香港典型地质遗迹资源与地质公园建设

香港素以金融、商业贸易中心闻名于世界,但香港境内所发育的曲折有致的岩石海岸、幽远宁静的海滩、巍峨多姿的群山、造型奇异的岛礁,弥足珍贵的自然生态和地质遗迹资源却鲜为人知。本文在对香港地质概况进行简单介绍的基础上,对香港地质遗迹资源进行系统分类和对比分析,指出西贡万宜水库至果洲群岛方圆近150 km2范围内发育的十分典型、极具规模的六方柱状节理构造景观是世界上同类岩石中罕见的地质现象,其分布面积大,露头完整,具有稀缺性、独特性和典型性,最后对香港国家地质公园一个公园,两个园区,八个景区的空间结构及每个园区的主要地质遗迹资源进行了系统归纳总结。香港国家地质公园的建立很好的起到了保育地质多样性的首要目标,同时很好地推动了香港的地质教育和科普发展。     

四湖流域水环境污染现状空间分布和污染源分析

四湖流域水环境恶化已影响到当地生产和群众生活,亟待对四湖流域的水环境污染现状进行调查与评估。于2010年春季在四湖流域的主要湖泊以及四湖总干渠进行了水质现场监测和水样采集,共采集了84个样点,每个样点测定了12项水质指标,并对测定结果中四湖流域总氮、总磷、高锰酸钾指数等水质指标的空间分布进行了分析。分析结果表明:四湖流域的两个主要湖泊,长湖和洪湖均受到不同程度的污染,长湖为重度污染,洪湖为轻度污染,从长湖流入总干渠中的水质多为中性或略偏碱性,总磷、总氮含量超标几倍到几十倍,在靠近长湖的总干渠上游段为重度污染,靠近洪湖的总干渠下游段为轻度污染。各水质指标浓度总体趋势上,长湖的要大于总干渠,总干渠的大于西干渠,西干渠的大于洪湖。     

Design considerations for environmental sustainability in high density development: a case study of Hong Kong

This study has indicated that there is close relationship between development density and environmental quality; therefore, it is necessary to decide the form of development carefully beforehand. The form of development is shaped either by new development or urban renewal which is a major tactic nowadays adopted by the Hong Kong Government to improve the living condition of the citizens and the quality of the built environment. This study is limited to urban renewal and aims to find out the major urban design considerations for sustaining the environment. Through a questionnaire survey carried out in Hong Kong, the opinions of architects, planners, property development managers, and local citizens were sought and evaluated, and critical design factors for enhancing environmental sustainability of urban renewal projects are highlighted. The results derived from factor analysis indicated that certain design considerations should be incorporated for sustaining the urban environment. “Land Use Planning”, “Quality of Life”, “Conservation & Preservation”, “Integrated Design”, “Provision of Welfare Facilities”, and “Conservation of Existing Properties” were believed to be the significant underlying factors for achieving environmental sustainability of local urban renewal projects. Readers should send their comments on this paper to: BhaskarNath@aol.com within 3 months of publication of this issue.     

气象因素对香港地区臭氧污染的影响

基于2000~2015年香港地区的臭氧监测数据和气象数据,分析了香港的臭氧污染特征及气象因素对臭氧污染的影响.结果表明:(1)香港地区臭氧浓度呈现明显的季节变化特征,其中秋季春季冬季夏季,臭氧超标日集中在夏季和秋季,超标日发生在冬季和春季的情形极少.(2)2000~2015年香港臭氧日最大8h平均浓度(MDA8)年均浓度呈增长趋势,平均增长速率为0.77μg·(m3·a)-1,臭氧MDA8第90百分位数浓度同样呈增长趋势,增长速率为1.49μg·(m3·a)-1.(3)较高的气温是香港地区臭氧污染发生的必要条件,气温越高越容易导致更高浓度的臭氧污染.(4)绝大多数情况下,臭氧浓度与相对湿度间呈负相关关系,相对湿度越高,香港地区的臭氧MDA8平均浓度及第90百分位数浓度均会降低.(5)当香港发生臭氧污染时,盛行风往往从偏北风或偏东风转为偏西风.随着风速的增大,臭氧平均浓度变化不大,但是臭氧第90百分位数浓度会明显降低.(6)降水和云量是影响臭氧浓度的重要因素,连续多日的无雨或少雨天气是臭氧污染事件发生的必要条件,而随着云量的增加,臭氧平均浓度和第90百分位数浓度会持续降低.(7)在太阳总辐射量≤20 MJ·m-2或日照时长≤10 h的情况下,臭氧浓度与太阳辐射及日照时长呈正相关关系.然而,在太阳辐射强烈的情况下(太阳总辐射量 20 MJ·m-2或日照时长 10 h),随着太阳辐射增强或日照时长的增加地面臭氧浓度反而降低,这是因为太阳辐射强烈的情况常出现在雨后天晴的背景下,并盛行来自海洋的偏南风,使得臭氧污染不易形成.(8)香港臭氧超标日的出现往往伴随着一系列气象条件的共同改变,包括晴天少雨、辐射增强、边界层高度增加、相对湿度降低、风速变小以及气温升高等气象特征,污染结束则伴随着相反的气象变化.     

Assessment of transboundary environmental effects in the Pearl River Delta Region: Is there a role for strategic environmental assessment?

