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that maintains the ecological processes on which life depends (Anonymous, 1998). The truth is only more ‘environmental friendly’ sustainable development is possible in practice.

In this paper, whether there is a role for Earth science education for more environmentallfriendly sustainable development particularly in the context of Hong Kong is examined. This is based on my perspective of an Earth scientist with teaching and research interest in the field of Quaternary geology which is the study of the Earth during the past 2.6 million years. (2) Background

The urgent need for action to save our planet Earth from further environmental deterioration for the sake of future generations has led the General Assembly of the United Nations to proclaim 2008 as the United Nations Year of Planet Earth by consensus. This UN Year is the core year of the triennium 2007-2009 during which the International Year of Planet Earth will operate. The aim is to use the Year to increase awareness of the importance of Earth science in sustainable development and promoting local, regional, national, and global action. Details on the year are available on the website at http://www.yearofplanetearth.org/. The eight major areas identified for studies are: (a) Groundwater – reservoir for a thirsty planet. (b) Hazards – minimizing risk, maximizing awareness. (c) Earth and health – building a safer environment. (d) Climate – the ‘stone’ tape. (e) Resources – sustainable power for sustainable development. (f) Megacities – going deeper, building safer. (g) Deep Earth – from crust to core. (h) Ocean – abyss of time.

The urgent need to provide an integrated history of the Earth (IHOPE) – of climate, atmospheric chemistry and composition, material, water cycles, ecosystem distribution, species extinctions, land use systems, human settlement patterns, technological changes, patterns of disease, patterns of language and institutions, wars and alliances and other variables has led to the creation of a new project IHOPE by the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (Costanza et al., 2005). This is a multi-disciplinary internationally funded research programme to study global change. However, is it already too late to make studies to save planet Earth?

Population growth and economic development are the two most important driving forces working against sustainability. Because of the lack of understanding of how the Earth works by the community at large, the conflicts between these driving forces and sustainability have largely been ignored. Earth science is not only about rocks but also about the planet we live in including the air, water, and soil as well as the human interactions. All earth resources are sensitive to human action (Apsimon et al., 1990). For example, in our quest for non-renewable energy, the current daily global consumption of 85 million barrels of oil can no longer be sustained because this rate is not met by new discoveries. The unabated consumption of fossil fuels is now widely accepted by the scientific community to be the cause of global climatic change through the greenhouse effect. Recent discoveries of greenhouse gas composition of trapped air bubbles in Antarctica ice cores has shown that the current carbon dioxide levels of 380 parts per million (ppm) exceeded the level recorded over the past 0.42 million years (Petit et al., 1999). Global climatic change is posing to be a threat in causing the extinction of the human race.

In Hong Kong, geography departments at universities have long been responsible for earth science education at the tertiary level. They include the University of Hong Kong, Chinese University of Hong Kong, and Baptist University of Hong Kong. However, these

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departments are either in the faculty of social sciences or faculty of arts which means that their students do not necessarily have a strong scientific background. There is the additional problem in the existing curriculum of secondary schools in that geography is traditionally regarded as an arts stream subject and can only be taken occasionally by students majoring in science. In 1993, an Earth science unit was established at the University of Hong Kong’s Faculty of Science, offering a science-based Earth sciences programme for the first time. Two years later, the Earth science unit was upgraded into a full department. Since 1995, a second-year optional course in Earth science and environmental management was offered by the department in the multi-disciplinary part-time 2-year MSc programme in environmental management. This is currently the only course set up to examine the relationship between Earth science and environmental sustainability.

Hong Kong is located immediately south of the Tropic of Cancer near the mouth of the Pearl River Estuary on the northern part of the South China Sea (Fig. 1). The city has evolved rapidly over the last millennium from a coastal area with a few small villages dependent on fishing, lime and salt manufacturing into a mega-city with a total population of about 7 million in the present day. The terrain is naturally rugged with ‘deep’ natural harbours but an estimated 10% of low-lying coastal areas were created artificially by land reclamation from the sea (Peart and Yim, 1992). The natural vegetation represented formerly by a subtropical monsoonal forest was thought to have been destroyed by the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD) and is replaced by a secondary climax vegetation under the influence of frequent hillfires during the dry winter monsoon (Chau, 1994). The land area possesses a number of mineral resources including lead, silver, tungsten, iron and kaolin which had been exploited in the past. Historically typhoons are responsible for the worst disasters followed by landslides (Yim, 1996). The latter appears to be caused mainly by the cutting of the naturally steep-gradient hill slopes through human action.

