Just another piece of homework.
Took me a lot of time to finish this: 9hrs
Done a lot of research. Read a few dozens of documents.
Submitted this to the lions club.
Enjoy!
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Maintaining the Hong Kong Geopark
After the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) put the “Geopark Programme” into discussion in 1999, more than 500 geoparks were established worldwide, and Hong Kong had hers established last November. Although Hong Kong starts to acknowledge the existence of her geological heritage, she is still far from being able to induce a public understanding of it. I have been to the nearest public library to search for information about natural heritage, but the outcome was discouraging. I could only find a few relevant books, but most of them were about biodiversity, not geology. Investigation on geodiversity is indeed rarely found in Hong Kong. This essay aims not to provide a universal solution to preserving geological heritage, but to provide examples of how various countries raise the public awareness towards the issue concerned.
The main means for geological heritage preservation, which is also widely practiced throughout the world, is the establishment of geoparks. Organizations, such as the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong and the Ma On Shan Promotion Of Livelihood and Recreation Association, has been working collaboratively and have given advice to the government on the development and management of a new geopark. The government has positively reacted to the proposal, and therefore set up the Hong Kong Geopark. People regard this as a milestone to heritage preservation, but this is just barely the beginning. The management of the park is still in its infancy.
Kwo Chau Islands are famous for their large coverage of hexagonal joint volcanic rocks and solidified pinkish acidic rhyolitic volcanic rocks. Hexagonal columns are also found in Northern Ireland. The Giant’s Causeway and Causeway Coast, located on the edge of Antrim plateau, Northern Ireland, was inscribed as a natural World Heritage Site in 1986 for its special geological feature – hexagonal basalt columns formed during ancient volcanic activities. Experiences have shown that these rocks are not easily damaged by natural causes, but parts of the lower basalts had been removed by visitors. This insinuates that a management group is essential to maintain the integrity and completeness of our invaluable heritage. This group should be in charge of managing the day-to-day tourism and transportation while maintaining the value of the locations being preserved. With a centralized management group, preservation of geographic sites would be simpler, and tourists would have an easier access to the islands.
The Hong Kong Geopark is not directly in contact with the continent: it is a series of islands on the eastern side of Hong Kong. The most common transportation between the islands is by cruise ships. This causes disruption to the aquatic natural habitat of the surrounding waters. When France nominated the Lagoons of New Caledonia to become a natural World Heritage Site, she had mentioned a problem incurred. The Lagoons of New Caledonia is a serial site comprising six marine clusters and one of the three most extensive reef systems in the world. The ecosystem and biodiversity protection was a problem concerned by her government. With the increasing number of tourists, it is inevitable that the number of cruise ships should also expand. The solution to reducing the disturbance to the ecosystem is to arrange and manage a well-planned ship route. Since Hong Kong has a diverse and dynamic underwater ecology surrounding Sai Kung, with a specially designed cruise route, we can well preserve our natural treasures, and also promote geotourism.
A tour guide of the new Geopark raised the following point: we have a lot of geologists and we have a bunch of tourism officers, but we do not have geologists engaging in the tourism industry. Other countries, especially European countries, hire, subsidize or invite experts to manage and research on natural heritage. The United Kingdom has her Joint Nature Conservation Committee to advise the government on natural conservation and the United States has a long list of large scale natural conservation societies. Hong Kong does have a committee which concerns the Geopark. They have mainly done field trips and written proposals to the government. However, there is just this committee of experts aiding in geological heritage preservation, and they only do this on an amateur basis. Up to this point, it is back to resources business. If the government treats geotourism as a developable project, money would not be so much an issue. The 2009-2010 Policy Address has an emphasis on Central progressive development, but shows little concern on further upgrading the Geopark. The society should urge the government to be more proactive in natural heritage issues, and the government should take the initiative in promoting and improving the Geopark.
The above are problems that can be solely solved by the Hong Kong government or other local organizations, but there are also other issues that require the aid from different sources.
Although rocks are not easily destroyed by normal weathering and natural erosion, they are sensitive to acid rain. Hong Kong’s pollution is greatly due to factories and power plants in mainland. Shenzhen and her surrounding towns have been expanding their industrial business greatly in recent years which led to the enormity of pollution. Pollutants cause acid rain which then falls in Hong Kong territory. The rain not only spoils marine life, but also poses damage to geographical features, which include rocks and landscapes. Not until China finishes her improvement to become a developed country would she consider contracting her industrialization. It is unlikely that the acid rain matter could be solved soon.
Hong Kong has an attractive selling point for her Geopark. In other countries, these sites are far from the cities while the distance between urban areas and the Geopark in Hong Kong is quite short. Tourists can enjoy both the busy and refreshing life here in just one trip. With appropriate development, the Hong Kong Geopark can be the first metropolitan geopark in the world.
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