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Perspectives on Marine Environment Change in Hong Kong and Southern China, 1977-2001 (ed . B. Morton). Proceedings o f a n Internationa l Worksho p Reunio n Conference, Hon g Kong 21-26 October 2001. Hong Kong : Hong Kong University Press , 2003. MARINE PROTECTE D AREA S I N HON G KONG : PROGRES S TOWARDS COASTA L ZON E MANAGEMEN T (1977-2002 ) Brian Morto n The Swire Institute of Marine Science and Department of Ecology an d Biodiversity , The University o f Hong Kong, Hong Kong. ABSTRACT With an area of 1,09 8 km 2 , inhabited by 6.8 millio n people, the land of Hong Kong is highly manage d wit h building plots sol d to the nearest metre. Surprisingly, ove r 40% of Hong Kon g land is designated a s country parks. With a sea area of 1,65 6 km 2 (1.5 times that of the land), the territorial waters of Hong Kong have been less well-managed so that, for example , they have hitherto been of open-access to any and all fishermen . In recent years, however, the Planning Department of the Government of the Hong Kong Specia l Administrativ e Regio n o f China , ha s bee n mor e proactiv e i n se a an d coastline planning. Moreover, wit h enactment o f the Marine Parks Ordinance in 199 5 and recent amendment s to the Fisheries Ordinance, marine park area s are subject t o a trawling ban, fisheries protection areas are proposed for many fishing activities to cease in an d wit h plans fo r som e 'n o take ' areas , a picture i s slowl y emergin g o f a coasta l zone managemen t plan . Wit h ove r 26 0 islands , Hon g Kong' s territoria l se a are a i s encompassed by a long coastline of 1,174 km that is extraordinarily diverse both in terms of geomorpholog y and , hence , ecology . Hon g Kong' s locatio n i n th e subtropic s an d proximity to the Pearl River Estuary in the west increases this diversity. The most diverse habitats are beaches of sand and mud each of which, unlike other shore types (a t least in general terms), is unique. Greater effort i s needed to conserve representatives of such beaches and this paper reviews the present marine park system and identifies example s of sof t shore s whic h nee d protectio n t o provid e a broad an d lastin g pictur e o f thei r diversity, both physical and biological. It also attempts to do this within the framewor k of a coastal zone management plan that is slowly being developed a s official attitude s towards the present policy of an open-access fisheries change and as the deployment of artificial reef s o f various forms an d functions proceeds . 798 B. MORTO N INTRODUCTION The territorial water s o f Hon g Kon g compris e 165 6 km2 or, approximately , 1. 5 time s that o f th e lan d are a o f 1,09 8 km 2 . Western waters , unde r th e influenc e o f th e Pear l River, are estuarine and support a rich mangrove community alon g the shores of Deep Bay. Conversely , easter n shore s ar e washe d b y oceani c water s and , a s ye t largel y undeveloped, ar e considere d t o b e Hon g Kong' s cleanest . Som e 5 0 specie s o f reef building corals have been recorded from these waters (Scott 1984) . Between low-lying, estuarine west and precipitous, oceanic east is a central transition zone of intermediat e hydrography which accommodates the largest urban centres of Victoria on Hong Kong Island, and Kowloon on the mainland peninsula separated by polluted Victoria Harbour (Fig. 1). Also in this zone, in the New Territories, are the still growing cities of Shatin , Ma O n Sha n an d Ta i P o aroun d similarl y pollute d Tol o Harbou r (W u 1988 ; Morton 1989). For such a small area, the deeply-incised coastline of Hong Kong is long, amounting to approximatel y 1,17 4 km . Ther e i s grea t marin e habita t diversity . Sheltere d bay s accommodate beaches of mud and sand with...

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