Fig. 1 Map showing the location of Hong Kong, its three hydrographic zones after Watts (1973), the Pearl Delta and the Pearl Estuary. From Yim (2000).

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The influence of freshwater discharges from the Pearl River on the waters of Hong Kong has led Watts (1973) and Morton and Wu (1975) to divide the Hong Kong waters into three hydrographic zones (Fig. 1). The eastern zone possesses near normal seawater salinity and the lowest turbidity, the western zone possesses the lowest salinity and the highest turbidity while the central zone possesses transitional characteristics. (3) Relevance of earth science education

Table 1 shows the A to Z of subject areas covered by the discipline of Earth science. Main stream subjects in Earth science of relevance to sustainable development includes economic geology, engineering geology, environmental geology, geohazards, hydrology, medical geology, meteorology, palaeoclimatology, and palaeoecology. These subjects may be categorized into two types. First, those based on learning from the past which is fundamental to sustainability including economic geology, glaciology, meteorology, palaeoclimatology, and palaeoecology. Second, those dealing essentially with problems and solutions caused by sustainable economic development including engineering geology, environmental geology, geohazards, medical geology, and hydrology.

Subject Description

Economic geology Study of Earth resources and their management Engineering geology Study of applications of geology in engineering Environmental geology Study of applications of geology in environmental matters Geochemistry Study of the chemistry of the Earth Geochronology Study of dating methods Geo-hazards Study of natural and technological disasters Geomorphology Study of landforms Geophysics Study of the physics of the Earth Geostatistics Study of statistical aspects of geology Glaciology Study of ice in all its forms including glaciers Historical geology Study of Earth history Hydrology Study of water Marine geology Study of the geology of the seas Mathematical geology Study of mathematical aspects of geology Medical geology Study of applications of geology in medicine Meteorology Study of the atmosphere Mineralogy Study of minerals Oceanography Study of the oceans Palaeobotany Study of ancient plants Palaeoclimatogy Study of past climates Palaeoecology Study of the relationship between organisms and the environment Palaeogeography Study of the geography of the past Palaeontology Study of fossils and the history of life on Earth Palaeozoology Study of ancient animals Pedology Study of soils Petroleum geology Study of oil and natural gas Petrology Study of rocks Planetary geology Study of the geology of other planets Physical geology Study of processes and forces of the earth, its morphology and its constitutents Regional geology Study of the geology of regions Sedimentology Study of sediments and sedimentary rocks Stratigraphy Study of layered rocks in time and space Structural geology Study of geological structures Tectonics Study of deformation structures Volcanology Study of volcanoes

Table 1 The A to Z of subjects covered by the discipline of Earth science.

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Table 2 shows the connection between hazards threatening the well-being of society and the relevant subjects in Earth science. A better understanding of these subjects is desirable in the mitigation of such hazards.

The role of Earth science in more environmental friendly sustainable development is highlighted in the Earth science and environmental management course taught at the University of Hong Kong since 1995. This course is aimed at the examination of major issues of Earth science of relevance to environmental management and is made up of 15 hours of lectures, two field excursions, and one written assignment. Throughout the course the application of earth science in environmental management in Hong Kong and other coastal cities is emphasized. This includes the waste generation and disposal problem through an examination of past and current practice in onshore and offshore waste disposal. Another important focus is geo-hazards including their causes and mitigation. The course has an annual enrolment of up to 40 students from diverse backgrounds but mostly without previous training in Earth science. Their first degrees are in subjects including chemistry, civil engineering, biology, business, chemical engineering, computer engineering, environmental life science, geography, industrial engineering, mechanical engineering, and social sciences. The ten main topics covered in the course are: (a) Introduction to Earth science and environmental management. (b) Chemical composition of Earth materials including rocks, soils, sediments, water and

air. (c) Geochemical surveys for pollution monitoring. (d) Geological and geochemical aspects of human health. (e) Geological record of environmental change with special reference to the Quaternary

period. (f) Rivers, groundwater, and water resource management. (g) Geological aspects of land-use planning including a consideration of natural and

human-induced hazards. (h) Coastal processes and coastal management. (i) Geological aspects of terrestrial and marine waste disposal. (j) Case study of the development of Lantau Island in Hong Kong.

