Transcript Wetland Ecology and conversation in Hong Kong

Group 4
Leung Shing On 6B 24
Pang Chun Kit 6B 27
Lam Chi Wai 6B 20
Lau Tsz Ming 6B23
Wetland Ecology and
Conversation in Hong
Kong
Introduction
Wetlands are rich in biodiversity and play a key role in coastal ecosystem.
A property developer is planning to claim a large area of wetland for constructing
housing estates.
An artificial wetland will be built for compensation purposes
We have four roles
(1)Environmental scientist from WWF (You are concerned about the damaging effect
of the project to wetland ecology and you strongly object the project.)
LAM CHI WAI
(2)Representative of the developer (You find the project so lucrative and think that
the compensation programmed can fulfill the needs of environmentalists)
LAU TSZ MING
(3)Local residents A (You are not aware of the ecological value of wetlands and you
only want a brand new housing estate so more flats are available to people)
Leung Shing ON
(4)Local resident B (You don't support the project and think that the artificial wetland
cannot play the ecological role of the original wetland)
Pang Chun Kit
Wetland
•A wetland is an area of land whose soil is
saturated with moisture either
permanently or seasonally.
•Such areas may also be covered partially
or completely by shallow pools of water.
•Wetlands include swamps, marshes, and
bogs, among others.
•The water found in wetlands can be
saltwater, freshwater, or brackish.
•Wetlands are considered the most
biologically diverse of all ecosystems.
Plant life found in wetlands includes
mangrove, water lilies, cattails, sedges,
tamarack, black spruce, cypress, gum,
and many others.
•Animal life includes many different
amphibians, reptiles, birds, and
furbearers.[
The local resident B
•For the biodiversity, the
number of species and quantity
of organisms in each habitat are
difference too.
• Some organisms may not be
adapted in the artificial wetland
due to interspecific or
intraspecific competitions and
they may die eventually.
•Therefore, the habitat of
artificial wetland is not the same
as natural wetland so it cannot
play the own ecological role.
The biodiversity of wetland
The local resident B
Explanation of biodiversity
-Storage of water – Wetlands absorb massive run-off and release water slowly, e.g.
floodplain -Filter – Wetlands can trap waste and break down pollutants, e.g. reed beds
-Protection – Wetlands protect shore lines against storm waves, floods and erosions,
e.g. mangroves
-Provision – Wetlands provide organism as food, medicines and natural materials, e.g.
rice paddies
-Shelter – Wetlands are home for organisms to live and support complex food web, e.g.
coral reefs
The local resident B
Habitat of season birds
There are lots of birds flying to Hong Kong’s
wetland in winter because Hong Kong is warmer.
-If the wetland is destroyed, the animals and plants
cannot live in the wetland such as Alcedo atthis(the
right picture) and egretta alba(the left picture).
-About 23% of all kinds of blackface spoonbills go
to Hong Kong for living.
If they can’t live there, they will die for clod climate
and starvation
The representative of the developer
Actually, our technology is very mature.
We can 'transfer' the whole wetland to other area.
As a conscientious developer, we are favorable to
bear the financial burden to protect the wetland.
We will first hire a group of biologists and collect all
the species living in the wetland.
Then we will rebuild the wetland on the coast
nearby, using the mud, rock and other local
materials from the original wetland.
After that, our biologist will cultivate the species
collected before in the wetland and observe and
adjust the environment until a stable ecosystem is
formed.
Thus, the wetland can be totally transferred to other
area.
Transfer the whole
wetland to other area
Artificial Wetland
•The planted mangrove site at Lei Ling Ha Lo Wai is a typical example of artifical
wetland
•Replanting some mangrove seedlings to replace any lost. Try to ask the students
to identify the plant and animal species in the replanted mangrove stand using the
laminated common species identification sheets.
1. What are the common mangrove plants in the replanted mangrove site?
Kandelia candel is the most common species planted in mangrove replantations
because they have relatively larger droppers. To enhance the replantation site to
be more resemble to the natural habitat, however, multi-species replantations
should be conducted which include other common mangrove plant species such
as Bruguiera gymnorrhiza and Aegiceras corniculatum.
The environmental scientist from WWF
Artificial wetland
In fact, the artificial wetland
really can not replace the
natural one.
