Hong Kong Government Plans to Build an Artificial Beach in the New Territories
The government’s gung-ho plan for a manmade beach in Tai Po—and all the lucrative development that comes with it—will spell disaster for the local ecosystem, writes Grace Tsoi.
Lung Mei is a small beach in Ting Kok, Tai Po. It is right beside Tai Mei Tuk, a popular spot for cycling, barbecue and kayaking on weekends and public holidays. Lung Mei may look unassuming, but it is in fact home to more than 200 species of animals. Low tides are the best time for observing Lung Mei’s vibrant marine life: numerous starfish lie on the sand; crabs crawl along stone fissures; and a startling variety of fish swim along in the waters. If you are lucky, you may even get to see eagle rays, colorful sea slugs and sea anemones. Unfortunately, this natural habitat is soon to be destroyed as the government will turn it into a manmade beach.
The plan to build an artificial “bathing beach” (meaning, it will be open for swimming) in Lung Mei can be dated back to 1998. At that time, the Provisional Regional Council tabled the proposal, citing the fact that Tai Po lacked adequate swimming facilities. After the Provisional Regional Council was disbanded in 1999, the District Council later picked up the idea and urged the government to implement the plan. In 2007, former Chief Executive Donald Tsang visited Tai Mei Tuk and made an open pledge to accelerate the construction of Lung Mei Beach.
The environmental impact assessment (EIA) report was endorsed by the Advisory Council on the Environment in 2008. A 200-meter long bathing beach will be constructed in Lung Mei at an estimated cost of $208.2 million; the works will start next month.
Although the EIA report was endorsed in 2008, it was passed by a narrow margin and came with its fair share of controversies. The government-appointed consultation firm portrayed Lung Mei as a place with little ecological value and claimed to have found less than 30 animal species in the area. However, the EIA report caused an uproar among wildlife enthusiasts, as they believed the consultation played down the conservation value of Lung Mei. So the conservationist-founded group, Hong Kong Wildlife Forum, started producing its own report. After visiting and surveying the area 34 times between December 2007 and November 2008, the group’s members documented 165 species. To date, it has recorded more than 200 species in Lung Mei. Due to the large discrepancies between these figures and the ones reported in the EIA, the consultation firm had to file a second report—in this one, more than 100 species were discovered. Despite the new information however, the consultation still kept to its original conclusion.
Why is Lung Mei a place of such rich biodiversity? “Tolo Harbor is an enclosed bay. Its waters are calmer, so the water exchange [between the harbor and the open seas] is smaller too… Lung Mei is enclosed within Tolo Harbor… Therefore, the water exchange is even smaller and a lot of sediments are deposited in Lung Mei,” explains Derek Li, spokesman for the Hong Kong Wildlife Forum. Lung Mei is also a place where seawater and freshwater meet, as it connects to the Lo Tsz River and a storm water drain, creating an environment that can accommodate a vast number of species. Thanks to its shallower and calmer waters, Lung Mei is also a breeding ground for a variety of marine animals.
Besides its status as a rich habitat for marine life, it is questionable whether Lung Mei Beach is in fact suitable for swimming in the first place. Currently, the water quality at Lung Mei is ranked “poor” by the Environmental Protection Department, the second lowest grade of its ranking system. If a beach were to be built, it might be closed for long periods through the year; also, with high levels of E. Coli, swimmers’ health is at risk. The government claims that the water quality at Lung Mei will improve after the Drainage Services Department builds a new sewage network in 2013, which will allow Lung Mei residents—most of them living in village houses—to connect their sewers to the public sewer. However, the consultation states that the connection rate will only be around 60 percent—this means that 40 percent of households will still be depositing minimally-treated sewage into Tolo Harbor, which in turn pollutes the water of Lung Mei. Besides, it is doubtful whether this new infrastructure alone will make the water off Lung Mei fit for swimming. “Tolo Harbor’s water is regularly polluted, and the harbor’s ability to purify water is very minimal [due to its geography]. Although there may be improvements that allow the water to fulfill the standards [of the EPD], the water off Lung Mei will still be of a borderline quality,” says Dr. Billy Hau, who teaches ecology at the University of Hong Kong.
The sustainability of manmade beach here is also under question. “A beach is formed by natural sedimentation, which is related to water movement,” says Dr. Ng Cho-nam, associate professor of the department of geography at the University of Hong Kong. “Very few manmade beaches are sustainable. On one hand, you have to minimize the sand loss. But it’s also likely that the fine sands will be washed away, leaving only coarse grains on Lung Mei Beach. The quality of the beach will not be satisfactory.” An unsuitable location for a beach translates into long-term maintenance costs—take Tuen Mun’s Gold Coast as an example.