Letters | To cope with climate change, Hong Kong must look to nature-based solutions
- Readers discuss the need to pay attention to more than drainage systems in the aftermath of the floods that hit the city, Victoria Harbour’s potential to increase Hong Kong’s appeal to tourists, and the significance of a traditional dance performance
To understand whether our drainage systems can cope with various climate change scenarios, our government should spearhead climate vulnerability and risk studies in Hong Kong and with the government of Shenzhen, which shares a common watershed with Hong Kong’s northwest.
It is equally important to diversify our solutions. Draining rainwater is definitely not the only solution; a cross-disciplinary approach with long- and short-term goals can help us become more resilient.
Have you ever heard of bioswale, which collects polluted stormwater run-off, pervious paving, which allows rainwater to percolate through to a reservoir, or flush curbs, which are level with the surrounding area? According to a study in southern China, absorbent landscape features can reduce run-off volume by more than 60 per cent in a rainstorm event. Other studies showed that many of these features can be used to retain 50-75 per cent of 24-hour rainfall.
They are nature-based solutions widely deployed by many developed countries, together with urban stormwater source control policies. You might have seen some of them in a few new development areas in Hong Kong.