Hazards threatening society Related subject(s) in Earth science Global climatic change Meteorology, palaeoclimatology, palaeoecology, volcanology, hydrology Greenhouse gas production Geochemistry, meteorology, palaeoclimatology, volcanology Future sea-level rise Quaternary geology, glaciology, environmental geology, tectonics Extinction of organisms Palaeontology, palaeobotany, palaeozoology, palaeoecology, historical geology Air pollution Meteorology, geochemistry, environmental geology Water pollution Hydrology, geochemistry, environmental geology Waste disposal Environmental geology, engineering geology, hydrology, geochemistry Floods Hydrology, meteorology, physical geology, environmental geology Droughts Hydrology, meteorology, environmental geology Earthquakes/tsunamis Seismology, geophysics, tectonics, environmental geology Volcanic eruptions Volcanology, meteorology, palaeoclimatology, environmental geology El Niño/La Niña Meteorology, palaeoclimatology, palaeoecology, environmental geology Extreme weather Meteorology, palaeoclimatology, palaeoecology, environmental geology Landslides Engineering geology, hydrology, physical geology, environmental geology Typhoons/hurricanes Meteorology, palaeoclimatology, palaeoecology, environmental geology Desertification Hydrology, palaeoecology, environmental geology Diseases Medical geology, environmental geology Shortage of Earth resources Economic geology, petroleum geology

Table 2 Hazards threatening the well-being of society and their related subjects in Earth science education.

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The two field excursions chosen for the course are a half-day visit to one of Hong Kong’s landfill site and a full-day visit to Lantau Island. The main aim of the landfill visit is to gain first hand knowledge on the operation of a landfill site and to highlight the importance of recycling in achieving sustainability. During the visit, resident staff provides a rundown on the site’s history, current practice and future plans followed by a question and answer session and a guided tour. The main aim of the Lantau Island visit is to learn about the applications of Earth science and how this can lead to more environmental friendly sustainable development in the future. Lantau Island, the largest island in Hong Kong, is still relatively undeveloped. It is scheduled for further development following the construction of the New Hong Kong International Airport, the Disneyland theme park, and the Tai O typhoon boat shelter. Currently the island is being investigated in a feasibility study for the Hong Kong/Macao/Zhuhai Bridge which is yet another project to promote sustainable ‘economic’ development. The written assignment set at the end of the course requires the student to write a proposal for the sustainable coastal development of Hong Kong to cater for a wide range of conflicting coastal functions with justifications on the cost-effectiveness of their locations.

The need for an integrated environmental policy via building with nature is emphasized in the course. In order to illustrate why this is desirable, lessons learnt based on past experience in Hong Kong and other major coastal cities are used. For coastal management, the integrated coastal policy via building with nature approach introduced in the Netherlands by Waterman (1988) is used to illustrate how conflicts of coastal functions can be either resolved or reduced. Since the coastal waters may possess desirable natural characteristics which are determined by the Earth’s system, they should be identified for locating appropriate coastal functions with minimal harmful effects to achieve maximum sustainability.

Based on the assessment of the course by students, the course is well received. A popular general comment by students is that they have gained new insight on environmental management and sustainability through taking the course. (4) Towards more ‘environmental friendly’ sustainable coastal development

The coastal zone is a zone of transition between the purely terrestrial and purely marine components on Earth’s surface (Crossland et al., 2005). It is widely recognized as being an important element in the biosphere as a location of intense land and sea interaction. The characteristic of this zone are: (a) Comprises <20% of the Earth’s surface. (b) Contains >45% of the human population. (c) Location of 75% of cities with >10 million inhabitants. (d) Yields 90% of the global fisheries. (e) Produces about 25% of global biological productivity. (f) The major sink for sediments. (g) The major site of nutrient-sediment biogeochemical processes. (h) A heterogeneous domain, dynamic in space and time. (i) Has high gradients, high variability, and high diversity.

