DANGERED
PINK DOLPHINS
T
BY ARIADNA
RECHE
hese beautiful animals live in the Pearl River estuary, placed
between the islands of Macau and Lantau near Hong Kong. They
are also in terrible danger of extinction. “In 2015, there were 65 Chinese
white dolphins (CWD) using Hong Kong waters including Southwest
Lantau, West Lantau, Northwest Lantau and Northeast Lantau.” the
Hong Kong Dolphin Conservation Society told Actus, and added that in
2003, there were 158. These numbers demostrate how serious the issue is. around 20 years, and they encourage people to do what they can.
“The public could show concerns on CWD and give pressure to the
government when reclamation projects that would impact CWD are
proposed. They would voice out for the dolphins and show objection
to those projects to stress the government to reconsider the projects.
Besides, the public can learn to admire the natural beauty of CWD
and understand the importance of having a healthy ecosystem.”
The Hong Kong Dolphin Conservation Society was founded in 2003
to protect dolphins, whales and porpoises on Hong Kong’s coastline.
It was the first association to work to preserve these species in the
area and is still the only one dedicated to this cause. Why is this
happening though? Is it possible to stop it and revert the situation? To protect them, it is important to stop certain constructions in the area.
“In theory, if the projects violate the environmental permit which was
issued under the EIA system before the start of the projects, the projects
need to stop. However, the Environmental Protection Department
which is the enforcement body monitors the projects loosely. The policy
of the present government also favours development than conservation.
Apart from violation of the environmental permit, it is also possible
to stop the projects by putting the case on court. Judicial review could
be carried out to challenge the issue of the environmental permit. “
Industry in this area is so important and there is huge activity in the
territory. Because of this, the environment, including the water, is heavily
polluted. The main causes highlighted by the experts are: overfishing,
pollution, marine traffic, habitat loss and coastal development. Because of
these, habitats are being seriously damaged and causing dolphins’ deaths.
Hong Kong is one of the most important harbours in the world.
As a result, the third runway of the International Airport is going
to take up 650 hectares of where the dolphins live when built. “The
government has been sponsoring the monitoring study, to their
credit, and they have a conservation program in place. But we need
more marine protected areas and regulations on vessel traffic and
fishing,” Samuel Hung Ka-yiu told National Geographic last May.
The Marine Conservation Officer in Hong Kong’s City Hall, NG Wai-
Chuen, told Actus: “The designation of a 2,400 hectare marine park
in North Lantau waters has been recommended as a compensation
measure, tentatively scheduled for 2023 to tie in with the operation of the
three runway system. In addition, various construction phase mitigation
measures such as minimising the number and frequency of working
vessels, imposing a speed limit to vessels in important dolphin area.”
So, what can be done to revert the situation so far? Hong Kong Dolphin
Conservation Society is undertaking different projects to save them “It
is difficult to single out a main task to do conservation. We do education
to raise public awareness and when it comes to public consultation of the
reclamation projects, we urge the public to voice out for the dolphins.
We also advise the government on the establishment of marine parks.”
They have been taking care of and studying these dolphins for
Despite HKDCS’s thoughts, the Hong Kong Government
told Actus about their commitment to the cause “Continuous
effort has also been put in for better sewage treatment disposal
such as the Harbour Area Treatment Scheme (HATS) and
other sewage treatment works, which would benefit the
CWD by improving the water quality of their habitat.” They also
downplayed the issue: “At regional scale, the dolphins in Hong
Kong represent a few percent of the entire Pearl River Delta CWD
population, the size of which was estimated to be about 2500.”
These magnificent creatures have been living here for hundreds of
millions of years and now, because of people’s behaviour , they may
be next to disappear from the face of the earth. They are special due
to the pink color shown of their skin, which is produced because of
environmental conditions such as water temperature and food. In fact,
new born CWDs are grey and they don’t become pink until later on in life.
As well as these dolphins, the entire ecosystem in this water is dying. “As the
top predator in the food chain, the decline of the abundance of CWD in the
area indicates the unhealthy ecosystem,” said HKDCS to Actus Magazine.
This society welcomes people from other countries to spread
the word. “We have overseas reporters to interview and film.
Through these, we talk about the conservation issue of CWD.”
After finding out what is going on with these animal species,
it is important to do something to help them. Stand and act.