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Our marine waters - one
of Hong Kong's most precious natural assets
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This report has described the unique characteristics
of Hong Kong's extensive marine waters, ranging from the shallow
river-dominated waters of the west through to the deep oceanic waters
of the east, including a number of harbours and sheltered areas
each of which have their own special features and histories. The
marine waters of Hong Kong are one of the territory's most precious
natural assets. Economically, they support a huge amount of shipping
that has made Hong Kong one of the most important container ports
in the world. From the perspective of recreation, they are widely
used for swimming, sailing and boating, wind-surfing, water-skiing
and diving. They also support a rich range of sea life, some of
it harvested for food but much that is important simply because
of its beauty and diversity.
Without knowing about the condition of our
marine waters and, specifically, how they are affected by human
activities, we lack the power to protect them. As has been seen,
our marine water quality monitoring programme is one of the most
important initiatives undertaken to make sure Hong Kong stays aware
of the state of its marine environment and is in the best possible
position to take practical, effective steps to keep it healthy.
The past two decades have seen significant
improvements in some-but not all-of our marine waters. Some clear
positive results of the Government's efforts to protect Hong Kong's
marine environment include some major improvements in the water
quality of Tolo Harbour and many parts of Victoria Harbour. Despite
population growth, excellent water quality has been maintained in
Port Shelter and Mirs Bay, as well as at most of the bathing beaches.
There are still problems to be faced and solutions to be found in
some areas, however, and we must work together to address issues
such as the deteriorating water quality in Deep Bay and elevated
E. coli levels in western Victoria Harbour.
Problems will continue to exist unless we face
them squarely and take positive steps to tackle them. Many of these
steps have been described in this report. These include legislative
enforcement, backed by initiatives such as the construction of new
and better sewage treatment works, the extension of the public sewer
network around Hong Kong, and the implementation of the Harbour
Area Treatment Scheme (HATS) Stage 1 for improving the world-famous
Victoria Harbour.
Members of the general public have had an important
part to play too, and will continue to do so. Over time, they have
come to see Hong Kong's water as the precious asset that it is,
and many individuals have contributed to the territory's commitment
to conserving water, connecting houses to the public sewer network,
reducing pollution, and supporting related environmental initiatives.
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A bird's-eye view of the
Stonecutters Island Sewage Treatment Works
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For the future, a number of major sewage projects
are already underway that should have a significant effect on reducing
pollution, including HATS Stage 2, the Sewerage Master Plans, and
the comprehensive village sewerage connection programme. Pollution
associated with livestock waste would be further controlled as a
result of the Voluntary Surrender of Poultry and Pig Farm Licence
Schemes. Meanwhile, we will continue our longstanding programmes
of controlling sewage-related pollution. The challenges lying ahead
include dealing with the ongoing problems of stormwater pollution,
sediment contamination, and the odour associated with sediment that
is rich in organic pollutants, particularly near urban areas.
The marine monitoring programme will remain
at the centre of the EPD's future efforts to safeguard Hong Kong's
marine waters. Providing the raw information about the waters under
our care, the programme will remain a catalyst for measures that
will ensure we can hand on our marine heritage to future generations
in the best possible condition.
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