Throughout the world, coastal management problems are invariably caused by conflicts between the different functions of human activity which are detrimental to the natural characteristics of the coastal zone. The twelve categories of coastal functions according to Waterman (1988) are: (a) Safety from flooding, coastal erosion, salt water intrusion, and land subsidence. (b) Management of water resources. (c) Agriculture including horticulture, forestry, and aquaculture. (d) Mining. (e) Nature including landscape and environment.

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(f) Recreation and tourism. (g) Construction for living and working. (h) Infrastructure including ports, river channels and canals, roads, railways, airports,

bridges, dams, pipelines, and cables. (i) Public utilities including power, water supply, sewage, and other waste waters. (j) Environment including environment friendly collection, storage, and processing of

wastes. (k) Economy namely employment.

In order to reduce conflicts caused by the different types of coastal functions, an integrated coastal policy via building with nature approach first proposed by Waterman (1988) is recommended for coastal management. In this approach, the knowledge of twenty-six disciplines including Earth science, climatology, oceanography, civil engineering, landscape architecture, biology, environmental technology, urban and rural planning, and recreation planning is drawn upon. The goal is flexible integration of land in water and of water in land using forces and materials present in nature. In this section, the application of Earth science in more environmental friendly sustainable coastal development in Hong Kong is presented as an example.

Table 3 shows a comparison of selected features in the three hydrographic zones of Hong Kong after Watts (1973) (Fig. 1). The features observed are consistent with concepts in Earth science in that it is predominantly controlled by three factors. They are: (a) Freshwater discharge from the Pearl River. (b) Coriolis force. (c) Coastal configuration.

Feature Western zone Central zone Eastern zone

Salinity Turbidity Sedimentary environment Water quality

Lowest Highest Estuarine Worst

Intermediate Intermediate Intermediate Intermediate

Near normal Lowest Open shelf Best

Table 3 Comparison of selected features in the three hydrographic zones of Hong

Kong shown in Fig. 1.

The difference in hydrological characteristics found in the three zones is the product of the interaction of these three factors. Because of freshwater discharges from the Pearl River, the westerly location, and the coastal configuration, the western zone possesses the lowest salinity and the highest turbidity. In contrast, the eastern zone possesses near normal salinity and the lowest turbidity because it is located furthest away from the freshwater discharges of the Pearl River. Furthermore this zone is also protected by the Coriolis force and the coastal configuration. Since Lantau Island is northeast to southwest trending, the island acts as an effective barrier in preventing freshwater from the Pearl River to influence the eastern zone. On the other hand, the central zone because of its location possesses transitional hydrological characteristics of the eastern zone and the western zone. An integrated coastal policy via building with nature approach can be applied by locating the coastal functions with impacts complimentary to the natural hydrological characteristics of the three zones. In this policy, non-conflicting types of coastal functions are grouped together in the naturally favoured zone in order to remove conflicts. Through locating ‘clean’ coastal functions in the eastern zone, the desirable natural characteristics can be maintained as long as possible i.e. towards sustainability.

The recommended coastal functions in the three hydrographic zones for more ‘environmental friendly’ sustainable coastal development after Yim (2000) are shown in

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Table 4. Such a scheme should work because it is supported by proven Earth science concepts as well as being the most cost-effective way to reduce conflicts between coastal functions with different environmental impacts. The principle applied is that the functions grouped together and carried out in the three zones should be complimentary to the natural hydrological characteristics. Because of the naturally ‘clean’ conditions in the eastern zone, sewage and mud disposal, and offshore sand mining should be banned. The zone should be kept for limited ‘clean’ usages such as coastal fisheries, aquaculture, coastal recreation, seawater extraction, marine parks, and marine reserves. On the other hand, since the central zone includes Victoria Harbour where the natural coastline had already been destroyed by land reclamation (Fig. 2), further reclamation is seen to be much less harmful in comparison to an ’undeveloped’ natural coastline located elsewhere. Nevertheless other coastal functions within this zone should be restricted as they are likely to impact the adjacent eastern zone where the water is naturally the most pristine. Because of the influence of Pearl River in the western zone, high impact usages such as sewage and mud disposal, and offshore sand mining may be allowed.

