INFORMATION NOTE. 3 REVIEW OF ENVIRONMENTAL BASELINE CONDITIONS BACKGROUND 1. As mentioned in the Inception Report of the HK2030 Study, we will establish and update the environmental baseline conditions of Hong Kong by making use of currently available information. We have made use of the Study on Sustainable Development for the 21st Century (SUSDEV 21 Study)'s environmental baseline database for this purpose which provides the most comprehensive account of the characteristics and trends in the baseline environment of Hong Kong from the territory-wide, strategic and sustainability perspectives. 2. On the basis of the latest available data/information and the consultation with relevant bureaux/departments, a broad update of the environmental baseline conditions is provided in the following paragraphs. We will continue to update the baseline conditions upon the availability of findings of relevant studies, such as Study on Landscape Value Mapping of Hong Kong (to be commissioned by PlanD this year). 3. This paper covers the work completed so far on the on-going task of baseline information updating. ENVIRONMENTAL BASELINE CONDITIONS Natural Resources Capital Stock Land Supply 4. Hong Kong has a total land area of about 1,099 km2. However, land suitable for development in Hong Kong is extremely limited due to topographical constraints and that the existing land uses have occupied most of the developable land in the metropolitan areas. 5. Table 1 below summarises the broad land use pattern in Hong Kong whereas Table 2 shows the type of uses of the developed lands within the territory. Table 1 - Broad Land Use Pattern in Hong Kong Land Use Categories Area (km2) % Woodland/Shrubland/Grassland 741.17 67.4% Developed lands 229.84 20.9% Farmland, fish ponds & livestock farms 69.7 6.3% Reservoirs & streams/nullahs 28.46 2.6% Barren Land (badland, quarries & rocky shore) 23.58 2.1% Swamp & mangrove 6.44 0.6% Total 1099.19 100% Table 2 - Usage of Developed Lands in Hong Kong Land Usage Area (km2) % Housing 66.94 29.1% Roads/Railways/Airport 49.49 21.5% Vacant development land/ construction in 27.21 11.8% progress Other urban or built-up land 24.25 10.6% (incl. cemeteries/crematoriums, public utilities) G/IC 19.96 8.7% Industrial (incl. warehouse & storage) 19.7 8.6% Open space 19.41 8.4% Commercial 2.88 1.3% Total 229.84 100% Source: Final Report of the Consultancy Study to Analyse Broad Land Use Pattern of Hong Kong (Table 5.4), PlanD, April 2001. Agriculture and Fisheries Resources 6. In common with many other major cities of the world, Hong Kong's agriculture and fisheries resources do not fully support local demand for fresh foodstuffs. Only 7% of fresh vegetable and 6% of freshwater fish were produced locally in 2000. 7. The area of cultivated lands (excluding fish ponds) in Hong Kong has declined by more than 50% between 1954 and 2000. Of the remaining 2,710 ha in production in 2000, the majority is used for fish farming (47%) and market gardening (30%). 8. In Hong Kong aquaculture includes inland pond fish culture, marine fish culture and oyster culture. In 1999, production from the aquaculture sector was 5,807 tonnes which was 4 per cent in weight of the total fisheries production. Amongst which, a majority of the production (77%) was freshwater fish reared in local inland ponds. 9. In recent years, overfishing and coastal developments have resulted in a drastic decline in fisheries resources in Hong Kong waters. According to the baseline data of the SUSDEV 21 Study, catches landed in Hong Kong had declined from a peak of just over 90,000 tonnes in 1976 to just over 50,000 tonnes in 1996. In order to enhance fisheries and promote bio-diversity in Hong Kong's marine environment, AFCD has been implementing the artificial reef programme since 1996. The four existing artificial reef deployment sites are located at Hoi Ha Wan, Yan Chau Tong, Sha Chau and Chek Lap Kok. The effectiveness of the artificial reefs is encouraging that bio-diversity and abundance of commercial fishes found around the artificial reefs are much higher than those observed in nearby natural rocky shore areas. In 1999, the fishing industry in Hong Kong produced an estimated 127,780 tonnes of fresh marine fish, with about 90% of the total catch coming from waters outside Hong Kong.1 Freshwater Supply 10. The Water Supplies Department (WSD) compiles various data on the supply and consumption of freshwater in Hong Kong. The quantity of freshwater supplied and consumed per annum for the period from 1990 to 