Charming Snakes on Lantau

Life on Lantau island means sometimes getting in touch with nature, whether you like it or not

You don’t have to be an ornithologist or a herpetologist (more on that later) or any kind of ologist or naturalist to appreciate the nature that lives on Lantau. Walkers, mountain bikers, campers and even just people who value the occasional lung full of clean air can all appreciate that you can’t really get that (or maintain it) without nature. Lantau, and plenty of the other 200 or so islands that are part of the SAR, is awash with nature and is a natural remedy to big city living. But there are things to be aware of while traipsing across the island. There are things lurking in the undergrowth, under the ground and in the trees that may give you even more of an appreciation for the island if not a little shock.

It should come as no real shock, given the geographic location and climate of Hong Kong, that there are snakes here and some poisonous ones at that. But it seems that the city - the smog, buses, trams, skyscrapers and the general detachment from nature that is the strip from Causeway Bay to Wan Chai - leads people to forget that there are islands, greenery, national parks, bays, inlets, beaches, headways and peninsulas that are home to an incredible array of wildlife.

But of all the wildlife, the beasts that crawl, scurry, dig and weave their way around the SAR (perhaps in the world), the snake is quite possibly the most feared, yet like sharks and spiders (probably the three most nightmare-inducing creatures), they are just misunderstood. Distrusted by Christians as the agent of downfall in the Garden of Eden, snakes are firmly in the category with the nightmare beasts. Slimy (even though they aren’t really), creepy, poisonous, fang-bearing creatures of horror movies they are, along with spiders, bats and all kinds of creepy crawlies, are vilified and derided by everyone aside from herpetologists (that’s people who study snakes to me and you).

Not helped by movies like Anaconda, Snakes on a Plane or cameo roles in movies like Indiana Jones, scaremongering videos on youtube of snakes with animal - or even scarier - human shaped bulges they are associated with poison, danger, fear and death. Do an internet image search for snake and you will be presented with a page of scary gaping-mouthed serpents bearing fangs that make people think they are out to get us (aside from the cartoon snake wearing a top hat and playing a guitar) and videos that scare us into thinking man-eating snakes are in the undergrowth. Well, actually they are in the undergrowth, lots of them and lots of different ones but they aren't out to get you. In fact they will avoid you at all costs.

From February 10th, however, you may see more snakes than other years. While the Gregorian calendar is used for day-to-day activities throughout the world, the lunisolar calendar is used to mark traditional holidays in East Asia. The holiday is celebrated all over the world by Asians and is called Seollal in Korea, Shōgatsu in Japan and Tet in Vietnam.

For Western expats in Hong Kong it can be a bit disconcerting to see Hongkongers going about their business as normal on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, but that they don’t, for the most part, participate in our revelry is of course a cultural thing and this lunar New Year will offer those of us who have not experienced it before to see how Hongkongers spend their New Year. And this New Year is the year of the aforementioned snake, in particular the year of the water snake and so maybe sightings of the Plumbeous Water Snake, the Mangrove Water Snake, the Chinese Water Snake and, the most feared of the water snakes, and rightly so, the Banded Sea Snake, or to give it is scientific, and infinitely cooler name Hydrophis cyanocinctus, may increase, although probably not!

But snakes are not, in mythology and historical contexts, anything to be scared of. In fact many ancient civilisations revered and even worshipped the snake.

The 12 Earthly Branches have been used to record the time of day. However, for the sake of entertainment and convenience, they have been replaced by the 12 animals.


Snakes in mythology
In Egyptian myth a many-coiled serpent gave rise to Ra the Sun God and all of creation as a result. The snake is also said to have healing properties in Egypt and in Greek mythology, the Rod of Asclepius is a serpent-entwined rod wielded by the Greek god Asclepius, a deity associated with healing and medicine (which goes someway to explaining why ancient Greeks believed that people could acquire second hearing and second sight if their ears or eyes were licked by a snake!)

Hymns and offerings were made to snakes since it was believed that the goddess Mertseger could manifest herself through the snake. In the Sumerian culture snakes were also very important as a healing symbol and their god Ninazu is identified as the patron of healing, and his son, Ningishzida, is depicted with a serpent and staff symbol.

