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CHAPTER
1 INTRODUCTION
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The
Hong Kong Planning Department (PlanD) commissioned ERM-Hong
Kong, Ltd (ERM), to undertake Environmental Baseline Surveys
under a Supplementary Agreement to the Study on Sustainable
Development for the 21st Century (SUSDEV21). This Final
Report defines the overall scope, methodology, programme
of work deployed and results for the Baseline Survey on
Toxics in Marine Sediments and Biota. The Study comprised
four baseline surveys to determine toxic organic concentrations
in both biota and sediments in Hong Kong's coastal waters,
as outlined in the Final Inception Paper which was submitted
in August 1998(1)). The four organic compounds measured
comprised Total Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCB), Total
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH), the organochlorine
pesticide, Total Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT)
and the organotin antifoulant, Tributyltin (TBT). Unlike
metals, these organic contaminants have been only rarely
measured in the local marine environment and this Study
provides data that will be used to fill gaps identified
in the environmental baseline.
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| 1.1 |
Background
to the SUSDEV 21 Study |
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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. 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:
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Habitat
Mapping and Ranking Based on Conservation Value;
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Toxics
in Air;
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Toxics
in Marine Sediment and Biota; and
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Non-transport
Related Noise.
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