ENG-1989 — Page 383

THE ENVIRONMENT

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being developed. In addition to making the countryside more beautiful, woodlands are important in the management of water catchments.

Remnants of the original forest cover, either scrub forest or well developed woodlands, are still found in steep ravines. They have survived the destructive influences of man through their location in precipitous topography and the moist winter micro-climate.

Countryside Conservation and Management

The Agriculture and Fisheries Department is the principal government agency responsible for the conservation and management of Hong Kong's countryside. 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 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 most important areas of countryside as country parks, and enables them to be developed for recreational purposes. It gives particular protection to vegetation and wildlife. There are now 21 country parks, covering over 40 per cent of the land area in the territory.

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, such as a site where a rare tree or a rare species of butterfly can be found. Forty-nine sites have so far been identified.

Royal Observatory

The Royal Observatory was established in 1883, mainly to provide scientific information for the safe navigation of ships. In the ensuing century, the observatory has evolved in line with the changing needs of the community. It now provides meteorological and other geophysical information, issues forecasts, warnings and weather advice to meet the diverse requirements of the public, shipping, aviation, industry, fishing, recreation, offshore oil prospecting and other special users.

The observatory operates the official time service for Hong Kong. It also maintains a comprehensive seismological monitoring network, monitors the level of radioactivity and provides services in the fields of hydrometeorology, climatology, astronomy, physical oceanography and applied meteorology.

The most important function is the provision of weather forecasting services and issuing tropical cyclone, flood and landslip warnings. The Central Forecasting Office issues weather forecasts and warnings to the mass media, ships at sea and fishermen and yachtsmen in coastal waters. Whenever Hong Kong is threatened by tropical cyclones, frequent warnings with advice on necessary precautions are issued and widely dissem- inated. Other warnings include thunderstorms, flooding, landslip, storm surge, fire danger, strong monsoons and frost. Specialised weather services are provided to engineering contractors, public utility companies, public transport operators and other commercial enterprises. The scope of these services covers requirements for the operations within and around the Hong Kong territory and offshore operations in the South China Sea.