Plants in replanted mangroves
site are often regularly
arranged and the number of
species is usually lower than
the natural mangroves, as time
is needed for organisms to
colonize a new habitat.
Although replanting mangroves attempts to replace the mangroves lost in the
past, the biological assemblages of replanted mangrove stands will take a long
time to resemble the true natural habitat.
The environmental scientist from WWF
Filtration function
Wetlands are considered the most
biologically diverse of all ecosystems.
They support a great diversity of wildlife,
including endangered species, and
species that are unique to Hong Kong.
Wetlands process strong sedimentation
and purification power.
When water stream flow into the
wetland, most kind of the matters will
be sunk and accumulated slowly.
For example, mangroves in Thailand,
have even been used as effective
nutrient –rich domestic sewage
treatment sites for recycling of nutrients.
The organic matter in domestic sewage
is contributed to converted to inorganic.
Nutrients in the soils of wetland is
decomposed by decomposer and
nitrifying organisms.
Wetland vegetation vegetables absorbs
the in the inorganic nutrients for growth.
The environmental scientist from WWF
Erosion of coastal area
Property of a wetland
A wetland is an area of land whose soil is
saturated with moisture either permanently or seasonally.
Such areas may also be covered partially or completely by shallow pools of water.
Functions of a wetland
1.It is important for the water recycling in the ecosystem.
2.Wetlands hold the groundwater and regulate surface runoff.
3.Those can prevent desiccation of the land and droughts.
4.wetlands can protect coastal areas form invasion of sea water, they reduce the
degree of Stalinization of the soil in coastal area.
5.Wetlands protect seacoasts from erosion and tsunami such as the mangroves
and plants grown in tropical
6.subtropical area can be wind proof and obstruct water wave.
7. Lastly, the moisture in wetland contribute to microclimate. A microclimate is a
local external atmospheric zone where the climate differs from the surrounding
area. Microclimates exist, for example, near bodies of water which may cooler
than the local atmosphere.
The local resident A
living standard
I only want a comfortable and convenient
place to live.
Hong Kong population is very high and it is
a very crowded place
Building a new estate can provide another
place to live so the living standard of our
local residents can be improved.
Also ecological value of wetlands is less
important than the living condition and
standard of our local residents.
In fact, I understand that If the wetland is
destroyed and became a house estate, the
animals and plants will die or extinct,
so we can build a house estate by
removing the wetland to an other place
which is done by the developers
The environmental scientist from WWF
The abundant of
natural resources
wetland is abundant of valuable natural resources.
Wetlands are abundant of fishes, shrimps, algae, lotus roots and reeds .
They provide important raw materials for agriculture, fishery and husbandry.
Wetland is abundant of minerals and fuel such as peat bogs and mineral salts in
salt lakes.
The local resident B
Jiuzhaigou (九寨溝)
Economical factors
-The landscape of the artificial wetland must be different from the
original wetland.
-The famous scenic area of the wetland cannot be compared with
artificial one.
-The economic benefit of natural wetland is better because the
tourist will tend to go to natural wetland. The tourist industry can
be boost such as Hong Kong Wetland Park and some famous spot
in China such as Jiuzhaigou (九寨溝).
The local resident A
Job opportunity
Economic region is more important than ecological value. Building a new housing
estate can improve our living standard and provide many job opportunity.
It is very essential for the now situation (the economic downturn of the financial
crisis).
Do you want our local residents living in a poor condition.
Also, the method which building housing estate and moving wetland is the only
method.
The local resident B
Hong Kong Wetland Park
-The Hong Kong Wetland Park is to foster
public awareness, knowledge and
understanding of the inherent values of
wetlands and action for wetland conservation.
-It can demonstrate the diversity of Hong
Kong's wetland ecosystem and highlight the
need to conserve them.
(Our group member, Lam Chi Wai, visited the
Hong Kong Wetland Park a few weeks ago.
He thinks It is valuable that there is such a
wonderful and educational park in Tin Shui
Wei, a tiny concrete jungle. )
The local resident B
Wetland is the origanation of human
We should feel gratitude to our environment because wetland is the original
place of human ,Wetlands breed our civilizations such Chinese cicilization
originated in the Yellow River .
conclusion
In conclusion , wetland is valuable, so
we should ban this action and protect
this wetland.
The End