Snakes have been a common feature of creation myths long before the Garden of Eden. In ancient Indian myth, there is the drought-serpent Ahi, Chinese mythology has the woman-headed snake Nuw (女娲), who made the first humans. Greek myths tell of how Ophion the snake incubated the primordial egg from which all created things were born. The snake is also linked to rebirth and is some myths is likened to the umbilical cord, connecting us to mother and mother earth. Snakes were thought in many cultures to assist mother earth. The Hopi, a native American tribe, worshipped the snake and have a 16-day dance about it.

Of course there is a reason snakes are associated with nightmares and horror, and a lot of this arises from myth too.

Medusa, perhaps the most recognisable of the Greek mythological characters has snakes for hair. In Egyptian myth, every morning the serpent Aapep attacked the Sunship and tried to engulf the ship and the sky was drenched red at dawn and dusk with its blood as the Sun defeated it. In Nordic myth, evil was symbolised by the serpent or dragon called Nidhogg who coiled around one of the three roots of Yggdrasil the Tree of Life, and tried to choke or gnaw the life from it. In ancient Slavic paganism a deity by the name of Veles presided over the underworld. He is almost always portrayed as a serpent or dragon depending on the particular myth. The underworld was part of a mythical world tree. The roots of this tree (usually growing in water) were guarded by Volos the serpent god.

The idea of snake-people living below the Earth was prominent in American myth. The Aztec underworld, Mictlan was protected by python-trees, a gigantic alligator and a snake, all of which spirits had to evade by physical ducking and weaving or cunning, before they could start the journey towards immortality. In North America, the Brule Sioux people told of three brothers transformed into rattlesnakes which permanently helped and guided their human relatives.

As with the Indian drought serpent and the ringed serpent of Egypt representing the oceans, there have been found carved stones depicting a seven-headed cobra are commonly found near the sluices of the ancient irrigation tanks in Sri Lanka; these are believed to have been placed as guardians of the water. Making this year, the year of the water snake, more auspicious.

In the state of Kerala, India, snake shrines occupy most households. Snakes were called upon by the creator of Kerala, Parasurama, to make the saline land fertile. The Mannarasala Shri Nagaraja Temple is one of the main centres of worship. The presiding deity here is Nagaraja - a five-headed snake god born to human parents as a blessing for their caretaking of snakes during a fire. It is believed that Nagaraja left his earthly life and took Samadhi but still resides in a chamber of the temple.

In Australia one of the most prominent Aboriginal stories is the one about the Rainbow Serpent. Many Dreamtime tales tell about the first child of the great creator and the guardian of Australia. The rainbows you see in the bush are said to be the Rainbow Serpent travelling from one water hole to another. If he is happy he will go back into his hole and there will be a beautiful day, if he isn’t happy there will be a terrible storm.


Snakes in the grass
So snakes are both revered and reviled and that is perhaps best reflected in the fact that some snakes are harmless (if you call a nasty bite but ultimately just a bite) and some are very venomous indeed and Hong Kong is no exception.

According to the AFCD “ There are 52 native species of snakes recorded in Hong Kong. The most common snake found on Lantau Island is the Common Blind Snake (Ramphotyphlops braminus) which is a small non-venomous snake. Out of the 52 native species recorded, 14 terrestrial snakes and six sea snakes are venomous. Eight of the terrestrial snakes can inflict fatal bites, including the lately discovered Pointed-scale Pit Viper (Protobothrops mucrosquamatus). All of the sea snakes found in Hong Kong are highly venomous but they are rarely seen. Their venom potency ranges from causing severe pain and swelling to human death."

When it comes to identifying venomous snakes a lot of people stick with the idea that a triangular shaped head is a good indicator. The AFCD had this to say: “No single characteristic can distinguish a venomous snake from a non-venomous one. The common perception that all venomous snakes have triangular-shaped heads is unreliable. A study from a major hospital in the New Territories indicated that over 95 per cent of venomous snake bites recorded in the study were related to Bamboo Snake. Cobra bites occurred much less frequently and bites from Kraits were rarely reported.”

But before you cancel your camping trip and vow to never to ramble the lush hills of Lantau again think about Australia. It is well reported that Australia has the most deadly concoction of snakes and spiders in the world and it is true that snakes do bite and kill people there, and according to the Australian Venom Research Unit (AVRU) the top 11 most poisonous snakes in the world are all in Australia. But even considering that scary fact there were only fifty-eight deaths (41 males and 17 females) reported in relation to venomous snakebites between January 1979 and December 2000, according to the University of Melbourne who got their info from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. In fact you are much more likely to choke and die eating snake soup than you are from a snake bite.

