fish turns out not to be endemic, when it clearly has a much more restricted distribution? Don't get me wrong: I care about Romer's Tree Frog and the Masked Palm Civet just as much as the Black Paradise Fish. I'm very glad they are protected and their futures look relatively bright. I just do not understand the attitude towards our local fish....
Dudgeon, D. & Chan, E.W.C. (1996). Ecological Study of Freshwater Wetland Habitats in Hong Kong. Agriculture & Fisheries Department, Hong Kong Government.
Pinter, H. (1986). Labyrinth Fish. Barron's, New York
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Captive breeding of Black Paradise Fish at Kadoorie Farm
by Paul Crow
The 202 fish recovered from the remains of Sham Chung marsh (see above) have adapted well to life in captivity. Breeding efforts have so far met with a high measure of success. Initial experimentation with two pairs isolated in breeding tanks has been very promising. The fish have constructed three nests, and eggs have been laid in two of them. The eggs hatched after 5-6 days and the fry were free swimming after one week. The breeding pairs have been removed and the fry (numbering in the hundreds) are growing well. The original breeding pairs were kept separately from the main stock and both have already laid a second clutch of eggs. Ultimately it is anticipated that the fish will be rehabilitated to safe wild locations in the territory hopefully soon, or else we will be overrun, very quickly!).
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In search of restricted species in unprotected places
by John Fellowes & Michael Lau
The case of Sham Chung marsh illustrates a key conservation problem. Many other sites of biodiversity importance lie outside of the existing protected areas system, and there is an urgent need to revise the system on the basis of what we know about biodiversity. The University of Hong Kong's Biodiversity Survey, funded by the Environment and Conservation Fund, is processing the available information, but this awesome undertaking is not over yet. In the mean time environmental consultants and Government officials are wrestling with conservation evaluation at project or strategic level every day. This is not a Hong Kong problem; worldwide, it has been said that the biggest limit on implementing the Convention on Biological Diversity is not government policy, but the ability of institutions with biodiversity expertise to deliver it to decision-makers (Juma, 1997).
The main tool of the consultants and the officials in assessing biodiversity impacts is the Technical Memorandum (HKEPD, 1997), which accompanies the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Ordinance. But their ability to use this successfully rests on numerous assumptions, including (a) that important species (and other features) can be agreed upon, and (b) that these species can be detected and identified in the first place.
The first assumption is shaky because the main reference sources available to consultants and government officials are the ordinances which protect species threatened by collecting, hunting etc. These are not necessarily the species which are short of suitable habitat. More relevant to EIA (or to Strategic Environmental Assessment) is the restrictedness of species: how limited their distributions are locally, regionally and globally (the Sham Chung Black Paradise Fish is highly restricted at all three levels). What is needed is a reference source on restrictedness that is both authoritative and subject to alteration with improved knowledge. We have begun the process of compiling such a reference source on the terrestrial and freshwater fauna, including mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, dragonflies, butterflies and ants. We plan to complete this by early June, and welcome the involvement of anyone with specialist knowledge of these or other groups. Such information on species restrictedness might also form part of the basis for suggested amendments to development strategy in the SAR. Along with World Wide Fund for Nature Hong Kong and other interested parties, we propose to make some recommendations by the end of July.
The second assumption calls for either a host of environmental consultants with comprehensive all-round knowledge of everything, or a pool of specialists who are available to drop everything and rush out to the field whenever called upon. Neither exists! Biodiversity expertise is thin on the ground in South China (and throughout the tropics), so it is often down to the generalists. Since KFBG has some of the local field expertise we are contemplating organising training workshops on key groups of fauna and flora. Let us know if you are interested in these, and if you have ideas for how to make them most useful for those concerned. [Fax 2483 1877; tel. 2483 9534; email kfjrf@kfbg.org.hk or mwnlau@kfbg.org.hk]
Hong Kong Environmental Protection Department, 1997. Technical Memorandum on Environmental Impact Assessment Process. Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance, Cap 499, S. 16.
Juma, C., 1997. The role of information in the operation of the Convention on Biological Diversity. Pp. 125-128 in D.L. Hawksworth, P.M. Kirk & S. D. Clarke (eds.), Biodiversity Information: Needs and Options. Proceedings of the 1996 International Workshop on Biodiversity Information. CAB International, Wallingford, UK
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