Guangzhou mulls park with clear night skies

Businessman hopes to fund reserve with no light pollution

Businesspeople in Guangzhou say they are looking into the feasibility of a dark-sky park that could boost tourism revenue and ease light pollution.

"Entrepreneurs have consulted me on the possibility," said Han Yan, a researcher for the city education bureau, who first proposed the idea.

"I can see the possibility (of such a park) growing, as the government is paying attention to the matter."

A dark-sky park is a public space that has "exceptional starry skies and is a natural nocturnal habitat where light pollution is mitigated", according a definition by the International Dark-Sky Association, in the United States.

Han submitted his proposal to create China's first State-funded dark-sky park to the Guangzhou committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference at its annual session in January.

Such parks serve to promote public awareness of protecting the dark sky and ecological environment, he said.

Yan Zhuosheng, president of an ultrasound equipment company in nearby Conghua in Guangzhou, said he became interested in investing after he read a media report on Han's proposal in September.

"I love nature, but in the city you can no longer see the stars, as I could when I was a child," he said. "It's our responsibility to guide the youth in protecting the environment."

Yan said he intends to turn a 67-hectare ecological forest in Conghua's Apoliu village, about two hours' drive from the city center, into a dark-sky park that offers free access to people under 16.

Initial investment is estimated to be 10 million yuan ($1.64 million), he said, while commercial forest farming, such as growing mushrooms, will be needed to cover the costs.

He said he expects the land transfer to be concluded this month and to apply to the city planning department in November.

The timing after that will depend on how well the government understands the idea, which may pose a challenge, he said. "I'm determined to do this and will communicate with officials to influence them."

The first dark-sky park certified by the International Dark-Sky Association was established in 2006 in the Natural Bridges National Monument in Utah, in the US. It was followed by 11 others in the US, Britain and Hungary.

The parks are in response to worsening light pollution resulting from an abuse of public lighting amid urbanization and an increase in dust that reflects light, said Han, who is also deputy publisher of the Guangzhou Modern Middle and Primary School Student Journal and is engaged in the promotion of astronomical sciences among youth.

One obvious consequence of light pollution is the increased difficulty in spotting stars and nocturnal animals. Research by Austrian scientists indicates that a lighted billboard may kill 350,000 phototaxy insects, those who retreat from light, thus threatening the food chain, Han said.

In China, he said light pollution is not even on the agenda of many authorities.

Light is too strong at night in Guangzhou on the whole, and it is hard to find nocturnal birds in the urban area, said Ma Xuejun, chairman of Guangzhou Primary School Science Education and Research Society.

He is engaged in organizing bird watching and other observation activities, but he complained his group often has to travel to suburban areas and even other cities to watch nocturnal birds, insects and mammals.

"It will be of great significance to have a safe place to watch nocturnal animals in Guangzhou," he said. "(A dark-sky park) is especially necessary for a big city like Guangzhou, also for ecological conservation."

He said young people today are too far removed from nature.

The first dark-sky reserve in China was launched in 2009 by the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and local partners in Tianhuangping, Zhejiang province.

Meanwhile, star observation spots have been established at some national parks, forest parks and natural reserves.

"The dark-sky park is absolutely a new thing in China, calling for understanding and support from the government and the public," Han said.

In its reply to Han's proposal in July, Guangzhou's environmental protection bureau said: "The urban parks in Guangzhou are mostly in densely populated areas and can hardly be transformed into dark-sky parks due to their surrounding environment and functions."

However, the bureau added that it will actively support tourism authorities in incorporating dark-night protection measures into tourist sites and initiate pilot programs when proper conditions are in place.

The bureau will also support park administrations in building dark-sky parks and will prioritize suburban forest parks, biological islands and wetland parks in pilot programs. It aims to build the first dark-sky park with comprehensive functions in the country in Guangzhou.

Han proposed that some water source preservation areas and ecological tourism sites be upgraded to have dark-night protection elements, such as environmental-friendly lighting and astronomical observatory equipment, with favorable policies in the form of government procurement.

From here, Han proposes more private investors be encouraged to join in the hope that eventually the government will help build such a park.

Han said he is "prepared to take a long-term view of the development of dark-sky parks" because "it's hard for investors to appreciate the value behind the idea".

Due to a lack of national and local standards, the data on light pollution in Guangzhou remains absent, Han said. However, personal observation and complaints by residents, especially those living by roads, point to a serious situation, he said.

A controversial project to light up some key areas in the city, mainly the banks of the Pearl River, was allocated a government budget of more than 130 million yuan this year.

Meanwhile, the city's environmental protection bureau also pledged to plan lighting in a scientific way and to strive to finish the draft of the city's regulation on the control of light pollution later this year.

Zhao Ruixue in Jinan contributed to this story.

liwenfang@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 10/25/2013 page7)