Green Options » Hong Kong

China Plans 20 Dams on Yangtze River But Transparency Issues With EIA Process Remain

Mridul Chadha — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 12:32:35 +0000

The Chinese government has announced that it plans to build as many as 20 hydro electric projects on the Yangtze river by the year 2020. The projects would be aimed at quenching China’s increasing power demand and helping in flood control. However, many domestic and international experts warn about the ecological sensitivity of the area might not be strong enough to cope with such massive infrastructure projects.

Current Problems

The Yangtze already has the world’s largest hydro electric plan in the Three Gorges Dam which, according to some experts, is putting tremendous amounts of pressure on the neighboring areas leading to landslides. Just few weeks ago there were news reports that a landslide in the area, estimated to be 3.6 million cubic meters and covering 100,000 square meters, could fall into the river.

Another problem with large hydro electric projects in China is their vicinity to earthquake prone areas with some of them actually laying over active faults. The Sichuan earthquake last year killed 87,000 people with some experts attributing its cause to the large amount earth pressures exerted by the Zipingpu dam.

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China Tries to Censor Info About Proposed Oil Refinery in Environmentally Sensitive Area

Mridul Chadha — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 04:31:55 +0000

A proposed oil refinery project north of Hong Kong has ran into trouble after acquisitions that the government kept the administration in Hong Kong out of the discussion about the potential negative environmental impacts of the project. The episode highlights the weak EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment) regulations in China.

The proposed $5 billion refinery-cum-storage facility, which is to be build in the Nansha district of the Guangdong province, would be one of the largest in Asia and is a collaborative project of Sinopec and the Kuwait Oil Company. According to media reports, the EIA report has not been made public and there has been no public discussion and scrutiny of the project (and the proposed alternatives) and its environmental impacts.

It is understood that the authorities have also directed website managers across China to block any attempts to discuss the environmental impacts of the project on the Internet. Following is the translation of the message sent to various Chinese news websites.

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Hong Kong Celeb Bound for Canada to Protest Seal Hunt

Gavin Hudson — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 06:07:19 +0000

Hong Kong actress and singer Karen Mok will travel to Canada to speak out against seal hunting just before the start of this year’s seal hunting season, during which an estimated 300,000 will be killed for their fur and meat.

Mok will work with the Hong Kong Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) to make a mini documentary on seal hunting. The film and the publicity of Mok’s journey will be used to encourage Hong Kong to ban trade with Canada for seal products.

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Hong Kong Ecological Footprint is Twice as Large as China’s

Andrew Williams — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 17:38:32 +0000

A startling new WWF study has revealed that people living in Hong Kong currently use twice as many resources as residents in China, more than double the sustainable level.

To feed the vibrant city’s massive demand for natural resources, and absorb the CO2 emitted, residents need an area of land and sea larger than 250 Hong Kong’s, an incredible seven-fold increase since 1965.

According to Mathis Wackernagel, Executive Director of the Global Footprint Network, “Although small geographically, Hong Kong not only has significant resource demands, but it also has an over-proportional influence on the world.

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