The AVRU, who know their snakes, offer these mostly common sense tips to avoid becoming a very, very rare statistic:

• Leave snakes alone.
• Do not attempt to catch or handle snakes. 
• Wear stout shoes and adequate clothing, including long trousers, in 'snake country'. Do not wear sandals or thongs. 
• Never put hands in hollow logs or thick grass or under woodpiles, building material etc without prior inspection. 
• When stepping over logs, carefully inspect the ground on the other side. 
• Keep barns and sheds free of mice and rats as they may attract snakes. 
• Keep grass well cut - particularly in playgrounds, around houses etc. 
• Take care around houses, barns etc on warm nights, as snakes may be active at this time. Use a torch and wear adequate footwear. 
• Educate children in the above precautions. 
• Do not handle snakes whilst intoxicated. 
• Do not rely on visual identification of snakes as non-venomous, as appearances and colouration may vary considerably within species. 

Conversely the AFCD offers this list of dos and don'ts for reptile watching:

• When searching for hiding reptiles, turn over rocks or logs lightly. Replace them to their original positions 
• Use a torch to look inside holes and crevices carefully
• Do not attempt to handle any snakes and lizards as they may bite and some snakes are venomous. Always keep a distance from any snake 
• Do not destroy vegetation, wildlife and their living environment 
• Do not pollute water 
• Do not litter 

"Herpers" on forums like Asia Expat and Geo Expat are more than willing to give advice on snakes and regularly go out looking for them.

The times of the year when snakes are most active does vary but according to a local snake enthusiast May is the best time, but you will see them up till October/November depending on the weather.

More information on snakes of Hong Kong is available on AFCD’s website and their publication “A Field Guide to the Venomous Land Snakes of Hong Kong”.

This is a great article about snakes, and this is good too. For help identifying snakes there is a great Flickr page here

Going Green in Lantau Part Two

Accor’s PLANET 21 initiative was launched last year and promised to reinvent the hotels of the future as “a hotel industry that is sustainable, responsible, innovative and open to the world.” In the last issue of Life On Lantau we looked at the initiative's lofty goals. In a follow-up to that article I talked to Chris Messer, Accor’s Asia Pacific sustainable development and public relations manager, and Nicholas Cullum, the general manager of the Novotel Citygate Hong Kong.

Life on Lantau (LOL): Overall how do you think PLANET 21 has gone?
Chris Messer (CM): A year into the program, we have seen a positive impact of PLANET 21 on our sustainable development performance and growing involvement by our hoteliers. One way of measuring progress is to look at the number of actions our hotels are implementing. To be considered a PLANET 21 compliant hotel, a property must qualify for PLANET 21 Bronze by completing 10 basic actions, such as installing low-flow water regulators and energy efficient lighting, offering healthy meal options, implementing recycling programs and using eco-labeled cleaning products. These actions tend to have the biggest immediate impact in terms of reducing consumption, or are the ones our guests have indicated they care about the most. (Hotels can progress to Silver, Gold and Platinum status as they complete additional actions). Before the program’s launch in early 2012, 24 per cent of hotels worldwide performed at PLANET 21 Bronze, which has increased to over 60 per cent today.


LOL: Can you give us an overview of the 21 goals you set for yourself for 2015 and how you are doing in terms of reaching those goals?
Nicholas Cullum (NC): The 21 commitments are centered around seven pillars, each pillar features three commitments. The seven pillars are: health, nature, carbon, innovation, local, employment and dialogue.
Examples of the implementation of some of these policies locally are:

