Cleaning up Hong Kong's Harbour for a Sustainable Future

1. Cleaning up Hong Kong's Harbour T.W.G.Hs. Li Ka Shing College F.6A Lau Cheuk Ming

3. Introduction Cleaning up Hong Kong’s Harbour is important for the protection of public health, for the marine environment, and to help to realize the vision of sustaining Hong Kong as one of the world’s great cities. The harbour is at the heart of the city. Its health and attractiveness help to shape the health and attractiveness of the city around it.

4. From the view of pollution to see HK Hong Kong has 235 islands and an 800km long coastline. Hong Kong has valuable marine resource to cultivate the economic development, let Hong Kong be a well-known, international and momentous city. So far, the relationship between the ocean and the human being are closely. The humans centrally settled along the coast in earlier period. Nowadays, the population increase rapidly, many new infrastructure are developed and a great-size reclamation is processing, show that Hong Kong has developed rapidly.

5. It gives a great pressure on marine environment. A healthy marine environment not only be a habitat of marine organisms, but also be a human’s valuable resource. Hong Kong is famous in seafood. It attracts many foreign people to Hong Kong every year. The ocean provides us lots of benefits but how do we treat it?

6. Policy challenges A policy for controlling water pollution needs to specify the level of water quality desired and what measures should be adopted to achieve this goal. Various problems, including incomplete information about the costs and benefits of pollution abatement, make it difficult to determine the optimal level of water quality in terms of economic efficiency. Therefore, the choice is often made based on other criteria, such as human health concerns or the protection of current uses of the water.

7. The marine environment problem 1.The process of coastal reclamation in Hong Kong made the marine environment to face a great menace. As Hong Kong is shortage of land, the population increase rapidly, and the development of housing, infrastructure, and other facilities continue to give a great pressure on the supply of land. The Government plans to reclaim 1287 hectare along the coast. If the whole reclamation plans all carry out, the distance between the both sides of Victoria Harbour will shorten to 880m.

8. The process of reclamation needs to dig out the sand from the coast and make a new piece of land. The process of digging out the sand would turn out the deposit from the seabed. It makes the seawater to become muddy and turbid, fishes and other organism lived on the seabed may die by suffocation. Moreover, the process of reclamation changes the natural coastline; it affects the movement of seawater, and has a great possibility to let the quality of seawater become more badly.

9. In 20th centenary, Hong Kong needs to manage over 20 million cm3 toxic sand, it mainly comes from the process of reclamation. The Government decides to set up a zone of dumping sand at the boundary of habitat of Chinese-White-Dolphin. It would be a serious and toxic menace to the dolphin and other marine organisms. Furthermore, digging out a large hole on the ocean floor deposit the sewage sand, it damages the seabed environment. If people eat the contaminative sea-born organisms, it will harms for our health.

10. 2.The wastage pollution is also a great concern in Hong Kong. The water boundary of Hong Kong bears a large amount of not fully treated industrial and residential sewage water. The sewage water collected from the public sewage water pipe, only 80% of sewage water has First Degree treatment. The quality of water in water decrease gradually, it would have a negative impact to the health of people and the marine organism.

11. 3. The solid wastes throw by the public is also a great concern in Hong Kong. People who lived on the boat and ship always throw the rubbish to the sea due to their own convenience; and the company often put the toxic and unused materials into the ocean, it is the reason that it is costly of treating those materials. They are all selfish. lt damages the sea view of Hong Kong. Moreover, the beaches and the sea-born organisms are also polluted. At the end, the result bears by ourselves.

12. 4.The wastage water may cause the occurrences of red tide. The massive number of algae will consume a large amount of oxygen in the water during the night such that fish, especially those cultured in cages, will die of oxygen depletion. Also, some algal species may produce mucus or toxins which damage the fish gills and impair the fish's ability to respire. The fish may also die of suffocation.