Western zone Central zone Eastern zone

Land reclamation for development Container terminals Sand exploitation Sewage disposal Uncontaminated mud disposal Contaminated mud disposal Coastal landfills Typhoon shelters Power stations Storm-water drains Pulverized fuel ash lagoons Industrial estates Incineration plants

Land reclamation for development Limited container terminals Limited sand exploitation Limited sewage disposal Typhoon shelters Storm-water drains Seawater extraction

Recreation e.g. bathing, fishing Marine parks Coastal reserves Water sports e.g. scuba diving, yachting Coastal fisheries Limited aquaculture Seawater extraction

Table 4 Recommended utilization of the three hydrographic zones in Hong Kong shown in Fig. 1 for more environmental friendly sustainable coastal development. From Yim (2000) with modifications.

The coastal waters in Hong Kong had already been damaged by a range of human activities in the past. These include the destruction of the natural coastline through land reclamation; the offshore disposal of constructional wastes, raw sewage, sewage sludge, and wastewaters from storm-water drains; the disturbance of the seafloor through shipping-related activity includes anchoring, dredging, and trawling, and, the offshore mining of fill materials present within the seabed. Fig. 3 shows the location of the existing and proposed land reclamation areas, the offshore borrowing areas for fill, and the offshore waste disposal areas. Evidence of damage to the seabed by offshore waste disposal and shipping activities are revealed through side-scan sonar and seabed profiling camera photographs (Selby and Evans, 1997). Offshore dumping features and shipping-related features, the latter including shipwrecks, trawl marks, and anchor marks can be identified while much of the existing seabed is covered by an extensive blanket of mud clasts about 10 cm in thickness which is formed by bottom trawling carried out usually at daily to weekly intervals. The surficial seafloor sediments in the harbour areas down to a maximum depth of 5 m below seabed was found by magnetic susceptibility profiling of cores taken to be severely contaminated by heavy metals (Chan et al., 2001). The high levels of lead, zinc, and copper present in the sediments can be attributed

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to paint chippings from ships. This is linked to the fact that Hong Kong and Singapore are the two busiest ports in the world in terms of container traffic. In the designated offshore dumping ground for construction wastes in South Cheung Chau (Fig. 3), surveying by echo-sounding revealed a submarine mount or ridge 5 m above the seafloor has accumulated through the buildup of wastes (Nash and Yip, 1988). The offshore mining of fill materials in different locations of the Hong Kong seafloor have resulted in the creation of numerous submarine borrow pits. At East Sha Chau to the north of Lantau island (Fig. 3), a number of the borrow pits are being utilized for contaminated mud disposal (Evans, 1994).

Fig. 2 Map showing the shifting position of the coastline in Victoria Harbour, Hong Kong as the result of episodic coastal reclamation schemes. Based originally on Kwong and Hacker (1993) from Yim (2000).

The implementation of the integrated coastal policy proposed within the territorial waters of Hong Kong will only prove to be successful locally if it is unaffected by the human activities along the adjacent Guangdong coast of southern China. Since Guangdong province is currently the fastest growing economic region of China, coastal development particularly in the Pearl River Estuary would impact beyond its border. Because of this, dialogue should be initiated between the two government authorities as soon as possible in order to work out a mutually beneficial long-term integrated coastal development policy for the entire coastal region. Without a regional approach to the management of coastal development, the efforts made by both sides can only lead to local ‘short-term’ sustainability. The container port terminal along the Guangdong coast in Mirs Bay to the northeast of Hong Kong is already causing conflict through impacting the clean eastern zone.

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The building with nature approach proposed for the coastal development of Hong Kong is founded on the discipline of Earth science. This is by far the most relevant discipline requiring careful consideration in formulating an integrated coastal policy and should be recognized as such. Consequently Earth science education is seen to have an important role to play towards more ‘environmental friendly’ sustainable coastal development.

