27 NOV 2025 (THU) 16:05 - 16:35

The Politics of Conservation: Urban Political Ecology in Hong Kong

Mr AU Hou Che Calvin   

( Supervisor: Prof Wendy Y Chen )

Abstract:

This research examines the persistent discontinuity between Hong Kong's conservation policy rhetoric and on-the-ground environmental outcomes through the analytical frameworks of Urban Political Ecology and Critical Discourse Analysis. Despite formal designation of 40% of the territory as protected areas, the city systematically prioritizes development over ecological protection, exemplified by massive reclamation projects that advance despite documented environmental concerns and public opposition. Existing scholarship has identified specific problematic conservation outcomes but has not explained the underlying ideological mechanisms producing this systematic bias toward development. This research addresses this gap by systematically connecting macro-level Urban Political Ecology theories with grounded empirical examination of the ideological landscape and discursive mechanisms structuring Hong Kong's conservation governance. Using mixed-methods design, the study will map ideological distributions across stakeholder groups through surveys, conduct elite interviews to reveal reasoning and constraints shaping decision-making, and employ Critical Discourse Analysis of policy documents to reveal how language naturalizes development-oriented assumptions and forecloses political alternatives. Three contrasting case studies, namely Mai Po Nature Reserve, Hong Kong Wetland Park, and Long Valley Nature Park, will examine how different ideological frameworks produce different environmental and social outcomes. The research contributes theoretically by testing whether Western-origin Urban Political Ecology frameworks require modification when applied to post-colonial governance contexts combining authoritarian political insulation with market-oriented policies. Methodologically, it integrates Urban Political Ecology with Critical Discourse Analysis to empirically reveal how power operates through discourse. Practically, it generates evidence-based critique of existing conservation frameworks while articulating alternatives grounded in environmental justice principles. The approach is transferable to other urban contexts facing similar policy-outcome gaps and governance challenges.