China's EIA Law does not require transboundary proposals to be assessed, despite recognition of this globally, for example in the Espoo Convention and Kiev Protocol, and in the European EIA and SEA Directives. In a transboundary context assessment within a state is unusual, as regulating these effects is primarily about the relationship between states. However where a state has more than one legal system such as in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) Region of southern China, transboundary effects should also be addressed. Yet despite the geographical connections between Guangdong Province in mainland China (where the EIA Law applies) and the Hong Kong and Macau Special Administrative Regions (which have their own provisions, neither of which requires transboundary assessments), EIA and SEA are carried out separately. Coordinated or joint approaches to transboundary assessment are generally absent, with the legal autonomy of Hong Kong and Macau a major constraint. As a result institutional responses at the policy level have developed. The article considers global experiences with regulating transboundary EIA and SEA, and analyses potential application to land use, transport and air and water planning in the PRD Region. If applied, benefits may include prevention or mitigation of cumulative effects, broader public participation, and improvements to environmental governance. The PRD Region experience may encourage China to conduct and coordinate EIA and SEA processes with neighbouring states, which has been non-existent or extremely limited to date.     

The role of perceived effectiveness of policy measures in predicting recycling behaviour in Hong Kong

Hong Kong is a compact and ‘land-hungry’ city where recycling has become an important measure for treating waste and reducing the demand on the limited landfills. The objectives of this paper are to extend the model of recycling attitude and behaviour to explain the relationship between perceived policy effectiveness and recycling behaviour. Previous studies on recycling attitude and behaviour had widely adopted the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) and the norm activation model (NAM), and drawn policy implications from them. Nevertheless, little research has been conducted to investigate the role of perceived effectiveness of policy measures in predicting recycling behaviour. To address this, a model that integrates the TPB and NAM was proposed in this study, and a street survey was conducted to investigate the case. The results illustrate that recycling intention is influenced by subjective norms, perceived behavioural control, moral norms, and awareness of consequences, as well as a newly proposed construct, namely perceived policy effectiveness. The study proved self-reported recycling behaviour (direct behaviour) and support for policy measures (indirect behaviour) are influenced by recycling intention. All in all the Government should provide more recycling bins, guidelines on recycling activities, and should accent what it has been doing to facilitate and encourage recycling.     

Characterization of Dust Storms to Hong Kong in April 1998

In April 1998, two intense dust storms were generated in CentralAsia and transported eastward across East Asia (15 and 19 April). This article presents the chemical characterization ofHong Kong (HK) aerosols during the dust storms. During the 15 Aprildust storm, hourly respiratory suspended particles (RSP)(particle diameter smaller than 10 m) concentrationsmonitored at 7 sites in Hong Kong reached the peak valuessynchronously between 9 and 11 a.m. on 17 April, in which thehighest concentration was 267 g m^-3. Analysis ofthe RSP samples showed that concentrations of crustalelements (Ba, Ca, Cd, Cr, Fe, Mg, K⁺) and anthropogenicspecies (As, Ni, Pb, Zn, NH₄ ⁺, NO₃ ^-,SO₄ ^2- and total carbon) were substantiallyenhanced. Enhancement of these species was more than afactor of 2 to 14 relative to the non dust period. The totalcarbon content was high, at 59 g m^-3 (notincluding carbonate), and the enrichment factors of Asand Pb on 17 April were 122 and 117, respectively. Thisimplied that anthropogenic materials together with mineraldust were transported to HK from Mainland China. Based onmaterial balance calculations, mineral dust contributed41% to the observed RSP mass on 17 April, which was 2 times thatof the nondust sample (22%). From the 5-day backwardtrajectory analysis, this storm was transported directlyfrom Northwest China to HK. However, there was nocorresponding observation for the 19 April dust stormaerosol. Consequently, 15 April storm had stronger impact onHK's atmosphere than 19 April storm. Compared to the HK AirQuality Objective, 15 April dust storm did not cause seriousair pollution in HK.     

Comparison of Four <Emphasis Type="Italic">Sesbania</Emphasis> Species to Remediate Pb/Zn and Cu Mine Tailings

A 6-month greenhouse pot trial was performed, aimed at screening appropriate Sesbania species for remediation of Pb/Zn and Cu mine tailings. Performances of young seedlings of four Sesbania species (S. cannabina, S. grandiflora, S. rostrata, and S. sesban) were compared with and without inoculation of rhizobia. Seedlings were planted in two types of tailings amended with garden soil or garden soil mixed with river sediment. The results indicated that inoculated plants generally produced a higher biomass than samples without inoculation. Pb/Zn mine tailings containing rather high concentrations of total and water-soluble Cu, Pb, and Zn were toxic to plant growth compared with Cu mine tailings, according to the growth performance of the four species. Sesbania sesban and S. rostrata showed superior growth performance, compared to the other two species. Thus, they can serve as pioneer species to modify the barren environment, by providing organic matter and essential nutrients such as nitrogen, upon decomposition, in a relatively short period of time. This is especially true for S. rostrata, which is an annual plant that forms both stem and root nodules. However, a longer-term field trial should be conducted to investigate if superior species can beneficially modify the habitat for the growth of subsequent plant communities.     

Major hazards—Thinking the unthinkable

It is a common experience that public administrations tend to shy away from the explicit acknowledgment of quantitative risk levels. Faced with extreme concentrations of population and of industrial activities, including LPG and liquid chlorine storage, within a very small land area, Hong Kong has faced up to the issue of major man-made hazards by “thinking the unthinkable” and adopting explicit risk guidelines. This article describes how these guidelines were developed and the arguments that led to their adoption. It is emphasized that the risk guidelines are not rigid standards but simply a method of focusing decision making and ensuring that any decision to contravene the guidelines is taken at an appropriately senior level in the administration. The way in which the guidelines have been incorporated intimately into the planning and decision-making process is described and details are given on how this has led to the implementation of a variety of measures that have greatly reduced both societal and individual risk from certain types of chemical storage and chemical processing installations in Hong Kong. The opinions in this paper represent the views of the authors and not necessarily those of the Hong Kong Government.