CN - All the tees in China: Golf boom threatens rainforest

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All the tees in China: Golf boom threatens rainforest

 

With its 1,000-year-old trees, Hainan was a rare conservation success. But

now fairways stretch as far as the eye can see

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/apr/23/endangered-habitats-china

 

The jungles of the Diaolou Mountains do not, at first sight, appear a very

inviting location for a golf resort. Leeches and spiders drop through the

Jeep windows as we jolt along an overgrown logger's track to reach this

remote corner of Hainan, the tropical island that marks the south-eastern

extremity of China.

On one side lies a pristine tropical rainforest with 1,000-year-old trees;

on the other, a thick tangle of bamboo, cedar and palm has reclaimed an

abandoned betel nut plantation.

 

Until now, this national park has been a rare

conservation success story in China. Clouded leopards and black gibbons are

among the 300 endangered species listed in this sanctuary.

 

But while the jungle has been allowed to grow back, the park's managers have

been forced to watch with frustration as neighbouring communities cash in on one

of the biggest, fastest surges in property prices in the world.

 

The value of land in Hainan has increased by between 50% and 100% since the

start of the year, boosted by a government drive to turn the island into an

upscale tourist resort.

 

For the park's managers, the temptation is now too great to resist. " We are

sitting on a goldmine, " says Zhong Guanghao, the deputy director of the

forest bureau, as he exhales a plume of cigarette smoke. " Within five years,

we'll have at least two five-star hotels, dozens of town houses, a

conference centre and a 36-hole golf club. "

 

His colleague Lu Yongquan takes me to the proposed site in a four-wheel

drive that judders across mountain streams, heading so deep inside the

forest that there is no mobile phone signal.

 

" This terrain is very suitable for golf. The environment is quite

beautiful, " says Lu, who is head of the wildlife department, as we stop to

survey the thick forest where his boss wants to build a club covering 300

hectares – the size of about 300 football pitches.

 

On the park's map, the course is inside the core conservation zone, which is

supposed to be off-limits to human activity. But Lu said the government

permitted experimental development areas to generate funds for wildlife

protection.

 

" There will be no impact on the eco-system, " he insisted. " Only the elite will

be able to come. It is not for the masses. "

 

The plan looks certain to stir up controversy.

 

" You would have to be greedy and heartless to build a golf course in that

area, " said Yang Xiaobo, a doctor of ecology at Hainan University.

 

" The biodiversity here is not just important for this island, but for the

entire country. There are few rainforests like this in the world. "

 

If the plan for a resort sounds like the thin end of the wedge, it is not

alone in Hainan, where golf is increasingly a tool for shifting land-usage

rights towards an international jet set, often regardless of the

environmental impact.

 

A quarter of a century ago, China had just one golf course. Today, Hainan

alone has almost 30 and senior officials say they want to expand that to 100

and then on to 300.

 

This runs contrary to central government restrictions on golf development,

which is seen as a threat to food security because it often eats up arable

land. But Hainan claims an exemption because, officials and local

businessmen argue, the island needs golf to become the Hawaii of east Asia.

 

This is not the only motive. " Golf is a real-estate driven activity

primarily in China, " said Shane Templeton, course consultant at Sanya Yalong

Bay Golf Club. " It is just a vehicle to sell property. You're not supposed

to be displacing farmers.

 

" Now, obviously, there are projects that have bent the rules a little bit,

but that is up to the government to control. "

 

The environmental impact goes beyond land acquisition. Established 10 years

ago, Sanya Yalong is one of the oldest and best-run clubs on the island, but

it still needs to fight a chemical war against Japanese cockchafers, ground

pearl and other invasive pests that have been brought in with the imported

soil for the greens and fairways.

 

Golf's supporters say the amount of pesticide needed for courses is less

than that applied by farmers on their crops. Groundsmen also lay plastic

under the soil to ease risks of water supply contamination. But this too can

cause problems if huge areas of land are covered.

 

" When there are several golf courses in close proximity, we have to be very

careful about the impact on ground water … That changes the run-off, "

someone involved in environmental impact assessments told the Guardian.

" There are violations but I can't talk about them … Some projects start

construction before they have gone through an environmental impact

assessment. "

 

At the centre of such concerns is Mission Hills, the biggest golf

development in Hainan, covering an area the size of a city. The management

company already runs the biggest golf course in the world at nearby

Shenzhen. Initial reports suggested the new development in Hainan would be

far bigger: as many as 22 courses are talked of.

 

After an outcry, executives are now downplaying their ambitious. They talk

only of " at least six courses " , which are already either finished or under

construction. But banners displayed around the club still boast it will be

" Number One in the World " .

 

It is an astonishing sight. From the terrace of the newly built clubhouse,

bunkers and greens appear to stretch endlessly towards the horizon on all

sides. Executives claims it is one of the world's most eco-friendly courses

because it is built on volcanic scratch land at great cost.

 

" What we are doing could be the future of golf, because we are using

deserted land rather than arable fields, " said Jiaqi Li, the executive

director. " Not one family had to be moved for any of our six courses. "

 

But her claims are questioned by local people.

 

In Changyong village on the edge of the course, residents said they have

been flooded for the past two years by water than runs off of plastic

sheeting under the huge course.

 

" It's had a huge impact, " said Deng Zhenhe. " We never had flooding in the

past. Now it comes three months every year. The water comes up to our waists

sometimes. Cars can't get through. "

 

At Bopian village, a crowd gathers to express their grievances. " The golf

club has cut down many big trees and the lychee and longan trees we used to

farm. Our sheep and cows have nowhere to graze, " said a man who gave only

the surname Wu. " I was cheated of some of my land. "

 

Mission Hills insists the correct procedures were followed. " The

environmental impact assessment has been completed and all the experts have

put their signatures to the approval, " said Li.

 

But the Guardian has learned that concerns have been raised by inspectors

about the risk to biodiversity and water systems. During the environmental

impact assessment for Missions Hills, they found several rare plant species,

including *Ottelia cordata *and *Aportea sinuate*, that are not found

anywhere else on Hainan. In addition, they warned of a potential risk of

flooding and contamination of groundwater supplies for the nearby city of

Haikou.

 

" We have not finished the paperwork because of these problems, " said the

source involved with assessment. " We have offered advice on the scale of the

course and how to reduce pollution. The matter is still very sensitive. "

 

Local government officials acknowledged concerns about groundwater, but

appeared to be in the dark about the scale of the golf club's expansion.

 

" Mission Hills has completed environmental assessment and received proper

permission for only one course, " said Cai Qiao, director of the Haikou

tourism development committee. " I'm sure they have completed only one

course, not three. "

 

As he spoke, golfers were putting and driving on the finished courses and

bulldozers were clearing the way for three more. Hollywood stars are lined

up for a celebrity tournament for the opening in October and, by next

autumn, the club expects to host the World Cup of golf. Permission is taken

for granted.

 

--

Lucia de Vries

Freelance Journalist

Nepal - Netherlands