KE Spotlight - Community Engagement - HKU Knowledge Exchange

Faculty Knowledge Exchange Awards 2019

The annual Faculty Knowledge Exchange (KE) Awards recognise each Faculty’s outstanding KE accomplishment that has made demonstrable economic, social or cultural impacts to benefit the community, business/industry, or partner organisations. Results of the 2019 Faculty KE Awards are now available.

HKU organises STEM competition to raise public awareness of light pollution

The “Dark-sky-friendly Lighting Fixture STEM Competition” was co-organised by HKU Department of Physics, HKU Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Ho Koon Nature Education cum Astronomical Centre (Sponsored by Sik Sik Yuen), in association with the Hong Kong Space Museum, to raise public awareness of the severe light pollution problem in Hong Kong. Entries from 8 teams were received. Each team is required to submit an outdoor lighting fixture (real size or scaled model) which can minimise light pollution for demonstration, along with a written technical report. The winning entry came from Fanling Kau Yan College. The team visited Sheung Shui Wai and learnt how residents there suffered from light trespass originated from lamp posts and created a smart sensing street lamp array with adjustable light intensity based on the flow of pedestrian traffic, thus leading to a reduction in the intensity and the number of lighting fixtures required.

HKU-led study shows 60% of shark species threatened by shark fin trade

An HKU-led study found that global shark catches now exceed one million tonnes per year, more than doubled what they were six decades ago, threatening 60% of shark species.

HKU School of Biological Sciences Professor Yvonne Sadovy, lead author of the study said Hong Kong is the port of entry for about half of all officially traded dried shark fins globally, which is around 6,000 tonnes, but estimated that only 12% of shark fisheries are considered sustainable, while 25,000 tonnes of dried fins each year originate from unsustainable and often illegal fisheries. A 2017 study showed that 33% of shark fins found on sale in Hong Kong’s dried seafood stores were from species listed as Threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature(IUCN). The study researchers urge consumers to reject shark fin products altogether, and for restaurant chains to refrain from selling and serving shark fin immediately.

HKU biologist suggests delay in ivory ban in Hong Kong may spur poaching

A new study has examined how recent ivory bans – and gaps thereof – could help or harm the preservation of elephants. Ivory trade has fueled the rampant and ongoing poaching of these important animals across Africa, leading to unprecedented population declines throughout much of the continent. The study’s lead author, Dr Luke Gibson, Associate Professor of the Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, China and Honorary Assistant Professor at the HKU School of Biological Sciences, suggested that the closure of mainland China's domestic ivory market at the end of 2017 may shift more of the trade to Hong Kong as the full ban in Hong Kong won’t be implemented until the end of 2021. The researchers believe that mismatch in timing of the two bans may be inadvertently widening the window for illegal trading and smuggling, fueling the poaching of elephants in Africa.

HKU students publish field guide on poisonous plants in Hong Kong

Students from the HKUSU Ecology & Biodiversity Society recently published a guide book named “Poisonous Plant Field Trip: Field Guide”, originally intended for their Poisonous Plant Field Trip held in June to teach participants on identifying poisonous plants in Hong Kong. The printed version of this field guide were only given to the participants of the field trip and the eVersion is now also available online to the public.

Conservation Forensics Helping to Fight Illegal Wildlife Trafficking

Illegal wildlife trafficking is the fourth most lucrative criminal trade in the world and is estimated to generate up to US$20 billion in illicit revenue a year. Millions of animals and plants are traded every year threatening the survival of many endangered species. With more species on the brink of extinction, illegal profits surging and with no sign that the trade is slowing down, HKU School of Biological Sciences has adopted conservation forensics to provide authorities investigating illegal wildlife trafficking with accurate scientific data to use against traffickers. Watch the full video.

HKU and Mainland scientists develop a scientific model for estimating site-specific metal toxicities in marine environments

A research team led jointly by Professor Kenneth Leung Mei-yee, Deputy Director of the HKU School of Biological Sciences, and Professor Wu Fengchang, Director of State Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment at Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences (CRAES), developed a novel empirical model for predicting metal toxicities and deriving their water quality criteria (WQC) in different marine environments worldwide. The novel method developed by the team will greatly improve the management of metal and metalloids in coastal marine environments worldwide, as environmental authorities can employ this method to derive provisional site-specific WQC for facilitating better ecosystem protection with consideration of specific environmental conditions and potential influences of global climate change.