The Planning Department (PlanD) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government commissioned ERM-Hong Kong, Ltd (ERM) in June 1998, to undertake Environmental Baseline Surveys under a Supplementary Agreement to the Study on Sustainable Development for the 21st Century (SUSDEV 21). This Final Report represents one of the output products of Task 7 "Reporting" (Figure 1.1a) for the Environmental Baseline Survey on Terrestrial Habitat Mapping and Ranking based on Conservation Value. The output also includes a 1:20,000 habitat map which can be made available in a Geographic Information System (GIS) format through the Sustainable Development System (SDS). According to the Final Inception Paper for this baseline survey which was submitted in September 1998 (ERM 1998), this report includes descriptions on the details of the methodology used and the results of the analysis, findings and conclusions of Tasks 1 through 6, including a discussion of the changes in total area of each habitat type from 1989 to 1998. This report also provides information on the background and results of the ranking conducted in Task 6. Data collected during the field surveys and locations of the survey sites are provided as annexes to the report.

One of the key tasks of the Study on Sustainable Development for the 21st Century (SUSDEV 21 Study) is to compile a database of environmental information relevant to sustainability. This information will be used to assess proposed projects or policies against sustainability guiding values and indicators which will be defined through consultation with the public and specific stakeholders. As it provides the backbone for the environmental sustainability assessment, the database must be comprehensive, representative of current conditions, and easy to use. For these reasons, the environmental baseline database is being compiled from a comprehensive review of existing information, supplemented where necessary by additional field studies, and developed as a Geographic Information System (GIS).

Following a series of meetings with the Environmental Study Management Group (ESMG) it was agreed that the supplementary baseline surveys would focus on four topics, as listed below:

• Habitat Mapping and Ranking based on Conservation Value;

• Toxics in Air;

• Toxics in Marine Sediment and Biota; and

• Non-transport Related Noise.