A 62-year analysis of historical aerial images showing human impacts on beach topography in Hoi Ha Wan Marine Park, Hong Kong. Implications for marine park management and sustainability with a changing global climate

Abstract

The marine park of Hoi Ha Wan was established in 1996 and functions as a public leisure and educational facility that also protects a rich marine biodiversity. This study examines a sequence of historical aerial images dating back to the 1950s as Hong Kong recovered from World War II. These expose an hitherto unrecognised >60 year–long pattern of environmental change and, ultimately, decline in head-of-bay beach form related to a variety of long- and short-term anthropogenic-induced impacts upon the village of Hoi Ha and its bay – Hoi Ha Wan. How these perturbations have collectively impacted beach form in Hoi Ha Wan to reduce it to, probably, something like its pre-human and post ice age form is described. The long term consequences of this reduction in beach size will have implications with regard to the sustainability of the marine park itself in the light of continuing infra-structural changes to the surrounding village and country park and in relation to climate change resulting in locally higher temperatures, higher volumes of rainfall and raised sea levels.