Ecological Mitigation Design:
Hong Kong Wetland Park before EIA ordinance
The Hong Kong Wetland Park, an original ecological mitigation area for the reclamation of Tin Shui Wai new town in north territorial of HK, has become a key millennium project. It now attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors and hosts thousands of educational activities each year. How was it built in history? How did ecologists, landscape architects, engineers and other professional consultants collaborate on landscape projects in a time when Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance (EIAO) did not exist?
Planting Trial and Adaptive Management:
Mudflat and butterfly garden
Wetlands, where water meets land, are the most complex of the earth's three ecosystems. How does the design of the Hong Kong Wetland Park respond to the complexity of wetland ecosystems? What experiments have been done during the design process? What kind of adaptive management
should be carried out after the design?
should be carried out after the design?
Work with Soil and Hydrology:
Integration of Indigenous Knowledge
Wetland formation also involved heavy machinery work of soil and hydrology. What are some of technical challenges encountered in Hong Kong Wetland Park? How were they resolved? How
indigenous knowledge can be integrated with modern wetland technologies?
indigenous knowledge can be integrated with modern wetland technologies?
East Lake Ecological Planning:
Integration of Landscape, Ecology, and Urban Planning in China
East Lake, located in the center of Wuhan, China, is among the first National Parks of China, a 5A-level scenic area, and a national wetland park. It is also one of the largest ecological restoration projects for urban freshwater lakes in the country. In the planning of Wuhan East Lake Greenway, how does ecological restoration coordinate with urban planning and landscape design?
Wuhan East Lake Water Ecological Restoration:
A Systematic Approach
Wuhan East Lake covers a water area of 33 square kilometers. From Wuhan's once largest state-run fishery to China's eco-tourism demonstration zone, How has its water environment changed? What strategies for the ecological restoration of water bodies have been tested?
Long Valley Freshwater Agricultural Wetland Management:
Collaboration between ENGOs and Local Farmers in Ho Sheung Heung
Long valley is the largest contiguous freshwater wetland in Hong Kong. It has been called the first case in HK that conservation groups won the contest with development. Through a series of protests, a piece of wetland with high ecological values was protected when (Kowloon–Canton Railway Corporation) KCR proposed to build the new Lok Ma Chau Spur Line in 2000. Today, Ho Sheung Heung farmland management, as the Long Valley Management Agreement (LVMA) pilot project, has become a role model for conservation projects in Hong Kong which integrates agriculture, biodiversity, landscape conservation, cultural heritage, education and local community participation on the same piece of land. How are Wetland farming contributing to the local biodiversity and ecological restoration? What is the role of green groups in the cooperation of various actors?
Ecological Planning and Design in Shenzhen Dasha River Ecological Corridor
Over the last 20 years, there have been huge changes in how rivers are managed across Asia and global. The river, once a backdrop to development, has become a forefront of urban development. Dasha River Ecological Corridor runs about 13.7 kilometers along the Dasha River from its origin at Changlingpi Reservoir in Yangtai mountain to its mouth at Shenzhen Bay, creating almost 100 hectares of new riverside park in the city center on the west side of Shenzhen. How is this large-scale ecological plan formulated? What should be considered when setting ecological goals in urbanized landscape projects?
Translator between Ecologists and Engineers:
The Role of Landscape Architects in the Implementation of the Shenzhen Dasha River Ecological Corridor
Shenzhen Dasha River Ecological Corridor was completed in just 22 months, from design research and construction to being fully open to the public. In the rapid project cycle mode, how were the ecological concepts proposed by ecologists implemented during the landscape construction phase? What role did landscape architects play in this process?
Different Timeframes of Ecological Restoration and Landscape Design:
Reflection of Jiuxiangling Wetland Park and Dashah River Ecological Corridor
Landscape design projects in urban areas often prioritize the needs of people, aiming to have high aesthetic and entertainment value, as well as immediate impact. Ecological restoration, on the other hand, is often a systematic project that requires a long period of accumulation. How can ecological landscape design better balance these two fundamentally different requirements? What experiments have been conducted by the Shenzhen Dashah River Ecological Corridor project in response to this issue, and what reflections have been made?
