THE ENVIRONMENT
Legislation and Nature Conservation
The Director of Agriculture and Fisheries is the Country and Marine Parks Authority responsible for the conservation of the terrestrial and marine ecological resources, as well as for the enforcement of legislation on conservation issues.
The Forests and Countryside Ordinance provides for the general protection of vegetation, and gives special protection to certain plants, including native camellias, magnolias, orchids, azaleas and the Chinese New Year Flower.
The Wild Animals Protection Ordinance prohibits the hunting of wild animals or the possession, sale or export of protected wild animals from Hong Kong. It also restricts unauthorised entry to two important wildlife habitats, the Mai Po Marshes and the Yim Tso Ha Egretry.
The Country Parks Ordinance provides for the designation, control and management of the countryside as country parks and special areas, and enables them to be developed for outdoor recreational, education and nature conservation purposes.
The Marine Parks Ordinance provides for the designation, protection and management of ecologically important marine environment as marine parks and marine reserves.
Besides general conservation of the countryside, Hong Kong has been identifying and conserving sites of special scientific interest, such as those which are natural habitats of rare vegetation or insect species. In all, 60 sites have been listed.
The Fisheries Protection Ordinance provides for the conservation of fish and other aquatic life within the waters of Hong Kong. It also provides for the regulation of fishing practices and the prevention of detrimental activities such as using or possessing explosive or toxic substances for the purpose of fishing. The Fisheries Protection Ordinance has been amended to increase substantially the maximum fine for destructive fishing practices from $10,000 to $200,000 and to provide for the prohibition or restriction of the use of any kind of apparatus for fishing which is detrimental to fisheries and the marine ecosystem.
Topography and Geology
Hong Kong's natural terrain is dominated by mountains and hills with steep slopes, many of which descend directly into the sea. The seabed is relatively flat. The highest point in Hong Kong is Tai Mo Shan in the New Territories at 957 metres above Principal Datum. The deepest point is 66 metres below Principal Datum in Lo Chau Mun (Beaufort Channel) north of Po Toi Island.
The mountains consist primarily of volcanic rocks, with some of the lower hills formed of granite. Low-lying areas tend to be formed of granite or sedimentary rocks. In places, hill-slope debris forms a mantle over the bedrock and alluvium fills some of the valleys. Much of the seabed is covered by marine mud with some scattered sand banks.
The territory lies on the southern edge of an ancient land mass. The oldest exposed rocks are Devonian fluvial sediments that were deposited 400 million years ago. The region was subsequently inundated by a shallow sea. Sediments from this period are represented by the Carboniferous marble of Yuen Long and Ma On Shan. The sandy
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