Save the Dolphins & Protect the environment

URGENT!!!!

Send petition for preserving our Lantau and the dolphins' habitat

In spite of the Government and the Financial Secretary’s frequently emphasizing Lantau’s immense value in natural beauty and cultural heritage and the need to conserve them, one quick glance at the Concept Plan tells you that the amount of proposed development (which inevitably translates to destruction of the natural environment and coastline) outweighs conservation concerns tremendously.  It just makes all of us wonder how sincere the Government is about preserving the remaining natural beauty and delicate natural resources of Lantau.

We have sent our opinion to the Government, please help to send yours. Our dolphins need you to help speaking out for them. Please forward your views to the Lantau Development Task Force on or before 28 February 2005. 

Write to: The Lantau Development Task Force c/o Lantau and Islands District Planning Office, Planning Department, 15/F, Sha Tin Government Offices, 1 Sheung Wo Che Road, Sha Tin, New Territories

Fax: (852) 2890-5194             Email: lidpo@pland.gov.hk

Official web page for the concept plan for Lantau

Concept plan for Lantau Public Consultation by the Lantau Development Task Force

Related links:

Keep Lantau Beautiful

Hong Kong Outdoors - Keep Lantau Beautiful

Living Islands Movement - the battle for Lantau

　

Send letters for saving the dolphins

Points to note:

1. Be concise and polite.

2. Always include your address and full name and some very basic information about yourself ("I live in Hong Kong", "I am a student", "I am twelve years old"). This will help the reader of the letter realize that many separate individuals are writing.

Write to:

1. The Director, Agriculture, Fisheries, and Conservation Department, Cheung Sha Wan Government Offices, 303 Cheung  Sha Wan Road, Kowloon, Hong Kong. Or fax: (852) 2730-3256. Or e-mail: afcdenq@afcd.gcn.gov.hk
   Ask for: Additional marine reserves around Lantau; publication of a plan to fulfill Hong Kong's obligations under the Convention on Biological Diversity (identify and monitor biological and genetic resources, set up protected areas to safeguard them, develop national strategies, plans, or programmes for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity); monitoring of fish stocks and regulation to prevent overfishing.
   

2. The Director, Environmental Protection Department, Southorn Centre, 24/F, 130 Hennessy Road, Hong Kong. Or fax: (852)2838-2155
   Ask for: Strict monitoring of developments in or near coastal areas of North Lantau, Sha Chau, and Castle Peak; upgrading of sewage treatment for airport and North Lantau new towns, and for outfalls in Urmston Road area.
   

3. Tung Chee-Hwa, Chief Executive, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, P.R. C., Central Government Offices.
   Ask for: all of the above. A general reprioritization of environmental issues.
   Sample letter for reference.
   

4. Director, National Environmental Protection Agency, China P.R.C.
   Ask for: Stricter enforcement of effluent controls on the Pearl River, crackdown on suppliers and users of prohibited pesticides such as DDT.
   

　

Join groups

The following groups are doing things to improve the lot of Hong Kong's dolphins, or at least to improve the marine environment in general:

Friends of the Earth (HK)

Hong Kong Marine Conservation Society

World Wide Fund for Nature (HK)

Ocean Park Conservation Foundation

Green Power

Conservancy Association

The following groups are fighting for dolphins and whales all around the world:

Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society

　

Change your life

What can you do right now, and every day, to help the dolphins? Many things. Most of them may seem very small and insignificant, but if enough people do them, the effect can be enormous. Many of these things may not seem very relevant to dolphins, but nature works in mysterious ways, and things are more interconnected than you think.

1. Eat organic vegetables and fruits

Pesticides, especially organochlorines, can persist in the environment and often end up in the oceans.

2. Conserve water

The less water goes down your drain, the more efficiently your sewage system can treat sewage.

3. Eat less seafood

Much of our seafood is caught in destructive ways: dynamite fishing, cyanide fishing, and driftnets. Around the world, fisheries are being overexploited.

4. Use "cleaner" household cleansers

Read the labels on detergents, polishes, disinfectants, etc., and choose those that damage the environment less. Ask your local green group for advice.

5. Buy hemp clothing or unbleached cotton

Normal cotton is a very pesticide-intensive crop. Hemp is generally grown without pesticides. Bleaching fabrics is a very polluting process.

6. Don't buy shells, coral, or other marine animal products

By buying these things, you encourage people to go out and get more. this can often lead to distruction of the marine environment.

7. Cut down on consumption generally

Everything you buy is shipped around the world by airplane, boat, or truck. Manufacturing processes use up raw materials and create pollution. Think about this every time you want to buy something, and ask yourself how badly you need it.

8. Take fewer photographs

Ever wonder what happens to the chemicals they use to develop your film? I do. Why don't you ask the people who do it for you?

9. Cut down petroleum usage

Petroleum is shipped around the world in boats. Every once in a while, these boats crash, and spill tons of oil into the sea. If you used less, they'd ship less.