ENG-1986 — Page 336

THE ENVIRONMENT

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them to be developed for recreational purposes. It gives particular protection to vegetation and wildlife.

The Agriculture and Fisheries Department has overall responsibility for protecting wildlife and vegetation throughout Hong Kong. The Forests and Countryside Ordinance provides for the general protection and management of vegetation, and special protection is given to certain plants, including native camellias, magnolias, orchids, azaleas and the Chinese New Year Flower.

The Wild Animals Protection Ordinance prohibits hunting wild animals and restricts the entry of unauthorised members of the public into two important wildlife habitats, the Mai Po Marshes and the Yim Tso Ha Egretry.

Overall enforcement of the ordinances is carried out by nature wardens and park wardens. These officers also provide information at visitor centres and escort groups on guided visits. In addition to general conservation of the countryside, Hong Kong has adopted the concept of identifying and conserving sites of special scientific interest to ecologists, such as a site where a rare tree or a rare species of butterfly can be found. More than 46 sites have been identified for future conservation action.

Wastes: Provision of Facilities and Services

The Environmental Protection Department is responsible for the development of cost- effective and environmentally acceptable programmes for the management of liquid and solid wastes, including animal waste and sludges. The Urban Services and Regional Services departments are responsible for the collection of household wastes in their respective areas.

Over the years, the government has made a major investment in facilities for the collection, treatment and disposal of wastes, and this programme continued in 1986. A major feature is the provision and operation of sewage treatment works throughout the territory by the Civil Engineering Services Department and the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department. The overall intention in the planning and design of these sewage treatment works is to match discharges to the assimilative capacity of receiving waters.

The principal sewage treatment works providing biological treatment are in Sha Tin, Tai Po, Shek Wu Hui, Sai Kung and Yuen Long, with six smaller plants at Hei Ling Chau, Shek Pik, Tung Tau, Stanley Fort, Ah Kung Kok and Mui Wo. Primary treatment to remove solid material is employed at Cheung Chau, and screening plants are provided at other locations. In the current 10-year sewage treatment and disposal programme, priority is given to extensions of the existing works in Sha Tin, Tai Po, Shek Wu Hui and Yuen Long, to cope with increases in population.

Principal achievements in the provision of municipal sewage treatment and disposal facilities during the year have been the completion in Victoria Harbour area of the screening plants at Wan Chai (west) and Kwun Tong and in Tolo Harbour, the completion of Sha Tin Sewage Treatment Works Stage II, the Ma On Shan sewage pumping station stage I phase I and the Tai Po Sewage Treatment Works stage IVa. Other major developments have been the completion of Junk Bay trunk sewer and submarine outfall, the Sai Kung sewerage development and submarine outfall and several small schemes for sewage treatment on Cheung Chau and Lantau.

Several other screening plants are under construction in different areas of the territory. Investigations into the pollution problems of East Kowloon (Kwun Tong and Wong Tai Sin), have been initiated and the sewage disposal problems of Victoria Harbour will be assessed using the Water Quality Model currently under development. Work continued