By: Tsz Yin HO、Mollie HibEdited by: Dhuha AL-ZAIDI

Just a 25-minute walk from Kam Sheung Road station between Pat Hueng and Kam Tin in Hong Kong’s New Territories is Fruitful Organic Farm, a locally-owned farm that’s been operating for 12 years. Roughly 30 to 40 crops grow here, neatly aligned with small wooden labels: tomatoes, pak-choy and lettuce, to name a few.  But this farm doesn’t make money from its organic produce. Instead, its income comes from renting out plots of land to other farmers, a survival response to climate change. As temperatures rise, some of Hong Kong’s farms are turning to land rentals and severe weather planting techniques to keep their crops and livelihoods alive. Paul Kwok, 66, who has owned Fruitful Organic Farm for over a decade, said his farm started as an effort to give Hongkongers an opportunity to rely less on imports and to plant their own vegetables organically. But he stopped selling his own produce to hawkers last year. Kwok said this was due to the COVID-19 pandemic and rising temperatures affecting the yield and size of vegetables and fruits. “I believe that we have suffered at least a 30% loss in harvest yield since I first started farming,” he said. Currently, over 90% of Kwok’s land has been rented out. “Our income is even more stable with renting out land to people than it was with selling crops,” he added.  Neighboring farms, such as Go Green Farm, have also adopted a similar business model.  Hong Kong has consistently gotten hotter over the years. According to the Hong Kong Observatory, the region’s average increase in temperature per decade from 1993 to 2022 was 0.28 degrees celsius.  The Observatory also recorded that the annual number of very hot nights, classified as days with a maximum temperature of 33 degrees Celsius or above, has increased …

“HK$40 for a ticket! Don’t miss the chance to see the local pink dolphins here,” said Chow Tin-long on his boat, waving tickets in his hands. Chow has been running dolphin-watching activities in Tai O, a traditional fishing village on Lantau Island, for more than 15 years. . Chinese white dolphins,  commonly known as “pink dolphins”, have been a mascot of Hong Kong since 1977 and a common tourist activity in Tai O, said Chow. Chow, who works with three other fishermen, takes tourists out in his own boat for 20 minutes at a time to see the dolphins whose habitat is just off the coast.  However, the number of Chinese white dolphins in Hong Kong has plunged from 158 in 2003 to about 40 in 2022, according to the Agriculture, Fisheries, and Conservation Department. With the decreasing numbers of dolphins and tourists, Chow and other small business owners in Tai O who rely on dolphin tourism to make a living have started to adapt with new revenue streams. They also find themselves raising public awareness of the marine creatures’ plight caused by climate change, land reclamation and heavy ferry traffic. Chow said business has dropped from around 30 to 40 tourists a day to only five or 10. He is earning about 40% less than he did ten years ago, he said.  “More than half of them could see the dolphins previously, but it’s hard to estimate now,” Chow said.“It is a hard time for us who make a living with the dolphins as I sold two of my boats for money five years ago.” He tried to reduce the ticket’s price but it didn’t help. After years of loss, Chow started to adapt his business model. “I once opened a grilled fish restaurant before the COVID-19, which only …