Greater Bay Area green groups warn Hong Kong technopole project will damage wetlands
- Guangzhou-based green group also says ecological impact of building San Tin Technopole goes against national conservation policies
Environmental groups in the Greater Bay Area have opposed plans to build a technology hub near Hong Kong’s border with mainland China, warning the project will erase a wetland buffer area and undermine national conservation principles.
Jim Luk of the Guangzhou-based CrossBorder Environment Concern Association expressed concerns on Wednesday that “the development of San Tin Technopole might affect the flying route of the migratory birds, as it is very near to the ecological red line in Shenzhen”.
Luk was referring to an ecologically sensitive zone near Hong Kong’s Mai Po mangroves and its surrounding area.
The proposed site for the technopole takes up more than 600 hectares (1,483 acres) of land, with half of the site earmarked as a hub intended to lure leading innovation and technology companies to the city.
The project is already expected to fill in 90 hectares of fish ponds and rezoning of land that acts as a buffer between wetlands and developed areas.
Luk said the plan could threaten the bay area’s largest coastal wetland ecosystem.
Central authorities had formulated various policies and laws in recent years to protect ecological areas, including the countrywide Wetland Protection Law in 2022, he said.