Using Nature-Based Solutions For A Climate-Resilient Hong Kong

A new report by The Nature Conservancy in collaboration with Civic Exchange outlines a roadmap for integrating nature-based solutions into urban planning in Hong Kong.

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Nature-based solutions present a viable, scalable, and cost-effective solution to mitigate climate change-related issues in Hong Kong, according to a new report that outlines a model for 21st-century cities in addressing global climate challenges.

Compiled by The Nature Conservancy (TNC) in collaboration with Civic Exchange, the report outlines a roadmap for integrating nature-based solutions into urban planning in Hong Kong, a city described as having the potential to be a leader in climate resilience and biodiversity conservation.

The study focuses on the Northern Metropolis, a large-scale development plan that encompasses Yuen Long and North Districts. The project, which aims to integrate the city with neighboring Shenzhen and the Greater Bay Area, presents an “unprecedented opportunity” to embed nature-based solutions, said TNC.

Projects such as coastal wetland management, and mangrove and oyster reef restoration can enhance the area’s rich ecosystems and help preserve its function as natural infrastructure against flooding. Similarly, hillside reforestation and the expansion of urban green spaces can help tackle the growing issue of urban heat. A study carried out in Hong Kong found that trees can lower maximum temperatures by 6C, with an average cooling effect of 3C.

Despite evident potential, the Northern Metropolis development project has drawn criticism over its potential impact on wetland conservation and local villagers. Environmental organizations The Conservancy Association and Greenpeace last year found that 78 hectares – or 0.78 square kilometres – of protected wetland in Hong Kong’s New Territories have been destroyed since the government announced the development project in 2021.

Conservationists have long denounced a lack of comprehensive policies for conservation in Hong Kong. For TNC, a lack of understanding of the scale and value of nature, insufficient strategic planning, fragmented policies, and a lack of high-level institutional commitments to nature-based solutions are also part of the problem, and risk compromizing the outcome.

Nature-based solutions are actions aimed at utilizing, protecting, sustainably managing, and restoring natural ecosystems to address societal challenges and for the benefit of both people and nature. Examples include wetland restoration for flood control and water purification, tree planting for carbon sequestration and natural cooling but also green infrastructure like green roofs and permeable pavements.

“We are living through a silent crisis – one where the destruction of nature is often rationalized as the cost of progress, and where concrete and steel spread over landscapes as if nature were an afterthought. Yet, nature is not optional,” said Christine Loh, Chief Development Strategist at the Institute for the Environment of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. “When we ignore nature, we create risk. When we restore them, we create value,” Lam added.

Speaking at the report’s launch event on Tuesday, Lam said that “we have made tremendous progress in our thinking,” referring to the “relatively new and undeveloped idea” of understanding the true value of nature.

Yet, nature is under unprecedented pressure. Human activities, habitat destruction, and climate change are pushing ecosystems to their limits, with approximately one million plant and animal species at the brink of extinction, many of which could disappear within decades.

Recommendations

“As the government updates its Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (BSAP) and prepares a new Climate Action Plan, it must embed far greater urgency and ambition—particularly scaling up Nature-based Solutions,” said Kitty Tam, Lead Author of the report and Programme Lead at Civic Exchange.

In the short term, TNC recommends setting up a nature-based solutions task force and carrying out a pilot ecosystem restoration initiative, with both Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area responsible for monitoring progress. In the medium term, it suggests setting up a regional financing model that prioritizes both biodiversity credits and carbon markets, while in the long term, it recommends institutionalizing a nature-based solutions governance framework to guide policy and implementation of these projects in the wider region.

Featured image: Kyle Lam/hongkongfp.com.