Wildlife trade / HK
Police arrested a man for selling protected birds, mainly waterfowl, at a street at Yuen Long on 10/03/99. The police found 23 birds (8 were dead) including Black-headed Gull, Herring Gull, Teal, Common Redshank and Grey-backed Thrush. The man said that he bought the birds at Pak Hok Chau, Mai Po from Shenzhen fishermen [likely outside the border fence at Mai Po - Ed.] (Ming Pao, Apple Daily, 11/03/99).
Conservation / HK
Territory Development Department is spending HK$476 million to build a 64 hectare wetland park at the northern end of the Tin Shui Wai new town. It was said to be a green buffer for high rise buildings. The park is comprised of a visitor centre, freshwater marshes, fish ponds, reed beds, mud flats, a woodland area and marshy areas. The park will be managed by the Agriculture and Fisheries Department and is scheduled to open in 2002. The park will be open to the public with minimal restrictions e.g. no appointment shall be needed (HK Daily News, 05/01/99; HK Standard, 07/02/99).
A recent report commissioned by AFD recommended that HK should deploy more artificial reefs outside its marine parks and reserves in order to restore the deteriorating fish stocks. Keith Wilson, Sr. Fisheries Officer said that using artificial reefs was not the only way of restoring the depleted fish stock but it had proved effective (HK Standard, 08/02/99).
Development / HK
New World development acquired some 2 million square feet of land at Pok Wai, somewhere between Fairview Park and Nam Sang Wai. No development plan has yet been made (Ming Pao, 27/01/99).
Granduse Development Limited planned to develop a 360,000 sq. feet resort hotel and theme park at Yau Mei San Tsuen, near Fairview Park. However; the developer postponed the application to the Town Planning Board on 8 January 1999. It was suggested that the developer intended to see the results of the study on the ecological importance of fish ponds in Deep Bay before applying. The developer had failed several times in getting approval from the Town Planning Board for a low-rise residential development at this site in the past (HK Econ. J. 13/01/99).
The decline of the tourism trade in HK in recent years has prompted the HK Tourist Association (HKTA) to explore the possibility of developing hotel resorts in Hong Kong. HKTA's consultant is actively looking at remote sites in Sai Kung and the nearby islands for this purpose. The study will be finished this year. HKTA will approach large business ventures when suitable sites are identified (Ming Pao, 08/01/99).
The study on the ecological importance of fish ponds in Deep Bay has been completed. The study's recommendations were more or less accepted by the Government. 3,000 ha of lands surrounding Mai Po were zoned "wetland conservation area" where no development, including filling in of fish ponds, will be permitted. However, for essential public utility development, wetland compensation shall be required. Another 500 ha of land bordering the "wetland conservation area" will be zoned as "wetland buffer area". All future developments in the buffer area must prove, by mean of EIAs, that there are no adverse impacts on fish ponds. Alternatively, there is another option for fish pond conservation in the buffer area. For low-rise residential development that is permitted on the existing fish ponds, the developer shall be responsible for the long-term management of the fish ponds remaining on site (Oriental Daily, 28/12/99). The Town Planning Board passed a "Revised Deep Bay Development Plan" on 9 April 1999, which sets out the details of the "wetland conservation area" and "wetland buffer area" (Ming Pao, 10/04/99).
Hong Kong LegCo member Mr. Cheng Yiu Tong recommended the SAR Government to develop a research and development centre on Traditional Chinese Medicine near Lok Ma Chau. The 1 sq. km plot of land belongs to Shenzhen but after the Shenzhen River straightening project, it will be on the southern side of the river. Hong Kong will be managing this area although Shenzhen owns it. Cheng said that the area was close to Mai Po and therefore only suitable for industrial use with low pollution impact (HK Econ. J., 20/11/98).
The Planning Department announced that they would reinstate the wetland that was reclaimed earlier at Shuen Wan, N.T. before the rainy season. The last warnings were issued to the land owner in late March but no action has so far been taken by the landowner to return the site back to a wetland. An inter-departmental task force, which also included the police, was established to handle this case (Ming Pao, 7/4/99).
