The first time I saw pictures of the iconic cotton candy coloured dolphins local to Hong Kong, I assumed that the images were modified. But each of these exceptionally intelligent creatures truly comes with their own distinctive pattern of pink and purple coloration. On a recent tour in the north Lantau waters, I was lucky enough to see several of these curious animals, who swam right up to the boat and showed off their beautiful hues while spiritedly diving around in the increasingly polluted waters. The dolphins seem to have a special relationship with the dedicated researchers from the Hong Kong Dolphin Conservation Society, who have been patiently and non-invasively collecting data about the creatures for decades. The researchers are able to recognize each dolphin on sight, and can casually chat about their quirky personalities and life history in the Pearl River Delta. Sadly, these histories are becoming alarmingly short, as development in the estuary has caused massive destruction to the pods. After a devastating report that an adult and an adolescent dolphin were recently discovered dead on local shores, the current number of local white dolphins left in Hong Kong is down to 60. A decade ago there were well over 150.

More than 1,400 hectares of sea area has been reclaimed since the mid 90s, ruining habitats and fisheries in the Pearl River Delta. Major development projects like the still uncompleted bridge standing between Hong Kong and Macau has caused toxic levels of water pollution, hazardous traffic, and overfishing. Dredging in the delta deposits suspended solids into the water, while dumping in contaminated mud pits releases heavy metals and organochlorides which poison dolphins and further deplete fishing reserves. The toxins affect baby dolphins the most, many of whom are born sick and die very young.

Dolphins are incredibly social creatures that rely upon the strength of their pod for survival. Upsurges of noise pollution caused by development and ferry traffic obscures the echolocation necessary for dolphins to hunt, communicate, and navigate in the delta, leaving many stranded and helpless. The high speed ferry routes directly traverse dolphin estuaries and it has become commonplace for researches to see mangled fins and other injuries from collisions with boat turbines. But the greatest peril is undoubtedly the development still to come. The proposed third runway at Hong Kong International Airport would be the final nail in the coffin for the local population of Chinese white dolphins.

The AAHK’s proposal to build a third runway at Hong Kong International Airport would cause irreparable damage to local marine ecology. The proposed repossession of 650 more hectares of waterway in the heart of three dolphin hotspots in North Chek Lap Kok represents one of the largest reclamation projects in Hong Kong history. The AAHK has claimed that a marine park will be established for the dolphins after the runway is completed in 2022, with utter disregard to the fact that the proposed “park” is already an existing marine area, and therefore cannot possibly mitigate the loss of reclaimed waterways. The assumption that the dolphins would simply return to Hong Kong after construction is finished would be laughable if it wasn’t so devastating.

The loss of the Chinese white dolphins in Hong Kong may be the first casualty on the frontline of a vastly ill-conceived white elephant project, but they would certainly not be the last. The third runway will also greatly damage Lantau Island and contribute to pollution levels that would be hazardous to human health in surrounding areas. The plan is flawed even in its conception. Chek lap Kok is already one of the most congested airspaces in the world, and there is a finite number of flights that can travel through that area regardless of the number of runways. The crowded airspace, and the subsequent narrower waterways below, will not only be unsafe according to international safety standards, but will also have to be merged with airspace that is owned by mainland China and controlled by the People’s Liberation Army.

The endless repercussions of this conservatively estimated $141.5 billion project have yet to be addressed, and “quick fix” mentality is not only deadly to the white dolphin population and their surrounding environment, but it is also politically, socially, and financially unsustainable. It must be made clear that the nonchalance with which this development is being approached is simply unacceptable, and the plight of the irreplaceable white dolphins must be spread in order to save them before it is too late.

Abi Speers - Student from summer internship programme 2016

Fake Consultation by Airport Authority  Underestimate Pollution
12 Infrastructures on Lantau and in Tuen Mun
Exceed Environmental Threshold
Air Pollution threaten 600,000 Tung Chung and Tuen Mun Residents
Abandon “Economy Overrides All” Mindset!

大嶼山北岸及屯門的污染性基建

Today is the World Environment Day. We urge all citizens of Hong Kong to oppose the construction of the third Runway of the Hong Kong International Airport. Such opposition is, at present, the most effective way to protect our environment.

Aviation industry is a polluting industry. A significant amount of carbon dioxide and other pollutants will be emitted during flights. The greenhouse effect produced by upper-air emission of carbon dioxide is double that made near the ground. However, the Airport Authority Hong Kong (Airport Authority) has barely mentioned the increase of carbon emission in its consultation paper (Hong Kong International Airport Master Plan 2030). Nowadays, more and more citizens are adopting a lifestyle of low carbon emission. Ironically, however hard we tried to reduce of use of airconditioning, to enforce legislation related to idling engines, and to replace old buses, still, we can hardly cancel out 50% increase of the carbon emission generated by the three-runway system. The omission of this environmental destruction is surely a loophole of the consultation paper.

The consultation paper has also omitted the threshold of environmental sustainability. There are already 5 polluting facilities in Tuen Mun District and North Lantau. If those under consultation and planning are included, namely, the third runway, Hongkong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge and Hong Kong Boundary Crossing Facilities Reclamation Works, Incinerator at Tsang Tsui, Sludge incineration facility, Reclamation for Tung Chung New Town, Logistic Park and the possible railway connecting the airport of Hong Kong and Shenzhen. There will be 12 polluting infrastructures concentrated. The carrying capacity of the whole area is clearly exceeded. Among the 7 polluting infrastructuresyet to be constructed, some require huge area of reclamation; some at the same time produce lots of air pollutants. If the North Lantau coastline is reclaimed for the third runway, the channel (between the North Lantau and Tuen Mun) will face the same fate of Victoria Harbour and become narrower and narrower. Surely regrets will not help at that time. Moreover, the severe sir pollution generated by these infrastructures threaten the health of 600,000 Tung Chung and Tuen Mun Residents.

Another problem of the consultation paper is that it releases misleading information in relation to the impact on the Chinese White Dolphins. According to the consultation paper, the proposed reclamation area is a wide stretch of Contaminated Mud Pits. It claims that it is an area of low Chinese White Dolphins abundance. Therefore, the area has little marine conservation value but reclamation. We, Green Sense, thinks that the conclusion of the above two observation is erred because of lack of common sense. As the government designated the area as Contaminated Mud Pits, Chinese White Dolphins does not stay for long. The Dolphins dash and pass because of the is turbance of the marine environment. As a result, they are not counted. Yet it does not mean they don’t use the area to and from the three core areas. The professional knowledge and independence of the consultants of the Airport Authority are under serious doubt.

Improving the current two runways(first option of the consultation) can ensure a limit of pollutants and carbon emission, while the third runway (second option of the construction) will increase the emissions endlessly. The construction of the third runway reflects the old fashioned mindset of trading environmental quality for economic gains. We, Green Sense, sincerely invite all Hong Kong citizens to seriously think about whether we should still adopt the said old fashioned mindset for thefuture of Hong Kong.