13. Furthermore, the fisherman may suffer a great loss because of the death of fish. Numbness of the lips, tongue or limbs, headache and dizziness commonly occur within 30 minutes after consumption of the contaminated seafood because shellfish can accumulate these algal biotoxins such that they become toxic to humans.

14. 5.The several leakages of oil and the incineration on the sea also polluted the seawater. It may cause the shortage of drink water or leaving some toxic substance behind, it affects the environment of ecology in long term. For example, the coral fish contain ciguatoxin, which is poisonous to our health.

15. Measures should be taken so far in the harbour areas are: There is no one single measure that will clean up the harbour. A range of infrastructure, programmes and measurement have to be put in place and maintained if sustained improvement in the quality of the harbour is to be achieved.

16. In the Government side: 1. Strategic Sewage Disposal Scheme It collects sewage from the entire Kowloon urban area and northeast Hong Kong Island by 6 deep sewage collection tunnels, to a centralized chemically enhanced primary treatment works at Stonecutters Island for treatment.

17. It is intended to provide a sewage collection, treatment and disposal system in stages for these discharges in order to protect Victoria Harbour and the surrounding Hong Kong and Mainland water. It prevents the direct exposure of sewage water to the ocean. The first stage of the scheme is completed, the following stages is in process, it have shown that the scheme is effective.

18. 2. Improvement of water pollution technology and mechanism For instance, the Anaerobic Biological Treatment Technology for High Strength Organic Wastewater, Oxidation Pound for Sewage Treatment, and Technology and Equipment for Industrial Wastewater with High Strength Toxic and Hazardous Organic Pollutant. These programs aim to minimize the pollutants in water before entering to the sea.

19. 3. To charge sewage charges (SC) and thetrade effluent surcharge (TES), to achieve “the polluter pay principle”. The SC aims at recovering the cost of collecting and treating wastewater at or below domestic strength. The TES aims at recovering the additional cost of treating trade effluent with pollution level exceeding domestic sewage.

20. The sewage-charging schemewhich links the sewage charges (i.e. the costs of collecting, treating and disposing of sewage) to the volume of water consumed, will make people aware of the "price" of producing wastewater. They will be encouraged to produce less wastewater and, hence, pay less sewage charges.

21. 4.Source control Set up industrial estate, industrial zone and new town that it can concentrate the zone of emitting great amount wastage water and control the source of wastage water. The Government can set up law and regulations that limit or regulate the emission of wastage water and the quality of water should reach the prescript level.

22. 5.The program of re-using the sewage water It is costly to buy drink water from the mainland, and the availability of drink water used in the world is also reducing. There is wastage of using drink water to clean the road and flush the toilet. The amount of domestic sewage is large, but the pollution level is low. Nowadays, with the improvement of technology, the polluted water can be reused after the treatment of wastage water.

23. It not only reduces the emission of wastage water to the sea, but also an efficient use of water resource. For example, Triangle School Wastewater Treatment Facility in Chatham County, North Carolina

24. 6. The promotion work and education Efficient use the media such as radio, television and the Internet, be the promotion tool, to increase the strength of promotion works. It aims increase the sense of efficient use the resource of the whole society and the sense of protecting the environment, especially in creating the sense of proper use

25. the water, willing to undertake a part of expense of the treatment of wastage water. Put the relevant knowledge into the education of primary and secondary syllabus, that enhance the awareness and charge the behavior of the public towards waste prevention and recovery. For example, tree planting, waste recovery pilot scheme and student environment protection ambassador scheme.

26. In the citizen side: 1.Reducing the use of water We can avoid the unnecessary use of water. For instance, when you take a bath, it is better to use the shower instead of using bathtub; we can use the wastage water to plant and sweep the floor .It can efficiently reduce the amount of using water. Moreover, we encourage using the biodegradable-cleaning agents to clean or remove the contamination. It can reduce the damaging effect on natural environment.

