Princess Marie-Esmeralda of Belgium in Hong Kong for WWF and Green Conservation
發佈日期: 2025-06-05 21:48
TVB News
Princess Marie-Esmeralda of Belgium is in Hong Kong this week as an ambassador for the World Wide Fund for Nature.
Speaking to TVB News, the princess underscored the importance of cross-border collaboration on conservation.
Princess Marie-Esmeralda of Belgium, officiating the opening of "Guardians of the Green," a photo exhibition at the Hong Kong Central Library co-hosted by the Embassy of Honduras to China, the Consulate General of Belgium and the World Wide Fund for Nature (Hong Kong).
It showcases a selection of photographs of tropical forests across continents, documented by her father -- King Leopold III of Belgium throughout his life.
The curation aims to show the beauty -- but also vulnerability of the wildlife as well as the importance of cross-border environmental protection efforts.
PRINCESS MARIE-ESMERALDA OF BELGIUM: This week, we can see that there were horrendous floods in part of China, in Yunnan province. In Europe, there was an entire village in Switzerland which was devastated, so it's very, very urgent. Now, Europe and China and Hong Kong can play a real, important lead as we see that the U.S. is sort of going a bit away of all those issues. China is the main driving force and Europe as well so we need a very strong collaboration between those two important powers.
Like her father, the princess, as a former journalist and documentary filmmaker, has witnessed environmental degradation firsthand.
PRINCESS MARIE-ESMERALDA OF BELGIUM: "I could see how deforestation, loss of habitat for species are destroying one of the most important rainforests of the world and impacted their local communities who don't have any more fish. It's very acute and the problem is completely linked."
She says green finance plays a vital role in climate action and sees Hong Kong as a potential regional hub for sustainable investment where business and policy leaders can join hands to advance biodiversity protection.
