INTEGRATED CATCHMENT MANAGEMENT OF DEEP BAY, HONG-KONG

Deep Bay contains one of the most important wetlands in southern China It is located at the border of Hong Kong and the Shenzhen Special Eco nomic Zone (SEZ). Over 50,000 birds rely on this wetland as a breeding , feeding, resting and refuelling station in winter. The Deep Bay catc hment is also one of Asia's fastest developing areas. Its population h as doubled since 1984. The rapid population increase and economic deve lopment have exerted considerable pressure on the wetland environment. Efforts have been made to reduce the pollution loads by both the Hong Kong and Shenzhen Governments to protect this ecologically important wetland. Through the implementation of a series of environmental progr ammes, including: sewerage master plans, the livestock waste control s cheme, and enforcement of the Water Pollution Control Ordinance, the p ollution loads arising from Hong Kong decreased from 125,000 to 45,000 kgBOD(5)/day between 1988 and 1994 and are expected to further reduce to around 3,000 kgBOD(5)/day by the year 2000. To protect the wetland community while promoting sustainable development in the catchment, H ong Kong initiated a study in 1995 to develop a mathematical model for the bay and a water quality management strategy for the future. Copyr ight (C) 1996 IAWQ.