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Abstract
Hong Kong's shoreline development dates back to the 19th century, when the British established a strategic trading port. Since then, rapid urbanization and economic growth have transformed much of the coastline, with high-rise buildings, infrastructure, and extensive land reclamation leading to the loss of natural shorelines. Approximately 16% of Hong Kong's coastlines have been converted into artificial shorelines, including concrete and rubble-mound seawalls, which serve as coastal defenses against wave action, erosion and flooding. While these structures provide essential protection, they often simplify natural habitats, reduce biodiversity, and compromise ecosystem functions, including fisheries production, seawater biofiltration, carbon sequestration, and natural coastal protection. Over the past decade, ecologically engineered shorelines (i.e., eco-shorelines) have emerged in Hong Kong as both small-scale trials and larger-scale implementations within new town development and reclamation projects. By integrating ecological principles into artificial shoreline design, eco-shorelines aim to enhance biodiversity and ecosystem function without compromising coastal protection. This review examines the development of eco-shorelines in the highly urbanized environments of Hong Kong, highlighting design innovations, ecological outcomes, governance frameworks, and collaborative approaches. Using Hong Kong as a case study, this review highlights the potential of eco-shorelines to support sustainable coastal urbanization, emphasizing the importance of cross-disciplinary collaboration and the broader applicability of these approaches to other regions.
© 2026 Minuti, Chu, Bradford and Leung.
© 2026 Minuti, Chu, Bradford and Leung.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 1704716 |
| Number of pages | 13 |
| Journal | Frontiers in Ocean Sustainability |
| Volume | 4 |
| Online published | 29 Apr 2026 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2026 |
Funding
The author(s) declared that financial support was received for this work and/or its publication. This work was supported by City University of Hong Kong (Project No. 9360136), and the State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Health (Project No. 9448002), which receives regular funding from the Innovation and Technology Commission (ITC) of the Hong Kong SAR Government. However, any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication do not reflect the views of the Hong Kong SAR Government or the ITC. The authors are also thankful to the Civil Engineering and Development Department and the Development Bureau of Hong Kong SAR for their untiring support and partnership in advancing eco-shorelines in Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area of China.
UN SDGs
This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
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SDG 14 Life Below Water
Research Keywords
- artificial shorelines
- eco-shoreline
- Hong Kong
- sustainable coastal development
- urbanization
Publisher's Copyright Statement
- This full text is made available under CC-BY 4.0. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
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SKL: State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Health (SKLMEH)
LEUNG, M. Y. K. (Principal Investigator / Project Coordinator), CAI, W. (Co-Investigator), CHAN, L. L. (Co-Investigator), CHEUNG, S. G. (Co-Investigator), FANG, M. (Co-Investigator), HAN, P. (Co-Investigator), HE, Y. (Co-Investigator), HUANG, Y. (Co-Investigator), JEN, A. (Co-Investigator), KO, C. C. V. (Co-Investigator), KWOK, C. K. (Co-Investigator), LAM, J. (Co-Investigator), LEE, P. K. H. (Co-Investigator), LEUNG, K. H. M. (Co-Investigator), LI, R. (Co-Investigator), LO, P. K. P. (Co-Investigator), LU, Z. (Co-Investigator), LY, T. H. (Co-Investigator), NAH, E. M. T. (Co-Investigator), RUAN, Y. P. (Co-Investigator), ST-HILAIRE, S. N. (Co-Investigator), TAN, X. (Co-Investigator), TONG, X. (Co-Investigator), TSO, C. Y. (Co-Investigator), WANG, W. (Co-Investigator), WANG, X. (Co-Investigator), WANG, S. (Co-Investigator), WONG, C. Y. A. (Co-Investigator), YAN, M. (Co-Investigator), YANG, Y. (Co-Investigator), YASUHARA, M. (Co-Investigator), YE, R. (Co-Investigator), YIN, H. (Co-Investigator), YIP, H. L. (Co-Investigator), YUAN, Z. (Co-Investigator) & ZENG, Z. (Co-Investigator)
9/04/10 → …
Project: Research
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