Hong Kong green groups fear bid to axe protection for porpoises could mean future environmental damage
- CLP Power Hong Kong given permission to lay underwater cable during important season for vulnerable mammals
- Environmental impact report had suggested lessening impact by not laying cable between December and May
Environmental groups have criticised a government decision to remove protections for vulnerable finless porpoises, allowing underwater cable installation near their main marine habitat during their most active season in Hong Kong.
The government is in the process of building a controversial HK$31 billion waste incinerator on a reclaimed island off the coast of Shek Kwu Chau, south of Lantau Island.
Nearby waters are important for the Indo-Pacific finless porpoise, which has been classed as “vulnerable” on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species.
“Given that the porpoise is a very shy and sensitive animal, even when the construction vessels are not emitting sounds within [their] hearing range … the boats can actually scare the animal away,” Doris Woo Ka-yi, of WWF-Hong Kong, said.
An environmental impact assessment (EIA) on the incinerator’s proposed site anticipated that the porpoises would be disturbed if the work went ahead, but predicted mitigation measures would keep any adverse impacts to an “acceptable level”.
