Macau needs more policy incentives to promote private urban greening, the operator of an urban farming firm said yesterday.

Guilherme Martins, founder of Mighty Greens, a firm that promotes and conducts urban farming, presented on the idea at a recent breakfast hosted by the British Chamber of Commerce in Macao (BritCham Macao).

Like Singapore, Macau has a small land area but a large population, making greening a prominent challenge in the city because land is primarily reserved for real estate. Parks, by contrast, have to be sacrificed.

The major difference, however, is that the Southeast Asian city-state began its urban greening projects much earlier and consequently has achieved far better results than Macau. Singapore makes use of building façades to foster “vertical greening.” Podium and rooftop spaces are also used for the same purpose.

“Some things had to suffer [in the past] in order to bring sufficient accommodation to people,” Martins admitted. “As we move forward, and as we have new territories in Macau, we need to start thinking, for instance, about certifying buildings with neutralized carbon emissions or a circular economy.”

Circular economy is another term for the now-popular strategy of “Dual Circulation”, as it is termed by the Chinese government.

“[The government] should develop regulations and licenses as incentives to bring this forward, because if this is part of the rules, everybody has to do the same,” Martins added.

In addition to that, “[the government also] can offer tax and fee incentives for companies willing to move forward with sustainability projects like this,” Martins proposed. “It can also offer ecological compensation, because [by picking up the project] they’re actually helping reduce carbon emission and the city become greener.”

Investing in urban planning, Martins admitted, may be costly, but he suggests that investors consider the long-term returns.

“It can be more costly to build, but in the long-term, the effect will pay dividends,” he explained. Using real estate investment as an example, he said, “These buildings will also help reduce energy consumption because [rooftop greening] creates thermal insulation.”

Moreover, by introducing urban farming, investors are fulfilling corporate social responsibilities as well.

Having worked in construction, Martins added that challenges and barriers do exist in building premises that can support rooftop farming. For instance, he said, extensive assessments of the load capacity of the building have to be made. However, once this hurdle is crossed, “the design and construction are more possible and likely less difficult,” he remarked.

The absence of balconies in many new residential properties rules out the possibility of greening within apartments. On this, Martins reiterated that the government can offer greater policy incentives.

On the sidelines of the event, Martins spoke highly about collaborations with other organizations. The Macao Institute for Tourism Studies (IFTM), for example, has conducted rooftop farming for many years, the produce of which is used in their Educational Restaurant.

The move has earned Macau’s first Michelin Green Star for the restaurant, highlighting their efforts in sustainability.

“There’s always an opportunity [to collaborate with the IFTM,” he said. “We need to keep our door open, because they’re already doing a great job.” 

He further introduced that there are other restaurants pursuing the same initiative, planting fresh produce on their rooftops or in their gardens.

Martins wants a more consolidated effort for urban farming. “We want to connect all of them and try to collaborate, instead of competing with each other,” he said. “Together we can have greater force.”

“We can work together as the knowledge is already here in Macau,” Martins added. “There are people and companies in Macau that are able to bring this forward. It’s only the question of having a strategy.”