HK's Updates: Country park enclaves of Tai Long Sai Wan, Kam Shan and Yuen Tun to be incorporated into country parks (17 Jul 2013)

Country park enclaves of Tai Long Sai Wan, Kam Shan and Yuen Tun to be incorporated into country parks

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     For the purpose of incorporating the country park enclaves of Tai Long Sai Wan (Sai Wan), Kam Shan and Yuen Tun into their respective country parks, upon the depositing of the approved maps of Sai Kung East Country Park, Kam Shan Country Park and Tai Lam Country Park in the Land Registry, a designation order shall be made under the Country Parks Ordinance (Cap 208).

     A spokesman for the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) said today (July 17) that the incorporation of these enclaves into their respective country parks would improve the management of the sites, enhance their overall conservation and landscape value, and increase their amenities for public enjoyment.

     Unauthorised excavation works were detected on both private land and government land of the country park enclave of Sai Wan in 2010, which triggered increasing public concern over the protection of country park enclaves. To follow up on the incident, the Government undertook to either include the enclaves in country parks, or to determine their proper uses through statutory planning to meet conservation and social development needs.

     After an assessment based on the principles and criteria for designating country parks, the first batch of three country park enclaves at Sai Wan, Kam Shan and Yuen Tun were identified to be better protected by inclusion into country parks. With the support from the Country and Marine Parks Board (CMPB) on the assessments with regard to the incorporation of the three country park enclaves into country parks, the Country and Marine Parks Authority initiated the statutory procedures under the Country Parks Ordinance and prepared the draft maps of the three country parks. The draft maps were made available for public inspection for a period of 60 days from October 26 to December 24, 2012.

     During the period of public inspection, the Authority received nine objections against the draft map of Sai Kung East Country Park and one against the draft map of Tai Lam Country Park but none against the draft map of Kam Shan Country Park. Apart from receiving the objections, the Authority also received more than 3 200 emails supporting the incorporation of Sai Wan into Sai Kung East Country Park and individual emails supporting the incorporation of the remaining two enclaves into the respective country parks.

     The hearing of objections to the draft maps by the CMPB took place on February 7 and 8 this year. After careful deliberation of all written objections, the opinions of those attending the hearing, the respective representations of the Authority and the Authority's comments at the hearing, the Board unanimously rejected all objections to the two draft maps. The Chief Executive in Council approved the three draft maps on May 7. The new approved maps were deposited in the Land Registry on May 16.

     The designation order in respect of the new approved maps of Sai Kung East Country Park, Kam Shan Country Park and Tai Lam Country Park will be gazetted on October 11 and will be tabled at the Legislative Council on October 16 for negative vetting procedures. It is expected that it will commence on December 30 so as to allow enough time for the Legislative Council to study the designation order.

Ends/Wednesday, July 17, 2013
Issued at HKT 15:00

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Source: http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201307/17/P201307170330.htm

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HK Updates and events: Proposals for amendment of Appendices I and II at the 16th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP16) and the briefing section (28 Dec 2012)

 

Proposals for amendment of Appendices I and II at the 16th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP16)

A total of 71 proposals have been submitted to the Secretariat of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) for amendment of the Appendices of CITES. These proposals will be discussed at the 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 16) to CITES which will be held in Bangkok, Thailand in March 2013.
Below is a summary table of the proposals based on the information posted at the website of CITES Secretariat. You may wish to browse the CITES website at meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP16) to CITES which will be held in Bangkok, Thailand in March 2013.

http://www.cites.org/eng/cop/16/prop/index.php for details of the proposals. Please note that in case of discrepancy, the information on the CITES website shall prevail.

For enquiries regarding the proposals, please give us an E-mail at hk_cites@afcd.gov.hk or contact our officers:
 For enquiries about plants – Mr. Henry Ho (Tel. 2150 6968)
For enquiries about animals – Mr. Horace Iu (Tel. 2150 6969)

Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department

For the summary table of the proposals based on the information posted at the website of CITES Secretariat:
http://www.afcd.gov.hk/english/conservation/con_end/files/ES_0312e_Summary_of_Proposals.pdf

 Proposals for amendment of the Appendices of CITES

I would like to draw your attention that proposals have been submitted to the Secretariat of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) to amend the Appendices of CITES ，including proposals concerning some shark species ，some turtles used as food and pet，and some plant species used for timber amongst other plant and animal species. These proposals will be discussed at the 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COPI6) to CITES which will be held in Bangkok ，Thailand in March 2013. Should the proposals be adopted ，amendments of the Protection of Endangered Species of Animals and Plants Ordinance ，Cap. 586 will be initiated ，in order to give effect to the changes in regulation of the trade in endangered species. Please refer to our website at www.cites.hk (under What's New) for the list of the proposals and the plant and animal species involved.

We are going to hold briefing sessions to brief relevant traders on the proposals and their implications. In order to make necessary arrangement ，if you are interested in attending the briefing sessions ，please register by returning the attached reply slip to this department on or before 28 December 2012.

