CHAPTER 3: LIFE ON THE LINE


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Box 13: Urban culture, why not urban agriculture?


Urban agriculture is the rearing of animals and growing of plants within and around cities. It has an important role in enhancing urban food security as the costs associated with supplying and distributing food in towns and cities based on rural production and imports continue to rise. With a population of 5 million in a small area (1 060 square kilometres), Hong Kong produces 45 per cent of the fresh vegetables, 15 per cent of the pigs and 68 per cent of the live chickens consumed by its population on just 10 per cent of its total area (Yeung 2018). Urban agriculture can take many forms from large-scale


commercial production of food, as in Hong Kong, to small-scale community gardens or even on apartment balconies and in backyards. Cultivating your own food can help families save money while improving the environmental quality your surroundings.


An urban agriculture setup growing lettuce on a building rooftop. Source: De La Salle University Publishing House 3.5 Waste: not a good taste


Waste is everything that is thrown away or discarded. Poorly managed waste affects the environment, the economy and human wellbeing (World Bank Group 2012). It can be a source of pollution on land, in water and air (Figure 23). It can contribute to the spread or emergence of diseases such as dengue, diarrhoea and respiratory ailments in communities.


Around 2 billion tonnes of municipal solid waste (MSW) is thrown out each year (UNEP and ISWA 2015). Households in Asia and the Pacific produce


43 per cent of the world’s total MSW and this means that one person generates 1.4 kilograms of garbage every day. The region is facing a major threat, as alongside the increase in MSW generation, there are issues with emerging waste streams, including plastic waste, e-waste and food waste. But at the same time, waste is just a misplaced resource; we just need to find a use for it.


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