The SAR government gazetted on Friday the designation of the North Lantau Marine Park, the eighth and largest marine park in Hong Kong, covering about 2,400 hectares of water,write thestandard.com.hk
The new addition will see Hong Kong’s protected marine habitat increase from about 6,117 hectares to about 8,517 hectares.
Commenting on the designation, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department said the new marine park is crucial for the conservation of Chinese White Dolphins and the marine environment in North Lantau waters, and is one of the measures committed in the approved Environmental Impact Assessment Report of the Three-Runway System project of Hong Kong International Airport for mitigating the impact arising from the project on marine ecology.
According to the department, the marine park will provide critical linkages with the nearby Sha Chau and Lung Kwu Chau Marine Park – about 1,200 ha – and the Brothers Marine Park of about 970 ha, to form a matrix of connected marine protected areas totaling about 4,570 ha in North Lantau waters for better protection of the important habitats of the Chinese White Dolphins.
The marine park will also be contiguous with the Pearl River Estuary Chinese White Dolphin National Nature Reserve established in Guangdong Province, thereby linking the marine protected areas in Hong Kong and the Mainland, providing important connections among these core dolphin habitats, and facilitating the movement of the dolphins between such habitats.
The proposed marine park also connects with the Hong Kong International Airport Approach Areas to form an interlinked water body and provide a synergistic effect for the conservation of marine ecology and fisheries resources, the department added.
The relevant legislation bill will be tabled at the Legislative Council on June 19 for negative vetting and will come into effect on November 1 this year./risi3d.com
