Catch of the Day

Hong Kong has one of the busiest ports in the world and is renowned for its tariff-free and efficient operations, but there are significant gaps in local regulations that stop port authorities having greater control over the smuggling of illegally sourced fish.

http://www.scmp.com/comment/article/1453028/hong-kong-can-help-curb-illegal-fishing-high-seas

Turning the tide on the international shark fin trade

Thanks to the growing wealth of Asian consumers, the region is now in the driver’s seat of the international shark trade. The region’s appetite for shark fins – and in particular China’s growing demand – is increasingly recognized as a major factor in the commercial exploitation of sharks worldwide.
http://www.cleanbiz.asia/blogs/turning-tide-international-shark-fin-trade?page=show#.Uvi1m_mSzTo

Reignite the ivory trade for conservation?

A contrarian take on the ivory trade ban, this Forbes article says that reopening the market for ivory products could assist in elephant conservation and putting an end to the black market trade, recalling the arguments for legalising the trade and use of drugs in some countries. One (of numerous) well-argued commenters suggest that the author completely ignored the fact that centuries of unregulated trade in ivory had decimated elephant populations, particularly in Asia. Poached to scarcity, traders has had to move Africa.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/dougbandow/2013/01/21/when-you-ban-the-sale-of-ivory-you-ban-elephants/

Use every tool in the box to protect country park enclaves

Government action on enclaves this year must be effective in addressing the broad interests of society. However, limiting the conservation mechanisms to be used to just the two options proposed in the policy address is unlikely to protect these enclaves from incompatible development.
http://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1421924/use-every-tool-box-protect-country-park-enclaves

Better Story-telling Key to Green Debate

"The philosopher Roberto Unger [said] the greatest obstacle to transformation is the lack of imagination to conceive that the world could be different. That's why over the next year, those working on climate change may need fewer facts, and more and better story telling."
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/dec/31/climate-change-green-economy

Ascending forests

The majority of the world’s forests are now found on steep slopes, as lowland areas become increasing developed, farmed and urbanized. This trend is consistent with Hong Kong’s forests where the country parks system protects much of the greenery on hillsides, leaving some of the biodiverse flatlands unprotected and vulnerable to human threats. An upside of this ascending trend of forests worldwide is that these steep mountainous habitats are actually more resilient to climate change, less disturbed and can maintain its microclimate much better than low-lying forests which are increasingly small and fragmented.

http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1112956361/forests-increasingly-found-on-steep-slopes-092413/

New partnerships to advance conservation of threatened species

Tim Flannery suggests the future of biodiversity protection should see greater use of public-private collaborations in addressing the dire species decline of Australia’s native mammals. He highlights the ineffectiveness of our national parks in having to divide a limited budget between tourist management and conservation, and points to NGOs like the Australian Wildlife Conservancy, a trust organisation with a strong focus and expertise on species and habitat recovery, as potential collaborators with government conservation authorities.

https://theconversation.com/the-future-for-biodiversity-conservation-isnt-more-national-parks-11027

Pangolin population in crisis

All 8 species of pangolins are in critical decline, according to the first meeting of the IUCN’s Pangolin Specialist Group. The scaly anteaters are been driven to extinction by their popularity in East Asia, used in traditional Chinese medicine and eaten as a soup delicacy. 2 species are currently listed on the IUCN Red List as Endangered, while they might be extinct altogether in China, hence creating an illegal trading market from South East Asia and Africa.

http://news.mongabay.com/2013/0723-hance-pangolin-conference.html

Value of MPAs in the UK

UK Marine Protected Areas are estimated to be worth 1-2 billion pounds, according a new study for designating key marine hotspots for recreational users. As well as looking at the economic value of marine conservation for divers and anglers, the study also examined non-monetary value such as health, therapeutic, spiritual and social benefits, finding that all of these were important at all studied sites.

http://phys.org/news/2013-07-uk-marine-areas-worth-billions.html

Changing the mold of new town development

Local residents have previously requested the government draw up a revised plan for farms to remain and co-exist with new developments within the new town proposed for Hong Kong's north east region. Not surprisingly, this request was deftly ignored in the plan's most recent iteration.
http://www.cleanbiz.asia/blogs/reap-whats-sown-changing-mold-new-town-development?page=show#.Ue-Cq41mjTo