China biodiversity
China scientists found 1,465 Finless Porpoises Neophocaena phocaenoides in a survey for Baiji Lipotes vexillifer in the middle and lower reaches of Yangtze River. This proved that Poyang Lake and the nearby water bodies were important habitats to this species (Macau Daily News, 18/12/99).
Eleven groups of several thousands of Finless Porpoises N. phocaenoides were seen at 12:45p.m., on 15/01/99, 50m off the coast of Shandong Province in between Bohai and the Yellow sea. They were slowly moving in a southeasterly direction (Sing Pao, 29/01/99).
Over 10,000 egrets were seen roosting at Honghu (a lake) Park, Shenzhen. According to Mr. Chen, who worked at Honghu Park for 10 years, the number of egrets were gradually increasing since 1992, after the dirty mud in the lake was removed by the Shenzhen Government.
Conservation / China
There are 53 South China Tigers Panthera tigris amoyensis in captivity in China and it is virtually extinct in the wild. The 53 are descended from 6 wild individuals and are now suffering from inbreeding problems. The quality of their sperm is declining. China scientists now intend to study the DNA of these tigers in order to select the best individuals for breeding. Scientists estimated that the current captive population may collapse in 50 years (Shenzhen Special Zone Daily, 14/03/99).
In the fire-prone season 98/99, there were at least 10 forest fires damaging about 100 ha of forests in Guangdong, Yunnan, Shaanxi, Tibet and Hubei. At least 3 people were killed in forest fires in Guangdong. Most fires were started by local farmers for slash and burn agriculture (China Daily, HK Edition, 09/02/99).
According to SEPA sources, China will have about 1,000 nature reserves covering a total of 70 million ha (8% of China's land area) by the year 2000 (China Daily, HK Edition, 29/12/99).
Wildlife Trade / China
Deputy Director Mr. Yang and another staff of the Yangdong County Forestry Police Bureau, Guangdong Province, were detained for selling 64 Chinese Pangolins Manis pentadactyla, to a local restaurant. They were part of the 115 Chinese Pangolins confiscated on 25 June 1998 in the County. Forty-six were said to be released on the 26th but a witness said that only 27 were actually released (Macau Daily News, 10/12/99).
A task force led by Forestry Police in Zhuhai Municipality found, in 1 day, over 20 nationally protected wildlife species in local restaurants. They included Class I protected Water Monitors Varanus salvator; Class II protected species: Silver Pheasant, Golden Pheasant, Chinese Pangolin (M. pentadactyla) and Marbled Eel (Anguilla marmorata). Some of these animals have subsequently been released to the wild (Macau Daily News, 10/12/98).
Four restaurants in Shenzhen were fined for providing Class I and II protected animals. They included Class I protected species Water Monitor (V. salvator), Burmese Python (Python molurus); Class II protected species Pygmy Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pygmeus), Grass Owl (Tyto capensis), Chinese Pangolin (M. pentadactyla), Chinese Bullfrog (Rana tigrina rugulosa) and Giant Salamander (Andrias davidianus) (Macau Daily News, 23/12/99).
International
The standing committee of CITES approved a one-time sale of ivory from Zimbabwe and Namibia to Japan. CITES is also examining the management system in Botswana to see if it is possible to allow Botswana to join this one-time sale. Some NGOs feared that this will stimulate the demand for ivory and increase elephant poaching (Japan Times, 12/02/99).
A Philippine Zoo has, for the first time, successfully bred the endangered Philippine Eagle in captivity. The species was endangered by prolonged drought in its habitats in southern Philippines (Shenxing Times, 04/03/99).
The Biannual State of the World's Forests report said that around 11.3 million ha of forests were destroyed each year. Agriculture is still the main cause. In 1997 and 98, about 1.5 million ha of forest was burnt in Mexico and Central America (Student Standard, 03/03/99).
P.37-38
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