[Photo of Ms Anissa Wong Sean-yee, JP Permanent
Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works (Environment)
/
Director of Environmental Protection]
Hong Kong has a responsibility
to protect its unique and precious marine environment. The Government
aims to ensure that our marine waters are used in the best and most
responsible ways, and to promote their conservation so that our
marine heritage is safeguarded for future generations.
Our Mission |
to conduct a comprehensive
and scientific monitoring programme that will help safeguard
the health of Hong Kong's marine environment and achieve
the Water Quality Objectives. |
Effective action must be based on understanding,
however. That principle underlies the marine water monitoring programme
carried out by the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) for
the past 20 years. Since its introduction in 1986, this comprehensive
and rigorously scientific programme has built up a huge database
on the quality of Hong Kong's marine water and sediments. The EPD
has used this information to plan water pollution controls, assess
the effectiveness of measures it has adopted, and anticipate future
changes and challenges to Hong Kong's waters. The programme has
proved to be a crucial resource in managing our sensitive marine
environment.
The 20th anniversary of the programme seemed
a good time to produce an overview of the programme that would be
easily accessible to the general public. This anniversary report
is designed to give non-experts a clear picture of how the marine
water monitoring programme works, how it has evolved over the past
20 years, and what it has achieved in that time. At the same time,
this report provides a comprehensive vista of significant long-term
changes in Hong Kong's marine waters.
The EPD's marine monitoring programme is an
important Government initiative designed to control water pollution
in the territory and protect the marine environment. To complement
this initiative, the commitment of ordinary citizens is essential.
Every time a person takes personal steps to reduce pollution or
supports the Government's initiatives for controlling water pollution,
they are ensuring that the drive to protect Hong Kong's marine waters
will continue to gain momentum.
The EPD will continue to run its
marine monitoring programme, collecting and analysing the data that
is essential for so many in the community. Widely used by Government
policy makers, planners, academic researchers and members of the
public, this information is helping ensure that new developments
and initiatives respect the sensitivity of our marine ecosystems,
so that we can pass our marine heritage on to future generations
in the best possible condition.
Ms Anissa Wong Sean-yee, JP
Permanent Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works (Environment)
/
Director of Environmental Protection