• Novotel Citygate offers Planet 21 meals on our menu’s that offer guests a healthy choice.
• Use of motion sensors in public bathrooms, reduces water waste and reduces risk of spreading some diseases.
• Recyclable bins in guest rooms; 2 bins in each guest room asking guests to separate recyclable and non recyclable items.
• Use of eco-friendly cleaning products.
• Water flow regulators are installed on all taps in front and back of house and all guest rooms.
• Waste food is collected every day and recycled into animal food by external company.
• Guest discarded soaps are collected for recycling.
• Glass, paper and plastics sorted and collected for recycling.
• Timers for reducing electricity use, wide use of LED lighting throughout.
• Preventative maintenance of equipment ensuring optimum settings and productivity of air conditioning systems, pumps, water systems, air handling units etc.
• Monitoring of energy usage.
• No use of CFC in refrigerators or technical installations. 
• Source and use of eco-friendly packaging throughout the hotel, containers and amenities.
• Use of heat pump for water heating and use.
• Promote local food products, purchasing milk from Trappist Monastery in Lantau.
• Ban endangered seafood species from our restaurants.
• Work together with local welfare agencies in supporting the local community.
• Internal promotion and participation in Accor development, retaining and development programs.
• Work with local community in Job Fairs and support of local talent.
• Provide an equal opportunity workplace, encouraging diversity and empowerment among employees.
• Encourage healthy work – life balance; offer activities outside of work such as team sports, tree planting, and beach cleaning activities.
• Follow strict procedures for internal and external processors; external and internal audits from finance, hygiene to meeting Novotel brand standards.

From a hotel's’ individual perspective, 65 measurable and specific objectives have been identified within these 21 commitments to achieve by 2015. As an indication of meeting these objectives, Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum certification of Planet 21 is awarded to the individual hotel as they progressively achieve the objectives. Novotel Citygate is on track to achieve Platinum status by 2015.


LOL: How has Hong Kong performed in terms of meeting targets compared to other locations?
CM: Our five properties in Hong Kong are leaders in sustainability within Accor. Today, all five properties perform at PLANET 21 Bronze or higher, compared to a global average of 60 per cent. The Novotel properties have all achieved an environmental management certification and will be ISO 14001 certified by the end of this year. [The ISO (International Organization for Standardization) 14000 is a family of certifications that address various aspects of environmental management. ISO 14001:2004 focuses on environmental management systems].

NC: [While] all the hotels in Hong Kong are on track to have met all the Planet 21 objectives by 2015, different regions face different challenges. We are lucky in Hong Kong to have a good sense and understanding of environmental concerns and being the international city we are have an expectation from our international clientele to by committed and offer to such programs.


LOL: Can you tell us some of the major difficulties you have faced since implementing PLANET 21?
NC: Obviously depending on what is required to be changed can influence the level of challenge it may bring; but generally the challenge involves changing behaviour, which to me is all about communication and training; whether that is for our staff or guests or both. Changing equipment is generally easy, [it’s] mostly about ensuring the change in equipment or technology does not impact in a negative way on the guest’s experience or stay. From an owner's point of view, new technologies may involve capital costs but prove to be cost effective and offer savings in the long term.


LOL: How are you doing with actively engaging hotel owners to bring more franchised and managed hotels into the PLANET 21 program?
CM: Our hotel owners are increasingly seeing the benefits of operating more sustainably, both in terms of cost savings (e.g. reduced water, energy use) and as a driver of business. (Over two thirds of our corporate and leisure guests have indicated they consider a hotel’s sustainability as a factor in making hotel bookings or choosing a venue.


LOL: Do you hope that PLANET 21 will help Accor break into lists like Newsweek's environmental ranking of the biggest companies in developed and emerging world markets? Marriott International came third in the hotels and restaurants category in 2012, but with Accor being the world’s leading hotel operator and market leader in Europe, there is some catching up to do. How far away from companies like Marriott do you think you are?

CM: I can’t make a comparison with our competitors, but Accor is a leader in this area, with over two decades of commitments to operating more environmentally and socially responsibly. We were the first hotel company to set up a department charged with mitigating our hotels’ impact on the environment back in 1994. In 2001, we became the first hotel operator to sign the ECPAT Code of Conduct to take a stand against child prostitution and sex tourism. In 2006, we launched Earth Guest, our first comprehensive sustainability strategy, combining both environmental and social commitments. And we have been recognized for these efforts. We are the only international hotel company to be represented on four sustainable investment indices (FTSE4Good, Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes, Ethibel Sustainability Index and Vigeo’s ASPI Eurozone). While we have been recognized with awards such as the Conde Nast Traveler's World Savers Awards, our sustainable development programs in the past have been largely internally focused.

One of the key differences between our previous initiatives and PLANET 21 is just this: increased engagement with guests, business partners, communities, media, etc. We believe that we need to share what we’re doing, not just to gain recognition, but also because we believe that sharing our best practices will inspire others.

Comments are more than welcome below.

Going Green in Lantau

This article first appeared in the June / July 2013 issue of Life On Lantau magazine.

