Biodiversity – The Foundation of Life
2020-05-22
| Dr. Jeffrey Hung, Senior Manager – Policy Research and Advocacy
Biodiversity is the variety of life on Earth, which includes genetic, species and ecosystem diversities. It is fundamental to the existence of the entire ecosystem, yet many people are unfamiliar with the word "biodiversity”. Biodiversity underpins ecosystem functioning and provide a variety of ecosystem services, such as provision of food & raw materials, air and water purification, pollution breakdown and adsorption, recycling nutrients, climate regulation, maintenance of genetic resources and more. Biodiversity is crucial for all species for survival as they interact with each other in the natural environment. The extinction of a key species may trigger a cascade of secondary extinction.
Hong Kong has a sub-tropical monsoon climate with four distinguishable seasons coupled with the unique geological landscape, such as wetland, woodland, grassland, mangrove, salt marshes and coastal shore, which contribute to the diversity of local fauna. Notwithstanding its small area of about 1,100 km2 (~10,000 times smaller than China), it supports more than 3,300 species of vascular plants, and the total number of bird species in Hong Kong accounts for one third of the total bird species in China (over 500 species). There are also recorded species endemic to Hong Kong, such as the Romer's Tree Frog, Hong Kong Blind Snake and Bogadek's Burrowing Lizard. Regrettably, wildlife habitats are increasingly under threat as a result of anthropogenic activities. It is of utmost importance to conserve the biodiversity of Hong Kong.
In light of the importance of biodiversity, the Convention on Biological Diversity entered into force in 1993 – the first global agreement on the conservation and sustainable use of all components of biodiversity. China is one of the Parties to the Convention and the Convention has been extended to Hong Kong. In 2016, Hong Kong Government formulated the first city-level "Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan”, to enhance our local biodiversity conservation and support sustainable development in the next five years. Now that almost four years have passed since the adoption of our first BSAP, it is time for the Government to evaluate the performance of the four key action areas including conversation, mainstreaming, knowledge and community involvement, as well as to plan for the pivotal biodiversity actions in the coming decade.
May 22nd is the International Day for Biological Diversity. This year’s theme is "our solutions are in nature" with an aim to call the global community to re-examine its relationship to the natural world. Deforestation, overexploitation of resources, pollution, to name but a few; humans are invading and destroying the nature to raise our quality of living. Moreover, IPCC indicated that climate change would have significant impacts on biodiversity by altering species habitats and compositions, and consequently changes in ecosystem functioning. Nature is declining globally at an alarming rate; the IPBES Global Assessment Report revealed that nearly one million species are threatened with extinction, while current efforts are insufficient to conserve the earth’s resources.
2020 is definitely a year of reflection. We, human beings, should not just rely on technical fixes to get us off the hook that induced from our profligate lifestyles. Biodiversity is the foundation of our existence. Let us commemorate the International Day for Biological Diversity by building an equitable and sustainable future in harmony with nature.