Tai O Sheltered Boat Anchorage, Hong Kong

• Client: Civil Engineering Department
• Lead consultant: Scott Wilson (Hong Kong) Ltd.
• Duration: October 1998 – December 1999
• Components: Baseline ecological and fisheries surveys, environmental impact assessment, ecological restoration

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of a proposed boat anchorage site for the fishing community of Tai O, Lantau Island. Ecosystems Ltd. provided ecological and fisheries input to the study. The consultants conducted multi-season baseline survey of ecology, assessed construction and operation phase impacts of the project upon coastal and marine ecology, and developed impact mitigation measures for significant impacts. Key ecological resources of concern were mangrove communities, tidal estuary, brackish marshes, and marine species including horseshoe crabs and dolphins.

A key element of the project is the proposed use of dredged spoil from the anchorage site as a planting substrate for a mangrove compensation site adjacent to the anchorage. This site was proposed for mangrove planting some 10 years previously to compensate for mangrove loss during construction of Hong Kong’s new airport. The consultants provided input on the design of the compensation area and substrate requirements, and developed a detailed mangrove layout and planting plan for the use of Agriculture and Fisheries Department, the authority responsibility for mangrove restoration.

Stonecutters Naval Facility, Hong Kong

• Client: Confidential
• Duration: May to June 1994
• Components: Ecological impact assessment

A proposed PRC navy dockyard at Stonecutters Island, Victoria Harbour, Hong Kong required a survey of coastal flora and fauna. Stonecutters, historically a British naval base, was until recently the last island within Victoria Harbour which still possessed areas of closed canopy woodland. (It has now been joined to the mainland by a reclamation project, though much of the woodland remains intact.) Stonecutters is home to one of the world’s largest roosting assemblages of Black-eared Kites Milvus lineatus . The study area also included one of the only remaining rocky shores within Victoria Harbour.

Key issues were loss of rocky shore habitats and potential cumulative impacts to roosting Black-eared Kites and nesting herons and egrets. Additional concerns included potential degradation of the richness of avifauna and the closed canopy woodland on the island. Off-site mitigation proposals were developed to address cumulative loss of coastal habitats in Hong Kong, as on-site mitigation was not a practicable option.

Lantau Ports Project, Hong Kong

• Client: Hong Kong Government
• Duration: June 1994
• Components: Ecological review

Review of ecological studies for the Lantau Port and Western Harbour project, a proposed major infrastructure development in western Hong Kong waters involving extensive reclamation and coastal development. The predicted impacts of project construction and operation were reviewed, and previously developed mitigation measures were reviewed for their probable effectiveness in reducing negative ecological impacts of the project.

Stonecutters Island Dockyard Relocation, Hong Kong

• Client: Hong Kong Government
• Duration: April to June 1993
• Components: Environmental impact assessment

Project to relocate government dockyards to an important bird roosting, breeding and feeding area on Stonecutters Island in Victoria Harbour. Ecosystems Ltd. provided ecological input to the study. Stonecutters Island has been recognised as one of the world’s largest roosting sites for Black-eared Kites, and also supports a large resident community of breeding Reef Egrets, Night Herons, and other wading birds. Mitigation plans were developed to create a replacement feeding area at an alternate location on the island. Impact reduction measures were also proposed for the construction phase of the project.