from an email I've just sent a friend, who asked about my concerns re the new Hong Kong Wetland Park:
As to wetland park, my concerns somewhat along your lines [my friend had written an email to Oriental birding group, including "Whole generations will be growing up who won't have seen the stars, whose only exposure to greenery will be manicured parks and gardens, often devoid of any wildlife. How can they be expected to protect the wild places and their inhabitants, or to understand how their lifestyles (eating habits, pet keeping, etc) affect the world they live in but can't see?"] - people now less understanding nature, which not good for conservation.
Some HK$500 million spent on the wetland park.
Only tiddly wetland habitats there; mostly artificial.
Then, a bloody great building, with computers, displays of arctic and equatorial wetlands etc etc.
Might be all very well if balanced use of resources - which in my view would mean spending on actual wetlands in HK. But not the case.
Emphasis, then, on artificial.
Meanwhile, just outside the park - yet disconnected (no special footpaths, cycle paths etc) is Deep Bay wetland.
Major threats to this; going downhill as result of pollution, siltation. No money to help this; WWF money from govt for Mai Po reduced lately.
Just took a guy birding yesterday, inc to small wetland east of Tai Po Market [Shuen Wan]. Part of this already damaged by villagers filling in some - to them, seems of no value.
Another part was lagoon with mangroves; but now becoming dry land, with no muddy patches yesterday despite much rain.
HK has few such wetlands; others too are threatened or in serious decline; only few are ok (afforded some protection from development, but lack active management).
I don't think it's good HK has only one wetland nature reserve.
So, to me, not justified to spend so much money on a huge building; instead, would have been better to have a smaller building, and distributed remaining money to actually help Hong Kong wetlands.
(Deep Bay a Ramsar site: calls for "wise use" of the wetland. But what about "wise use" of money that's supposedly to help wetland conservation?)
Remains to be seen, of course, whether the wetland park proves a success - attracting the projected half million visitors a year, with a proportion becoming concerned about wetland conservation. I'm v doubtful; and don't think emphasis on artificial is the way to go, but instead people need to actually experience wetlands as much as possible - which in Hong Kong could also mean having chance to visit the remaining small wetlands that are scattered around the territory.
(Rather as when I was a kid in UK, went to tiny marsh to collect newts, later watching for greenshanks and other migrants at gravel pits. Doing this, rather than interacting with computer, is to me the way to get a real feel for wetlands.)
Forums:

Hong Kong Wetland Park selling shark fin soup
Yesterday, I went to the Wetland Park for first time since it fully opened: went as part of day w friends/family.
Found it weird but not wonderful - I plan to do article on it for this site.
Most flabbergasting of all: shark's fin soup on offer in the only restaurant there, run by Cafe de Coral. Seems a bunch of boneheads are in charge! How could anyone at Cafe de C figure this is a suitable dish for a conservation site? How could staff of Wetland Park allow it to happen? - are there no conservationists working at the Park?
[img width=500]http://www.hkoutdoors.com/images/fbfiles/images/wetlandparksharksfin_pos...
I wondered if might be fake - after all, seemed completely ridiculous that could buy shark's fin soup at place with supposed emphasis on wetland conservation.
But Cafe de Coral cheerfully boast about selling shark's fin, on their website:
[quote]Besides our well established menu, Cafˆm de Coral also explores into the realm of the newest tastes. We even introduced luxurious dishes that used to be served only in the most prestigious hotels and high-end dining restaurants, such as our Winter Melon Soup that comes in one-person portion, Shark's Fin Soup[/quote]
[url=http://www.cafedecoralfastfood.com/eng/company/company01.jsp]Cafe de Coral products[/url]
Re:Hong Kong Wetland Park selling shark fin soup - letter to
Dear Ms. Cheung Lai Shing, Lucia
RE: Cafe De Coral Premium Ingredients/Wetland Park Menu
I wish to take this opportunity and express my sincere disappointment to note that Cafe De Coral, through its website, advertises the consumption of shark fin as a premium ingredient, and as a main dish at the 'Government' Wetland Park (a place of conservation/education interest). This promotion may appear to be advertised in poor taste and shows zero consideration for the lack of awareness about an issue that has received worldwide media publicity in recent years. The department of AFCD should also be equally ashamed for allowing food outlets to serve such contentious dishes.
It is well-documented that shark fin consumption in Asia is the main contributor of shark declines worldwide. Growing demand for the product has triggered a gold rush to cash in on the high price for shark fins. However, as extremely slow breeders, sharks are unable to cope with the intense fishing pressure. Unlike most fish, that produce millions of eggs at a time over a shorter length of time, shark reproduction is more like that of dolphins and whales. Generally, they do not reach reproductive age until their teens, have very few offspring each time and have amongst the longest gestation period of any family in the entire animal kingdom!
As a result, shark fishing today is an extremely unsustainable industry and has contributed to the disappearance of many shark species in our oceans. Scientists have warned that some species have declined by over 90% and the list of threatened and endangered sharks continues to grow. The disappearance of sharks will also have detrimental knock on effects on other marine species and affect some of the fish stocks that we humans rely on for food.
There is nothing sustainable about shark finning.
Like myself, I believe many people in Hong Kong will feel equally strongly about your promotion as I do and may be reluctant to even visit the Wetland Park. I therefore appeal to Cafe De Coral to change its menu and website advertising as such promotions is counterproductive to the long-term image of Cafe de Coral .
Previous campaigns against Disneyland Hong Kong, Hong Kong Tourism Board, Citibank, MasterCard and Singapore Airlines have all resulted in them withdrawing their shark fin advertising offers, with overwhelming global response being the persuasive factor.
Thank you for your attention, and I hope that you will take this correspondence in the constructive manner that it is intended. I would also be available to speak with your staff at both the Wetland Park and head office about this issue.
Yours Sincerely,
Charles Frew, MSc
Director
HK Wetland Park shark fin soup as bogus as the exhibits
Hong Kong Wetland Park interesting yet surreal w theatre lik
HK Wetland Park emails inc suggestions for changes