Hong Kong urged to protect Sai Kung islands from overtourism, ecological damage
Greenpeace calls for measures after finding large number of visitors trampling corals and digging up marine organisms
Greenpeace has called for the Hong Kong government to put in place conservation-driven measures to protect outlying islands in Sai Kung from ecological damage caused by overtourism.
The green group raised the alarm on Friday after it found a large number of visitors trampling corals and digging up marine organisms in the city’s Unesco Global Geopark area.
A site inspection by Greenpeace found that 4,062 people landed on Sharp Island, also known as Kiu Tsui Chau, on Wednesday, the first day of the National Day “golden week” holiday. The site is a key location within the geopark.
The group pointed out that the number surpassed the 2,000 visitors recorded by the government at the High Island Reservoir East Dam on the same day, putting the ecologically sensitive environment at risk.
The geopark became a tourist hotspot after it received hype on popular Chinese social media platform RedNote, with many users sharing pictures and selfies of themselves visiting the island.