27. 2.Increase the sense of protecting the environment The natural environment is a valuable resource for the human. If we damage it, it takes up a long period of time to recover. The natural environment not only serves for ours, but also for the generation of ours. The increase in sense of protecting the environment would beneficial to our generation.

28. Furthermore, the parents and the teacher are responsible for educating the children of protecting the environment. It also protects the valuable species of organism continue to live in. For example, the Chinese-White-Dolphin.

31. In the firm side: The film can co-operate to the Government. The reuse of the wastage water is efficient and profitable. Since the film consumed a lot of water in production, it was such a huge expense for them. Some reports stated that by using the reuse of the wastage water, it would reduce 20% cost of using water that can increase the profit of the firm. Moreover, they can also invest into an industry like USA, with

32. the goal of managing wastewater effectively, economically, and ecologically, firm can renew the wastage water into clean water based on domestic uses and industrial uses. This idea has already been shown to effectively process wastewater, and at a much lower cost than pay the expense of consuming water. The supply of land can be negotiated with the Government.

34. Besides, the manufacturer and the agriculturist should not put the industrial waste and the solid waste to the sea directly, due to reduce the expense of treating the waste. They should follow the rule of regulation and law of treating the waste in order to protect the marine environment.

35. The role of Student Environment Protection Ambassador: In fact, the role of student environment protection ambassador is done by action in improving the environment, and help to promote the message of environment protection, no matter the responds of schools or society are also very important. Moreover, the student environment protection ambassador also takes an important role in society.

36. In the schools side: With “Cleaning up Hong Kong’s Harbour” be the main achievement of environment protection, hope to build up a correct concept of waste reduction, recycling and improving the treatment of waste through regular courses and different kind of activities.

37. 1. Done by action With the achievement of valuable experience through training, cooperate with schools to establish an authority of environment protection. It consists of teachers, students and parents, and with the head of student environment protection ambassador at the school. Let the other students join with the scout to clean the campus. Also let students know deeply about the policy of waste reduction, recycling the waste through cooperate each other.

38. Furthermore, we can cooperate with Parents and Teachers Associations to run activities of waste reduction, recycling the wastage water, and encourage participating the activities outside school that organized by the organization of environment protection and society.

39. It aims to bring the message of environment protection in outside, back to school. So students not only can receive the message of environment protection at school, but also have done by action at home, it aims to promote the message of waste reduction, and recycling the wastage water.

40. 2. For instance, we can organize an environment protection week and regular flea market. Moreover, we can arrange bird watching, planting trees and fieldwork. It aims to give students to have more chances that contact the natural environment.

41. Therefore, they can learn how to enjoy and protect the natural environment; let everyone know the sense of responsibilities to protect the natural environment. We have to promote the message of waste reduction, and recycling the wastage water at school, encourage setting waste separation bin and managing

42. wastewater effectively. Besides, we have to negotiate with school about the relevant measurement and the long-term plan of waste reduction, and recycling the wastage water at school.

43. 3.The action of waste reduction, and recycling the wastage water We can discuss with teachers about adding the topic of waste reduction and recycling the wastage water in the civil education. Besides playing games, we can learn the knowledge from the books.

44. In the society side: We can cooperate with outside, especially in the streets, the private and public housing. We aim to increase the sense of environment protection and cooperate the promotion work of the Government through promotion. Let the citizen understand the present condition of waste reduction and recycling the wastage water clearly.

45. Because the citizen produces the greatest amount of wastage water and solid waste, if they cooperate, in long-term calculation, the Government can reduce the expense of waste reduction. And the student environment protection ambassador also takes an important role in society.

46. Moreover, we can cooperate with the organization of environment protection to organize waste reduction, and recycling the wastage water.

47. According the data, it shows that the Government is lack of protecting the marine environment and reducing the amount of the wastage water. Student environment protection ambassadors can be the assistants of the promotion work of the Government.

48. END