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THE ENVIRONMENT
Under the overall guidance of a marine officer, the unit maintains surveillance on all aspects of oil transfer to and from ships. A patrol launch is used and regular and frequent checks are made on ships and oil installations throughout Hong Kong waters. Since the inception of the unit in 1971, many offenders have been successfully prosecuted. The maximum fine for polluting the harbour has recently been increased to $20,000 and six months imprisonment. An additional fine of $4,000 can be imposed for failure to report oil pollution.
The unit is equipped with stocks of emulsifiers, spray booms, sea-surface agitators and oil booms, and launches are always ready to deal with oil pollution. A purpose- built launch, equipped with modern pollution control facilities, is being constructed. VHF radio facilities enable the on-scene-commander to communicate and co- ordinate with the Port Communication Centre in event of oil spillages.
The pollution control unit also operates a scavenging service in the main harbour and typhoon shelters at Aberdeen, Causeway Bay and Yau Ma Tei. To cover these operations, 31 craft are under contract to the Marine Department, and during the year an average of 20 tons of refuse was removed daily. Of this, 55 per cent was fragmented timber, the remaining 45 per cent comprised domestic and sundry refuse.
The refuse collection service for ocean-going vessels has proved popular and is being well utilised. Each morning ships which have been in port 48 hours or longer are visited by the pollution control unit and accumulated domestic refuse is removed, effectively discouraging clandestine dumping at night.
Conservation
The dense natural forest which once covered Hong Kong disappeared long ago, and today woodland is found only in certain localities. Some of it is natural, the remainder created, or assisted, by planting undertaken in the fifties to repair the ravages of war. Today work continues chiefly to stabilise soils, cover scars made by engineering works, and improve scenic and recreational amenities.
Conservation of the countryside is made difficult by the age-old problem of fire and by modern needs of the public for open-air recreation. Following the wettest summer in Hong Kong's recorded history, the weather changed dramatically result- ing in the sunniest and driest December on record. Vegetation on the hillsides became tinder dry leading to the worst fire season for many years. By December 21 more than 950 fires had been recorded and nearly 500 extinguished by forestry staff of the Agriculture and Fisheries Department, more than twice the 10-year average. Damage included 3,000 acres of plantations, 2,600 of which were burned over the Christmas holiday, together with an unknown acreage of scrub and grassland. Fire protection measures include propaganda, cleaning fire-breaks at the end of summer, and pro- vision of fire lookouts and teams of fire-fighters on a 24-hour standby system during dry winter weather.
Most weekends and public holidays roads are congested with private cars, mini-buses and coaches taking people into the countryside. Trains and ferries are