As perhaps the world’s biggest cynic, I am the last person to give undeserved credit to a corporate giant. But it is these giants that will probably make the biggest impact when it comes to being green, even if it is solely because their operations are so huge. As much as we hope that not using the complimentary toothbrush or toiletries in a hotel or having a coffee from Starbucks in a mug instead of a paper or plastic cup will have a positive effect on the environment, it will be policy changes from these business behemoths that will effect significant changes. 

Accor are the world's leading hotel operator and market leader in Europe. They are present in 92 countries with more than 3,500 hotels and 450,000 rooms. They also have more than 160,000 employees. Some very simple number crunching tells you straight away just how much of an impact a tiny policy change from such a ubiquitous brand could make. So perhaps it is here the battle for a greener, cleaner planet should be fought. Imagine a policy that would affect nearly half a million rooms around the world?

Accor have been making changes. Are they making these changes solely to make the world a better place? Of course not. But that’s OK. They are after all a business and only fantasists think they should do things without considering the bottom line. But, they can make changes and keep the bottom line intact, and that is what many companies are doing. And the good news is that when companies like Accor do it others will follow.

The deal is that they do something good for the environment and we tell them they are doing a good job. The environment gets a boost and tree huggers everywhere breathe a slightly fresher sigh of relief and are given the succor to fight another day.

PLANET 21 is Accor's plan to reinvent sustainability in the hotel trade. According to a press release: “PLANET 21 is a comprehensive sustainable development program that forms a core part of our business strategy and further involves all hotels, employees and guests.”

So far so good

Enacted last year, the scheme covers all of the group’s environmental, social and community investment actions by placing sustainability at the core of its business strategy worldwide. The company has made 21 commitments and the same number of goals to be attained by 2015 including: 85 per cent of hotels using eco-labelled products, a 15 per cent reduction in water consumption and a 10 per cent decrease in energy use. Now a 10 per cent decrease may not seem like a lot, and indeed there is surely room for improvement, but consider the power usage of such a global chain.

“The name PLANET 21 is a direct reference to Agenda 21, the environmental action plan signed by 173 heads of state at the 1992 Rio Earth Summit,” the report goes on to say. “And reminds us of the urgent concerns that face our planet in the 21st century and the need to change our methods of production and consumption patterns to ensure the sustainability of the planet.”

Denis Hennequin, then-chairman of Accor, outlined at the time the programme was rolled out a fairly honest vision when he said “I am convinced that sustainable development will lead us towards a new business model. PLANET 21 will provide a fantastic driver of competitiveness for our brands, attractiveness for our customers and partners and loyalty for our employees."

Lofty goals

Accor will actively engage its hotel owners to bring more franchised and managed hotels into the PLANET 21 program, improving their sustainability performance and developing buildings that are constructed and operated in accordance with internationally recognised sustainability best practice. Accor will also share its commitments with suppliers, working with them to develop more sustainable products and services.

Again, credit where it is due. For a company this size to undertake an initiative this size takes time and money. And big companies do not like to waste money. According to the press release Accor commissioned two international surveys to obtain objective information about its footprint and guest expectations. In 2011 they carried out a study of its environmental footprint that enabled it to measure accurately its main impacts, define priorities for action and identify new challenges. This work was preceded by a survey measuring the expectations of international hotel customers, which showed that sustainable development is a growing selection criterion for both leisure and business customers. According to this survey, for example, 67 per cent of leisure guests take sustainable development actions into account when choosing a hotel.

Other hotel chains that have made commitments include the Marriott group who aim to further reduce energy and water consumption by 25 percent per available room by 2017. They claim to be on target to reach that goal.

In fact pretty much every international chain has made some kind of commitment to environmental change.

Newsweek’s fourth annual environmental ranking of the 500 largest publicly traded companies in the world claims to cut through the green chatter and compare the actual environmental footprints, management (policies, programs, initiatives, controversies), and reporting practices of big companies. Accor, who have five hotels in Hong Kong including Novotel Citygate in Tung Chung, didn’t appear on the 2012 list.

Starbucks came in first in the hotels and restaurants category (169 overall), followed by Las Vegas Sands (239 overall) and Marriott international (273 overall).

In the next issue Life on Lantau will speak to Accor and see how they have fared against since the inception of PLANET 21, which can be found here from July 31.