SECTION
4 ECOLOGICAL RESOURCES CAPITAL STOCK
4.1 |
Introduction
and Definition |
|
|
|
|
4.1.1.1 |
Ecological
resources are defined as species, communities
or habitats which act, or are likely to
act, as key structuring components of the
ecosystem. Ecological resources form a critical
component of the natural capital stock by
providing, or potentially providing, food
and fibre (eg silk fibres, coatings and
adhesives), genetic resources (eg natural
products with medicinal or chemical properties
whose genetic structure can be used as the
basis for valuable medicines), biological
assimilative capacity (eg natural filtration,
bioremediation and sequestration), and ecological
insurance against catastrophic change. Ecological
resources also have a major role in supporting
the scientific, existence, landscape and
recreational values of Hong Kong's natural
capital stock (see Section
7 - Other Natural Capital Stock Functions).
|
|
|
4.1.1.2 |
Maintaining
these important functions of ecological
resources is strongly dependent on maintaining
biodiversity, ie the diversity of living
creatures and their habitats. Hong Kong
has a surprisingly high level of biodiversity,
particularly when this is considered in
the context of the long history of human
impact on the natural environment in this
area which includes deforestation, erosion,
fire, hunting/trapping, pollution and the
introduction of exotic species (Dudgeon
and Corlett 1994). Possible explanations
for this high degree of biodiversity could
include Hong Kong's position on the boundary
between tropical and temperate species distributions,
the wide range of physical landscapes, and/or
the fact that the wide variety of habitat
types are all still represented despite
significant loss in many cases.
|
|
|
4.1.1.3 |
Two
prime sources of information for a discussion
of Hong Kong's ecological resources natural
capital stock are the Hong Kong University's
Biodiversity Survey and the SUSDEV 21 Terrestrial
Habitat Mapping and Ranking Based on Conservation
Value Baseline Survey. The HKU study's focus
is on recording the presence of plants and
animals in specific non-marine (ie above
the high tide mark) locations across Hong
Kong and identifying "hotspots"
where high biodiversity is recorded. The
SUSDEV 21 study has adopted a complementary
approach involving delineating terrestrial
and coastal habitats on the basis of satellite
imagery and aerial photographs, and assigning
an ecological value to those habitats through
field surveys and use of existing scientific
information. To the extent that findings
are presently available from these studies
(the HKU study is still being prepared for
general use), they have been incorporated
into this natural capital stock discussion.
|
|
|
4.1.1.4 |
Ecological
resources natural capital stock is represented
in the SUSDEV 21 set of indicators by the
terrestrial area of Hong Kong of high ecological
value and the marine area of Hong Kong of
high ecological value. Other relevant indicators,
which are more closely related to land use
but may also reflect ecological value, consist
of the terrestrial area of Hong Kong managed
for conservation, the marine area of Hong
Kong managed for conservation, and the area
of countryside. Support for the latter group
of indicators is provided both by the following
discussion of ecological resources natural
capital stock and by Paragraphs 3.2.1.12 -
3.2.1.20 - Land Use and Land Supply Natural
Capital Stock. The following sections describe
terrestrial habitats and species, and marine
habitats and species, and then discuss the
forces acting on these resources and the outlook
for sustaining their natural capital stock
value. |
|
|
|