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 Economic Zone (SEZ). Over 50,000 birds rely on this wetland as a breeding, feeding, resting and refuelling station in winter. The Deep Bay catchment is also one of Asia's fastest developing areas. Its population has doubled since 1984. The rapid population increase and economic development 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 programmes, including: sewerage master plans, the livestock waste control scheme, and enforcement of the Water Pollution Control Ordinance, the pollution loads arising from Hong Kong decreased from 125,000 to 45,000 kgBOD5/day between 1988 and 1994 and are expected to further reduce to around 3,000 kgBOD5/day by the year 2000. To protect the wetland community while promoting sustainable development in the catchment, Hong Kong initiated a study in 1995 to develop a mathematical model for the bay and a water quality management strategy for the future.
Integrated catchment management—a decade of research in the Motueka River catchment