2000 are shown in the graph below 2. The majority of Hong Kong's freshwater (76% in 2000) is supplied from the Dongjiang River in the Guangdong Province. Text Version 11. Since 1990, the growth rate of the overall water demand has dropped to approximately 0.6% per annum. The reduction in growth rate may be due to the significant decrease in industrial water consumption as a result of the relocation of many industries outside Hong Kong. It is forecast that further reduction in the industrial demand for water will occur as a result of stricter pollution control policies and the availability of cheaper land and labour elsewhere prompting more industries to relocate outside Hong Kong. 12. In 2000, 229 million m3 of seawater was supplied for flushing purposes. Approximately 80% of the population of Hong Kong uses seawater for flushing. This extensive use of seawater has helped to reduce the demand on freshwater for flushing purposes. Solid Waste Disposal 13. The database of solid waste statistics is compiled annually by EPD as part of the Solid Waste Monitoring Programme. According to EPD's "Monitoring of Solid Waste in Hong Kong 1999", Hong Kong generated 51,468 tonnes of solid waste and reusable materials daily in 1999. About 35% (i.e. 18,040 tpd 3) of the solid waste generated required disposal at landfills, while the remaining 65% (i.e. 33,428 tpd) was recycled and reused. 14. The major types of solid waste requiring disposal were municipal solid waste (MSW) (9,270 tpd) and construction & demolition (C&D) material (7,890 tpd). MSW is further classified into domestic, commercial and industrial wastes. The intake of solid waste for the three strategic landfills in 1999 is given in Table 3 below. Whereas the disposal of solid waste by type from 1990 to 1999 is shown in Table 4 below. Table 3 - Intake of Solid Waste requiring Disposal at Landfills in 1999 C&D Material Intake / Total C&D MSW Intake / Total C&D Material Landfill MSW Intake (tpd) material for MSW for disposal Intake (tpd) disposal WENT 4,340 47% 1,320 17% NENT 2,600 28% 790 10% SENT 2,330 25% 5,780 73% Total 9,270 100% 7,890 100% Text Version Table 4 Disposal of Major Solid Waste by Types, 1990-1999 Quantity of Waste by Type (tonnes per day) Year Municipal Solid Waste C&D Special TOTAL Domestic Commercial Industrial Sub-total (landfilled) (landfilled) 1990 5,460 380 1,270 7,100 8,450 360 15,920 1991 5,560 400 1,430 7,390 16,380 340 24,110 1992 5,760 460 1,710 7,930 11,960 320 20,210 1993 6,000 570 1,880 8,450 11,520 250 20,220 1994 6,070 700 1,660 8,430 15,480 390 24,300 1995 6,210 520 1,060 7,790 14,120 350 22,260 1996 6,260 1,090 800 8,140 7,520 490 16,150 1997 6,760 1,220 700 8,680 6,480 620 15,780 1998 6,820 1,290 620 8,730 7,030 790 16,560 1999 7,430 1,250 590 9,270 7,890 880 18,040 Remark: Figures are rounded off to the nearest 10 tpd and may not add up to the total due to rounding-off. 15. Domestic waste showed a continuous increasing disposal trend over the last decade. Its quantity was primarily dependent on population which also increased steadily during that period. For the other waste types, their quantities were affected by the territory's economic and construction activities. The generation rate of domestic waste in 1999 was 1.06 kg per person per day, about 4% higher than that of 1998. The generation rate of commercial & industrial (C&I) waste was 0.59 kg per employee per day in 1999, taking account of the total employment size in the territory. 16. As regards waste recovery, 4,208 tonnes of recyclable materials in the MSW were recovered daily (about 31% of the total MSW generated in Hong Kong). The major recyclable materials were paper (44%), ferrous metals (35%), plastics (10%) and non- ferrous metals (5%). 17. The amount of C&D material intake at landfills rose drastically between 1990 and 1991, and maintained at high levels throughout the first half of the last decade. The substantial reduction after 1995 was a result of joint effort amongst government departments in providing new barging points and public filling outlets for inert C&D material and promoting the reuse of the material, as well as support from the construction trade. In 1999, 29,220 tonnes of inert C&D materials were reused daily for land formation (about 79% of the total C&D materials generated). As a result of continuous diversion of inert C&D material to public filling areas, the overall intake of C&D materials at all landfills was only 44% of the total waste landfilled in 1999, comparing with about 64% in 1994 and 1995.