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A searchable database of over 200 International NGOs operating in China.
The material presented here was compliled mainly on the basis of information supplied (and / or published) by the organisations profiled. We have made every effort to ensure fairness and accuracy, but should make clear to readers that these are independent portraits, not 'authorised' biographies.
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Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden
Mission: "To increase awareness of our relationship with the environment and bring about positive change in the world through conservation and education."
In China since: 1998
Annual China budget: $1,000,000
Number of staff: 12 national and expatriate
International Contact:
Michael Lau
香港新界大埔林锦公路
China Programme Coordinator
Tel: +852 2483 9534
Fax: +852 2483 1877
In 1951, Hong Kong entrepreneurs Lord Lawrence Kadoorie (1899-1993) and Sir Horace Kadoorie (1902-1995) established the Kadoorie Agricultural Aid Association. This gave breeding stock (pigs, cows and chickens), interest-free loans and agricultural training to impoverished refugees from mainland China, enabling them to start farming in the New Territories. In 1956, the Association established an experimental and extension farm on the steep slopes of Pak Ngau Shek (the present site of KFBG) as a demonstration site for crop production and animal husbandry, improving livestock breeds, and training local farmers. At least 300,000 people in the New Territories were assisted by the project; From 1968 to 1996, the farm also gave courses in agriculture to thousands of Gurkha soldiers stationed in Hong Kong, to help them make a living when they returned to Nepal upon demobilisation.
Alongside its agricultural aid work the Kadoorie Farm gradually developed botanical and zoological collections, and took pains to restore the degraded hillside with more natural vegetation. Cultivation of native orchids and ferns became a speciality. As demand for agricultural support declined, visitors continued to be attracted to the quiet, natural setting. In 1995, the farm was re-incorporated as a (non-profit) role as the Kadoorie Farm and Botanical Garden. Spread over 148 hectares on the slopes surrounding Kwun Yum Shan (‘Goddess of Mercy’ Mountain), KFBG’s partly-reforested, partially-terraced land and streams now provide a haven for butterflies, orchids and many other native animals and plants. It also serves as a centre for wild animal rescue and rehabilitation, creative environmental education and organic agriculture, and receives 180,000 visitors each year.
In 1998 KFBG a South China Biodiversity Conservation Programme was launched, beginning with rapid collaborative field surveys of over 50 nature reserve areas in Guangdong, Guangxi and Hainan. KFBG now provides biodiversity information to many mainland partners engaged in conservation assessment and management. Grant support has been given to a variety of capacity building, environmental education, conservation and community development projects in China, including a postgraduate studentship scheme. A bilingual magazine, Living Forests, is produced twice a year to serve the network of conservationists with an active interest in South China. In 2003, it was decided to expand the Programme beyond its initial biodiversity focus. Besides supporting natural forest ecosystems and endangered flora and fauna, the programme will now extend its focus to sustainable agriculture and livelihoods, to address root causes of environmental problems, as well as tackling the urgent symptoms.
In 2002, KFBG’s total expenditure was HKD 57.5 million (USD 7 million approx). This funding was supplied by the Kadoorie Foundation.
Links
http://www.kfbg.org
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