If you have any enquiries regarding the CITES proposals and the briefing sessions ，please give us an E-mail at hk_cites@afcd.gov.hk or contact our officers:

For enquiries about plants - Mr. Henry Ho (Tel. 2150 6968)
For enquiries about animals - Mr. Horace Iu (Tel. 2150 6969)

Yours faithfully,
(Patrick LAI)
For Director of Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation

For the original document and reply letter: http://www.afcd.gov.hk/english/conservation/con_end/files/ES_0312e.pdf

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HK Updates: Reef check shows local corals healthy

Reef check shows local corals healthy

December 01, 2012

Hong Kong Reef Check 2012 found that local corals are generally in a healthy and stable condition with high fauna diversity, the Agriculture, Fisheries & Conservation Department says.

The department held a prize presentation ceremony today to commend the work of Reef Check teams and their contributions to the success of Hong Kong Reef Check 2012. The ceremony also marked the 15th anniversary of the annual survey.

The four-month exercise starting from June covered 33 sites of ecological importance, including three Marine Parks - Hoi Ha Wan, Yan Chau Tong and Tung Ping Chau. More than 570 volunteers from different sectors of the community, including education institutes and green groups joined the exercise.

The survey continues to yield encouraging results. A variation in coral coverage, ranging from 20% to 76.8%, was recorded. Nineteen sites, including dive sites within the Marine Parks recorded high coral coverage of over 50%. Coral Beach in Hoi Ha Wan recorded the highest coral coverage of 76.8%.

Most of the survey sites boast high species diversity. All of the 20 assigned indicator species including wrasses, groupers and butterfly fish were recorded.

Corals at seven sites were assessed using the Coral Watch tool in Reef Check 2012. The average health index is 4.13, which is similar to 4.14 last year. The average health index is well above the general average value of three. Coral Watch is to determine the health condition of corals by measuring the colour intensity of the coral using a specially designed Coral Health Monitoring Chart.

Coral bleaching and some coral damage was observed at some sites but the impact was minor and localised.

The department will continue to organise Reef Check activities to collect important information necessary for devising conservation and management measures to protect the precious corals.

For the report: 

Chinese version:
http://www.afcd.gov.hk/tc_chi/conservation/con_mar/con_mar_cor/con_mar_cor_hkrc/files/summary_chi_2012.pdf 

English version:
http://www.afcd.gov.hk/english/conservation/con_mar/con_mar_cor/con_mar_cor_hkrc/files/summary_eng_2012.pdf

Reef review:  More than 570 volunteers from different sectors of community, including education institutes and green groups, participate in Hong Kong Reef Check 2012.

Source: http://www.news.gov.hk/en/categories/environment/html/2012/12/20121201_143523.shtml

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HK Updates: Emission reduction targets met (23 Nov, 2012)

Emission reduction targets met

November 23, 2012

Hong Kong has met 2010 emission-reduction targets jointly set with the Guangdong government, although volatile organic compound targets for the Pearl River Delta Economic Zone were not fully met. This was mainly because the zone's socio-economic development has far outpaced the originally anticipated growth rate.

This was revealed at the 12th Hong Kong-Guangdong Joint Working Group on Sustainable Development & Environmental Protection meeting in Guangzhou today.

The major pollutants in Hong Kong in 2010 were nitrogen oxides and sulphur dioxide. The Government wants to reduce their emission by 10% and 25% in 2015.

To achieve these targets, the Government will implement some key measures. They include phasing out highly polluting commercial diesel vehicles; retrofitting Euro II and III franchised buses with selective catalytic-reduction devices; and, requiring ocean-going vessels to switch to using low sulphur fuel while at berth.

The major pollutants in the Pearl River Delta Economic Zone in 2010 were volatile organic compounds and nitrogen oxides. About 900,000 tonnes of each were emitted. The Government wants to reduce the emission of these two pollutants by 10% and 18%.
Guangdong will also implement emission-reduction measures, including monitoring major enterprises' use of organic solvents; requiring thermal power plants to install low-nitrogen oxide and denitrification systems; and, promoting the conversion of oil-fired generating units into gas.

The two sides will conduct a review in 2015 to assess the state of socio-economic development at the time and emission-reduction progress, and will then finalise emission-reduction targets for 2020.

Secretary for the Environment KS Wong said the two sides have laid down these targets, and now Hong Kong needs the commitment of everybody - the Government, industries and trades, the transport sector, and the public – to meet them.

“In future, we will proactively liaise with the public, stakeholders, and relevant trades, to foster a consensus in the community for implementing control measures as soon as possible to improve air quality and protect public health.”

For the video: http://www.news.gov.hk/en/categories/environment/html/2012/11/20121123_142207.shtml

On target:  Secretary for the Environment KS Wong (right) briefs the media on Hong Kong's emission-reduction targets.

Source: http://www.news.gov.hk/en/categories/environment/html/2012/11/20121123_142207.shtml

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