geography research paper文档格式.docx

geography research paper文档格式.docx

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Thedepletionofourplanet’sresourcesiscontinuinginanunabatedmanner.Themeltingofthepolaricecapshasbeenrelentless.Forthefirsttimeinhumanhistory,wemustnowbeconcernedaboutthehumanenvironmentalfootprintonaplanetaryscale.Thisistruenotonlyintheareaofglobalwarming,butalsoinotherareassuchasthecatastrophicdeclineinfisheries,anunprecedentedscaleofspeciesextinction,andthegenerallossanddegradationofnaturalhabitatthroughhumaninfluenceinmanypartsoftheworld.Hence,inthefollowingpaper,IwouldliketoanalyzeindepththeproblemandimpactofnaturalresourcedegradationinHongKongandproviderecommendationstoimprovethemanagementofnaturalresourcessoastoachieveasustainablefuture.

2.MajortypesofnaturalresourcedegradationinHongKongandtheirimpacts

2.1LandDegradationinHongKong

HongKongisaterritoryandislandinSoutheastChinaonthecoastofSouthChinaSeaintheCantonprovince.Withatotallandareaof1,094.1km2whichincludes59.3km2oflandreclaimedfromtheseasince1887（WWF1999）andapopulationof7.01million,itisoneofthemostdenselypopulatedplacesintheworld.TheavailabilityoflandinHongKongfordevelopment,transport,recreation,conservationandsoonisextremelylimitedbytopographicalfactorsandexistinglanduseswhichhaveprogressivelyoccupiedmostofthedevelopablelandinthemetropolitanareas.Whilst53%oftheterritoryhasanaverageelevationoflessthan100m,only25%ofthelandhasagradientoflessthan50.Inevitably,conflictsariseoverdevelopmentandtheenvironmentandlanddegradationhasbecomeamajorissuethataffectstheeconomyandsocietyofbothourcurrentandfuturegeneration.

ThetwomajorfactorsthatleadtolanddegradationinHongKongismainlydevelopmentandpollutionpressure.Developmentpressureheightensthedemandforlandtoprovidehousing,infrastructures,etctosupporttheprojectedincreasesinpopulation.Basedonthelimitedland,theeffectsofthisdemandonthelandusewilldependupontheproportionofdevelopedlandderivedfromlandinanaturalstate,reclamationorurbanrenewal.Theurbanrenewaloptionseemstocreateleastimpactonlandresources,however,suchactislikelytogeneratelargeamountsofconstructionanddemolitionwasteandmaybesignificantlyconstrainedifcontaminationatthesiterendersitunsuitableforresidentialuse.Yet,oftheremainingoptions,bothconstitutetodominatelandsupply.Manylarge-scaledevelopmentsinHongKongcontinuetobereclamation-baseddespitepublicconcernregardingfillingoftheVictoriaHarbour.Somesmaller-scaledevelopmentsthusproceedinterrestrialareaswithfavorablelandusezoningandanabsenceofconservationconcerns.

Inadditiontodevelopmentanddisturbancepressures,pollutionpressureseitherintheformoftoxiccontaminantsorsolidwastedumping,alsoactupontheexistinglandresources.Althoughthereisthepotentialforremediationofthesesites,giventhecostsandtimeinvolved,itisclearthatpollutionhasdevaluedanddegradedthestockoftheselandresourcesinHongKong.

2.2WaterDegradationinHongKong

FreshandcleanwaterisoneoftheEarth’smostpreciousresources,yetitissomethinglackingformorethanonebillionpeople.InmanypartsofAsiaincludingHongKong,acombinationofrapidindustrialdevelopment,inadequatepollutioncontrolsandsewagetreatment,togetherwithpoormanagementofriverbasinsisseriouslydamagingthewatersupplyandcreatesharmfuleffectsforhumans,plantsandanimals.Now,HongKongdependsonChinaasthemajorsourceofitsfreshwatersupply.However,asChinaisnowfacingwaterproblemsofitsown,thisreliancecannotlastforever.

InHongKong,streamsandriverssupportlargearraysoforganisms,includinginsects,crustaceans,fish,reptilesetc.Yet,thesefreshwaterhabitatsareunderintensehumandisturbance.Theyincludewaterextraction,pollution,structuralmodificationssuchaschannelizationanddiversion,andlanduseconversionintheentirerivercatchment.Besides,theweakcoordinationamonggovernmentdepartmentsresponsibleforprotectingstreamsandrivershasalsointensifiedtheproblem.Forinstance,theillegalremovalofbouldersandrocksinTungChungstreamonLantauforadevelopmentprojectandthedestructionoftwostreamsatSaiKunginrecentyears.Alltheseleadtothedegradationofwaterandconsequencesthatwillaffectfuturegenerations.

