THE ENVIRONMENT
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humpback dolphin prefers the estuarine environment and inhabits the western waters of Hong Kong while the finless porpoise lives in the eastern and southern areas with predominantly oceanic waters.
There has been concern over the degradation of the marine environment by pollution, coastal development works, over-fishing and destructive fishing practices. To counteract the disturbance to inshore marine resources, artificial reefs are being deployed to enhance fisheries resources and the biodiversity of the marine environment. The Marine Parks Programme continues to serve as an important tool to protect and conserve sites of special ecological and conservation values.
Legislation and Nature Conservation
The Director of Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation, who is also the Country and Marine Parks Authority, is 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 rare 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 taken in Hong Kong. It also restricts unauthorised entry to three important wildlife habitats: the Mai Po Marshes, the Yim Tso Ha Egretry and the green turtle nesting beach at Sham Wan on Lamma Island.
The Country Parks Ordinance provides for the designation, control and management of the countryside as country parks and special areas for nature conservation, education, scientific research purposes while country parks can also be designated for recreation and tourism uses.
The Marine Parks Ordinance provides for the designation, protection and management of ecologically important marine environments as marine parks and marine reserves for nature conservation, educational and scientific research purposes. Compatible recreational activities such as swimming and diving are allowed in marine parks but are prohibited in marine reserves.
Besides general conservation of the countryside, the Government has been identifying and conserving sites of special scientific interest, such as those that are natural habitats of rare plant or animal species through exercising strict development controls. In all, 64 sites have been listed.
The Fisheries Protection Ordinance provides for the regulation of fishing practices and the prevention of destructive fishing activities such as using explosive or toxic substances for the purpose of fishing.
Protected Areas
There are 23 country parks and 15 special areas (four of which are located outside country parks). Covering a total area of 41 582 hectares (38 per cent of the total land area of Hong Kong), they cover scenic hills, woodlands, reservoirs, islands, indented coastlines, marshes and uplands. They are carefully protected for the purposes of nature conservation, outdoor recreation, countryside education, tourism and