Hong Kong’s lush forests are teeming with more wildlife ranging from birds arriving from neighbouring regions to newly discovered reptile species, experts have found, as they urge authorities to devise a conservation list to protect vulnerable local species.
The call by the city’s conservationists to formulate a “red list” – a long-awaited measure since 2014 – coincided with National Ecology Day on Saturday.
Marking the occasion, Deputy Chief Secretary Warner Cheuk Wing-hing said the government’s first five-year plan would advance measures to protect the environment.
“The government is, for the first time, formulating a five-year plan that aligns with the national 15th five-year plan’s policy direction to cut carbon emissions, reduce pollution, pursue green development, and boost growth so as to improve ecological environment quality, and steadily pursue green transition, build a liveable city, and realise a beautiful Hong Kong,” he said.
Gary Ades, head of fauna conservation at Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden (KFBG), called the recent discoveries “positive” signs.
“We have gotten the brown wood owl … the Chinese barbet and the black-chinned yuhina, that expanded its range into Hong Kong – a good sign because it shows us that some of these species found our forests mature enough to find places to nest and food to feed on,” Ades said.