The Conservationist’s Viewfinder

Covering the relationships between people, nature and society and how these are affected by transnational forces such as conflict and climate change, Hong Kong native Laurel Chor has reported from more than 30 countries across all continents, with her work spanning a variety of mediums including writing, photography, on-camera reporting, TV, documentary, and podcasts.

From the frontline in Ukraine to the Hong Kong protests, her imagery captures the emotional heart of conflict. With a strong interest in environmentalism, she’s also highlighted the plight of the manta ray and shared stories of unexpected resilience—like how the cockatoo, native to Indonesia, is thriving in Hong Kong’s urban jungle.

Credit: Laurel Chor

What first sparked your interest in exploration, and can you share a moment from one of your expeditions that changed how you see the world?

When I was straight out of university, I spent some time volunteering in the Central African Republic with WWF, doing work with gorillas; this was almost 15 years ago. It was remote and untouched, and such a privilege to spend time there and get to know the area, which was such a different world for me, being from Hong Kong.

Then civil war broke out around six weeks after we left; I found out that poachers went to a clearing where I worked and gunned down 26 elephants for their tusks—for ivory that probably funded the conflict. I was in Hong Kong when I heard this news, and that’s when I learned that the city used to have the largest ivory market in the world (the trade was banned in 2018). It made me realise just how interconnected we really are.

Much of your work centres around nature and identity. How do you see conservation and culture intersecting in Asia?

A lot of environmental exploitation is rooted in cultural practices. In Hong Kong’s seafood street, for example, you’ll see dried shark’s fin, dried sea cucumber, ingredients linked to tradition and status. Culture is everything, and not just in Hong Kong; it’s the basis for any environmental or conservation movement. Eating shark’s fin is demonised and seen as wrong, which is absolutely justified, but on the other hand, you can be in New York or Los Angeles, and they’ll be serving bluefin tuna, an endangered species, and no one is blinking an eye. Beef is widely eaten around the world, but eating beef has a huge environmental impact, too.

What environmental or social issues in Hong Kong do you think are underreported globally?

I think there’s a lot of interesting wildlife in Hong Kong; it’s 40 per cent protected, and there’s incredible biodiversity, with birdwatching, marine parks and so on. There’s a lot to learn, not only on how we can co-exist with nature, but also how it can still be resilient and survive here. There’s been some interesting work done here with coral—the coral that can survive here—and whether it’s more resistant to warmer waters and climate change. The story I’m working on is about cockatoos; they’re endemic to Indonesia, just like the Komodo dragon, yet they’re thriving in the heart of the city, among high-rise buildings.

You recently completed a Master’s in Biodiversity, Conservation & Management at Oxford University, looking at the trade in manta rays for traditional Chinese medicine and the Western media’s portrayal of the conservation threats. What were the key takeaways?

I learned that it’s easy for the media to latch onto a narrative about a problem, specifically conservation, where there are very clear villains and victims, but the picture is much more complicated than that. With manta ray gills, many think that if we stopped the trade, the manta ray would be saved, but in my conversations with conservationists and scientists, they all admitted that this wasn’t the biggest problem.

Overfishing in general is really the problem as mantas get caught in nets from fisheries fishing for other species and end up dying, too. We put certain people in a certain box—in this case, Asian consumers—and this allows people to deflect responsibility. It taught me to be wary of any narrative and made me think that a lot of these narratives are racist. The trade absolutely needs to be stopped, but I think it’s easy to ‘other’ or demonise certain people.

In an era of disinformation, what do you see as the journalist’s role in society today?

The Hong Kong protests Credit: Laurel Chor

I think journalists just have to keep doing our job. There is no free democratic society without a strong journalism profession, and that should never change. I think journalists also need to innovate and think about how young people consume media and how to reach people. We need to adapt to survive, as we need journalists now more than ever.

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