New UN Forum to unite sustainable development advocates

The UN General Assembly has established a new Political Forum, replacing the existing UN Commission on Sustainable Development after recommendations from Rio+20 document “The Future We Want” suggesting that a high-level and dynamic platform should be developed. The forum brings together countries and civil society to provide political leadership, guidance and recommendations, aimed at generating the momentum for change. http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=45376&Cr=sustainable+development&Cr1=#.Ud4mG_lmjTp

Severely underfunded for biodiversity conservation

China ranks in a group of 40 countries that is severely underfunded in conservation but should be prioritised due to its rich biodiversity, according to a new academic paper. It suggests that very modest increases in these key areas would achieve a large improvement, representing the best value of money for conservation funding. http://www.thestar.com/news/world/2013/07/02/biodiversity_spending_study_finds_40_countries_most_underfunded_to_properly_protect_species.html

Public-private sector cooperation to fight forest crimes

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) charting a course for greater industry dialogue in tackling forest crimes. The chair of the APEC Experts Group on Illegal Logging and Associated Trade believes that “keeping legal producers on an even playing field is critical to ensuring the future of the world’s forest and the trade they support”. APEC economies account for over half of the world’s forests, 60% of forest products and 80% of global trade in forest products, valued at USD 150 billion in 2010. http://www.apec.org/Press/News-Releases/2013/0626_crime.aspx

City parks and population growth

Do cities with growing populations have bigger parks? Not necessarily. While many things like crime, output in patents or its road network grows as population increases, the amount of green space really depends upon the choices made in different cities.

http://www.theatlanticcities.com/neighborhoods/2013/04/completely-puzzling-relationship-between-city-population-and-urban-nature/5204/

The City Life of Birds

City life can be hard for birds to cope with. A new study found that the light and sound of urban areas has “a profound effect on the internal clocks” of birds, waking up earlier and resting later than their forest counterpart. Their pattern of activity/rest was also a lot more scattered. This makes having large green space such as Kowloon Park as biodiversity refuges the more important in a 24-hour city like Hong Kong. http://www.theatlanticcities.com/neighborhoods/2013/06/city-living-changes-biological-clocks-birds-study-shows/5813/

UN recommendation for post-2015 development agenda

Last week, a UN panel has released its much-anticipated recommendations for a post-2015 Agenda to replace the Millennium Development Goals, which has driven the global development actions in the past 12 years. The recommendations include the outright end to poverty, food, water and energy security, good governance and catalyzing long term finance. On the goal for conserving the world’s natural assets, gone are targets to stem biodiversity loss, and in is a fresh focus on forests ecosystems.

http://www.un.org/sg/management/pdf/HLP_P2015_Report.pdf

African warlord orders poaching for ivory

"The high price of ivory is increasingly incentivising the involvement of armed groups such as the [Lord’s Resistance Army], sustaining their atrocities in the region." The new report from the Enough Project estimates that elephant population in Garamba national park, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, has been decimated from around 20,000 in the 1970s to around 1,800 today. http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/jun/04/lords-resistance-army-funded-elephant-poaching

Good News about Ivory Trade

Finally some progress on the ivory trade. 8 key countries that source, transit and import illegal ivory, including China, have developed National Ivory Action Plans in an effort to stem the illicit trade. These plans outline the urgent measures they intend to take on strengthening enforcement and regulations, and developing outreach and public awareness campaigns.

http://www.cites.org/eng/news/pr/2013/20130516_elephant_action_plan.php

Land reclamation is not the answer to public housing shortage

Plans offered so far include only one reclamation site, out of five, that may be suitable for residential housing. The rest are intended for business, entertainment and ports development. Reclamation is only likely to contribute slightly, and in the distant future, to the gaping public housing shortage that Hong Kong currently faces.

http://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1239094/land-reclamation-not-answer-public-housing-shortage/

HK's Ecological Footprint

An old working paper on Ecological Footprint was unearthed from the HK 2030 Vision Planning and Strategy exercise, which was initiated in the year 2000. The paper summarises existing HK-based and international studies, finding that Hong Kong’s ecological footprint ranges from a conservative 2.4 ha per capita, from a CEDD study, to 4.6 ha per capita. This requires roughly 148 to 267 times HK’s existing area to sustain local consumption. http://www.pland.gov.hk/pland_en/p_study/comp_s/hk2030/eng/wpapers/pdf/workingPaper_10.pdf