Native Species Reforestation Experiments in Hong Kong – The Case of Hung Lung Hang, Ta Kwu Ling
In the history of Hong Kong, lush subtropical woodlands have been burned and logged due to crop cultivation and wars,resulting in Hong Kong often being described as a "barren rock without trees". Today, most of Hong Kong's forests are secondary forests that have gradually afforested after the end of World War II. In the 1960s, fast-growing plants, including exotic species such as Taiwan Acacia, were extensively used in the afforestation projects in Hong Kong. This helped prevent soil erosion and established a canopy quickly, but it also suppressed the development of native plant communities and reduced the territory’s biodiversity. Moving into the 21st century, the Hong Kong government launched various plantation enrichment programs aimed at thinning out aging exotic tree species and planting native tree seedlings. Restoring native forests in Hong Kong remains a complicated project, both theortically and technically. How can ecologists and landscape designers best collaborate on this long-term project?
Wetland Ecological Restoration for Damselfly in Hong Kong – The Case of Sha Po Marsh in Park Yoho
Sha Po Marsh is the first wetland conservation integrated real estate development project in Hong Kong. Sun Hung Kai Properties restored a 5-hectare marsh near Yuen Long Sha Po during the development of the Park Yoho project. Since the restoration began in 2014, over 180 species have inhabited the area, including the critically endangered Four-Spot Midget Damselfly. How did the government, property developers, ecological experts, and landscape designers transform a degraded wasteland into a brackish wetland designed for the Four-Spot Midget?
Hong Kong’s First ‘Eco-shoreline’ in Tung Chung New Town Extension (East)：Collaborations, Experiments and Lessons
In the eastern extension of Tung Chung New Town, a team consisting of landscape architects, ecologists, and engineers collaborated to create a groundbreaking concept known as the "Eco-shoreline." This project marks the first-ever application of this design approach in a public works project in Hong Kong. The innovative design of the 4.9-kilometer seawall integrates various eco-shoreline features, including 1,200 meters of mangroves, 800 meters of rocky shoreline, and 1,200 meters of vertical eco-shoreline, which brings vitality to the seawall. How was a suitbale benchmark for the project was set? How was the design produced and what compromises were made？What experiments were conducted?
Moving Soil to the Park: The Case of the International Botanical Congress
2017 Memorial Garden at the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Border
The Memorial Garden of the 19th International Botanical Congress (IBC 2017) is located at the junction of the Shenzhen River and the Xinzhou River estuaries in the Futian District of Shenzhen City. This land, spanning approximately 5 hectares, is adjacent to the Futian Mangrove National Nature Reserve and faces the Mai Po Ramsar Wetland in Hong Kong across the river. The surrounding ecological environment includes the river estuary, tidal flats, mangroves, and land. In order to commemorate the 19th International Botanical Congress held in Shenzhen in July 2017, this land, which used to be a construction waste landfill, was transformed into a special memorial garden starting from 2019.
The "special" aspect stems from its design concept: not planting a single tree, grass, or flower. Instead, 1,545 cubic meters of soil were relocated from other parts of Shenzhen, allowing plants to randomly grow from the soil by themselves. Why did the landscape designer choose such a design? What difficulties were encountered during the project implementation process? And what plants eventually grew there?
The "special" aspect stems from its design concept: not planting a single tree, grass, or flower. Instead, 1,545 cubic meters of soil were relocated from other parts of Shenzhen, allowing plants to randomly grow from the soil by themselves. Why did the landscape designer choose such a design? What difficulties were encountered during the project implementation process? And what plants eventually grew there?
From Manicured Aesthetics to Ecological Enhancement - The Case of Fanling Golf Course, Hong Kong
Fanling Golf Course is the oldest golf course in Hong Kong. It includes the entire 172 hectares site comprising the Old, New, and Eden Courses. Since 2018, regular ecological surveys and monitoring have been conducted in the course to document the wildlife present in the facility. In addition, ecologists assisted the Hong Kong Golf Club in transforming the course into a certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary. To achieve this, they devised a series of ecological enhancement measures to further increase biodiversity value. Fanling Golf Course became fully certified at the start of 2020.
What is the existing condition of Fanling Golf Course？What is the process of biodiversity enhancement in the golf course? From manicured aesthetics to biodiversity awareness, What compromises are made in landscape management? What kind of ecological design can be implemented in a golf course?
What is the existing condition of Fanling Golf Course？What is the process of biodiversity enhancement in the golf course? From manicured aesthetics to biodiversity awareness, What compromises are made in landscape management? What kind of ecological design can be implemented in a golf course?