Open up Hong Kong’s rivers and drainage channels to revitalise city, expert says

Hong Kong authorities should consider allowing more public access to the city’s drainage channels at water level during certain times of the dry season, an international expert has suggested. Dr Nobuyuki Tsuchiya, secretary general of the Asian River Restoration Network, described the “social experiment” as a positive first step to promote a river-friendly culture while allowing officials to monitor users’ behaviour. “The government may prohibit it, but as a human being, it is very natural behaviour to want access to rivers,” he said on a recent trip to Hong Kong. “It’s very natural to want to enter, touch the water and be near the flowers and the birds. Rivers have always been important to the sustenance of human life.” Many of Hong Kong’s rivers have been concreted and drained over the decades, losing most of their ecological and recreational functions. Their primary role now is for flood control. For safety reasons, public access to most nullahs – as the drainage channels are widely called in Hong Kong – is restricted to water level at least. Number of Hong Kong’s bleak concrete waterways could be transformed under revitalisation plan The Drainage Services Department has been trying to revitalise some of Hong Kong’s 228 rivers and nullahs with “blue-green” designs in recent years. Recent projects include those at the Ho Chung and Lam Tsuen rivers. The Kai Tak and Tsui Ping nullahs in Kowloon East are also getting makeovers. But in a city that is both hilly and with heavy rainfall, the department says it must balance safety concerns with opening up rivers. Even if they build a fence, people will still find a way through Noboyuki Tsuchiya, Asian River Restoration Network Tsuchiya agreed that flood prevention even in Japan had to be the top priority. But he said people in Japan began to realise that personal safety was one’s own individual responsibility rather than the government’s. “Even if they build a fence, people will still find a way through.” Tsuchiya, who is also head of Japan’s national River Restoration Network, said the country in the past faced similar hurdles to Hong Kong. As recently as 150 years ago, Tokyo alone boasted more than 1,400km of natural rivers. As a result of economic growth, urbanisation and flood prevention as well as water quality control, just 30km are left. “We covered them because we thought we didn’t need them,” he said. Attitudes began changing in the 1960s and 1970s when interest in natural landscapes and better liveability revived amid slowing economic growth and an energy crisis. He recalled Tokyo residents opposing the filling of a section of the Edogawa River, despite it being heavily polluted. The concept of shin-sui, or “water- friendly”, also gained popularity. The Furukawa Shinsui Park in Edogawa was set up in 1974 as the first shin-sui river park in Japan, paving the way for similar restoration projects across the country. Many of the parks “reconnected the community with their rivers” by allowing direct access to the water for activities ranging from swimming to fishing, paddling and ecological study. Local residents also got involved with river clean-up activities. “The social benefits are unquantifiable,” Tsuchiya added. No room for lower limit on Hong Kong water supply from mainland China river, expert says Land prices along the river soared as the pollution dissipated. Once-neglected houses gave way to riverside condominiums with enviable views to match, he said. Tsuchiya believed drainage authorities in Hong Kong should take up the challenge and open up some areas to the public at limited times during the dry season, monitoring people’s engagement and then determining the next move based on what they find. “Think of it as a social experiment.” The undertaking depends on public attitudes changing, he added. “A good river restoration project restores the connections between local residents and their rivers.” The department is getting there. At least 45 of Hong Kong’s drab, concrete-edged rivers now devoid of any life or greenery have recently been shortlisted for possible revitalisation, with four identified as having the greatest potential: the Tai Wai Nullah, Tuen Mun River and Jordan Valley Nullah – all in Kwun Tong – and the Fo Tan Nullah in Sha Tin. Drainage chief Edwin Tong Ka-hung said the Tuen Mun River would be wide enough to allow the public to enter at water level but whether similar access could be designed at the Tai Wai Nullah required further study.

Open up Hong Kong’s rivers and drainage channels to revitalise city, expert says

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}While local authorities point to safety concerns, international specialist in field touts benefits of social experiment

While local authorities point to safety concerns, international specialist in field touts benefits of social experiment