2.3WetlandDegradationinHongKong

HongKongishometoMaiPowetland,listedbyRamsarasanimportantsiteformigratorybirds.TheareaisthelargestwetlandinHongKongandplayshostduringthewinterto120,000-150,000migratorybirds,includingaround1/4oftheworldpopulationofBlack-facedSpoonbills.Thesiteisalsoofspecialvalueforitslargemangrovestandandreedbed.Itisalsosignificantforanumberoflocalanimalsitsupports.Overadozeninvertebratesnewtosciencehavebeenrecordedinthearea.Yetduetowetlands’flat,openspaces,theycreatetemptingtargetstobeexploitedforirrigatedagricultureoraquaculture,ordrainedtobecomehousingdevelopmentsandotherpurposes.Halfoftheworld’swetlandshavebeendestroyedinthepast100years.InHongKong,thewetlandinMaiPoisalsoaffectedbypollutioninDeepBay,whichinturnaffectstheamountoffoodavailableforthebirdswhentheyarrive.AccordingtoaresearchdonebytheHongKongBirdwatchingSociety,thenumberofwaterbirdsinandaroundthewetlandsofMaiPoandInnerDeepBayrosefrom12830in1979to68000in1997.Buteversincethen,theyhavebeenstabilizedanddroppedataround54000.Wetlandshavesignificantenvironmentalimpactstous,effectivemanagementofwetlandisbothaninvestmentforpeopleandwildlife.ItisthereforevitalforHongKongtotryit’sverybesttopreventwetlanddegradation.

2.4MarineDegradationinHongKong

MarinedegradationisgettingseriousinHongKongduetolandreclamation,dredginganddumping,pollution,aswellasdecadesofcommercialfishingwithoutsustainablefisheriesmanagement.FishstocksinHongKongwatershavegonedownfromtheironceabundantlevels.HongKong’scommercialfisherypeakedinthe1970sandeversincethen,ithasbeendeclining.Thecatchratesareonlyonequarterofwhattheyusedtobe.Thissuggestsapossibilityofecosystemcollapse.

TherearethreemajorsourcesthatleadtomarinedegradationinHongKong.First,istheexcessivedischargeofuntreatedorpartiallytreatedsewagethatcontaminatestheseawaterwithbacteriaandchemicalsthatcanbeharmfultohumanhealth.Theexcessivenutrientlevelalsocausesbloomingofalgaethatreducetheoxygenlevelsformarinelifewhentheplantsdieanddecay.Second,itisthereclamationofVictoriaHarborandotherwaterwaystocreatemorelandwhichinturnleadstoapermanentlossofmarinehabitats.Lastly,andmostimportantly,istheintensivefishingpressure.Thedecreaseseeninaveragesizeoffishisatypicalexampleofoverfishing.OneparticularlyharmfulandcommonfishingpracticeinHongKongthatintensifiestheproblemistrawling.Itcatchesmarinelifeindiscriminately,includingthosethathavenocommercialvaluebutareimportanttotheunderwaterecosystem.Italsodamagestheseabedhabitatthatnurturesthefishinthefirstplace.

3.Copingstrategiestonaturalresourcedegradation

First,let’sstartwithlanddegradation.Besideseffortstopromoteurbanrenewal,abetterplanningandefficientuseoflandiscritical.Thisincludeattentiontodevelopmentdensitiestominimizelandoccupationandalsototheenvironmentalplanningaspectsofexistingandnewlandusessuchasensuringgoodproximitytomasstransitsystems.

Besides,itisessentialforthegovernmentorrelateddepartmentsinHongKongtovaluethetrueworthofprotectedareas,throughscientificresearchandpubliceducation,soastoensurethatallcriticallyimportantareasareadequatelyprotectedundertheexistingplanningandpolicyframeworks.Avoidanceshouldbetakenforuseswhichwillpermanentlydamageordegradelands.Whereverlandisapprovedfordevelopment,itiscrucialthaton-siteandoff-siteimpactsareminimizedwheneverpossiblethroughmeanssuchasefficientuseofspace,provisionofenvironmentallysensitivefeaturesandproperattentiontoworkscontrolandmonitoring.Itisimportantforustostrikeabalancebetweentheimportancesofconservinganareaagainstthebenefitsofdevelopingitonaholisticway.

Forwaterdegradation,severalmovescanbetakentolessentheproblem.Optionsincluderesistingharmfulinfrastructure,wastinglessfreshwaterthroughlong-termconservationprogrammesandreducingpollutionbyenforcingstrongenvironmentalpolicies.Forinstance,manystreamsandriversinHongKongandthePearlRiverDeltaarethreatenedbypollutionfromindiscriminatewastedisposal,includinglivestockwaste,domesticsewageandindustrialeffluent.Hence,effectivemanagementofthesepollutantsattheirsourceisessentialtocombattheproblem.Besides,HongKongcanalsoreduceimpactofwaterdegradationthroughanti-channelization.ChannelizationisthecommonpracticeinHongKongofalteringorincreasingtheflowofwaterbywidening,straighteningordeepeningstreamsorriverstoimprovedrainage.Yet,suchapproachmayharmoreliminatethenaturalhabitatforthebiologicalcommunitiesintheseriversandstreams.HongKongshouldhencedevelopsustainablefloodcontrolpracticesandchannelizationshouldalwaysbealastresort.

Topreventwetlanddegradation,effectiveman