Fig. 3 Map of proposed coastal reclamations, sand burrow areas, mud disposal areas,

marine parks, coastal reserves, fish culture areas, coastal landfills and selected coastal features in Hong Kong. Based partly on Anandasiri (1998) from Yim (2000). (5) Earth science and more ‘environmental friendly’ sustainable development

There are at least four reasons to explain why truly sustainable development is not possible. First, zero population growth cannot be achieved until the enforcement of birth control becomes a necessity when there is insufficient food to feed the world’s population. Second, in the consumption of Earth’s non-renewable resources, 100% recycling of the wastes generated is impractical because of the high economic cost. Third, there is a long way to go before the nations of the world can be unified to act together for more environmental friendly sustainable development. All nations have vested interest in sustaining their economic growth while within each country vested interest may also exists at the local and regional level. Therefore action as an unified global community can be ruled out. Fourth, it is difficult to change our attitude towards sustainable economic development to give more considerations for future generations. All these reasons are connected to the discipline of Earth science to different degrees after all humans form a part of the biosphere. Because it is impossible to achieve truly sustainable development, the alternative is for more ‘environmental friendly’ sustainable development. This will ensure that the non-renewable Earth resources and the environmental conditions needed by our future generations will last as long as possible even though economic sacrifices will have to be made now.

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A major obstacle in preventing sustainable development is the perception of decision makers and how development problems are solved at present. This may be attributed to the problem of time scales in planning. Decision makers such as presidents, prime ministers, mayors, chief executives, and leaders are usually in office for terms of between five to ten years. They are therefore finely tuned to making achievements over a ‘short’ time scale. In terms of increasing economic prosperity, sustainable ‘economic’ development is sought in the place of more environmental friendly sustainable development. A common way forward is the creation of infrastructures proposed by engineers at a cost in order to gain a competitive edge over other nations, regions, cities, towns or villages. However, such infrastructures are usually based on a centennial time scale because the instrumental record of meteorological observations is most commonly of a time scale of about one hundred years. Consequently there is a time scale perception problem in that the decisions made for ‘long’ term sustainability are grossly inadequate. It is only through Earth science education that an improved perception of the entire time scale since the creation of the Earth about 4.5 billion years ago can be obtained. After all Earth scientists have studied the causes of extinction since life began on planet Earth and should possess some insight on its prevention.

Another major obstacle faced is the necessity for the community to change their current attitude. In order to have more sustainable development, sacrifices will have to be made now to slow down economic development for the shake of future generations. This is seen to be a serious obstacle because of the existence of very difference views in the communities of the developed and developing nations. The poorer developing nations usually have other more immediate problems to deal with rather than to tackle a future problem. Furthermore, it is normally through economic development in the developed nations that the bulk of the world’s non-renewable resources are consumed.

The proclamation on the International Year of Planet Earth by the United Nations is nevertheless offering a glimmer of hope. For the first time, Earth science will be put on the stage to show that the latest findings of relevance to sustainability or more seriously future human survival. If this message is made known clearly to the decision makers, hopefully appropriate action will be taken. However, is it already too little too late to learn from Earth science? (6) Conclusions

Recent Earth science discoveries on the state of our planet through human activities in the past are alarming. Urgent action by an unified global community is called upon because much of the environmental damage is irreversible i.e. not sustainable. If economic development is allowed to continue at the current rate, there is no future for future generations and it is only a question of time before the extinction of the human race.

As an illustration, an integrated coastal policy via building with nature approach based on knowledge gained in Earth science is applied to coastal development in Hong Kong. This approach maximizes the benefits provided by nature and at the same time ensures that the desirable characteristics are maintained as long as possible. However in the absence of support through regional, national, and global action, the local action will only provide ‘short-term’ benefits in a small area.

Earth science education is found to have an important role to play in more ‘environmental friendly’ sustainable development. The present attitude towards ‘short-term’ economic development by decision makers will need to be changed to safeguard ‘long-term’ sustainability. In order to delay the extinction of the human race, sustainable development needs to be much more environmental friendly and less economically driven.

A glimmer of hope is provided by the forthcoming UN Year of Planet Earth. If the decision makers and the global community can be better informed on the relevance of Earth science to

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sustainable development, it can serve as a starting point for unified action at the local, regional, national, and global level. The ultimate goal should be an integrated global environmental policy via building with nature to delay the extinction of the human race as long as possible. Acknowledgements

I would like to thank the students who have taken the Earth science and environmental management course at the University of Hong Kong since 1995 for their constructive feedbacks. Some of the ideas presented in the paper have evolved from research projects funded by research grants awarded by the University of Hong Kong, the Croucher Foundation, the Dr Stephen S.F. Hui Trust Fund, and by the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China over a period of more than thirty years. The Vice-chancellor, the Dean of the Science Faculty and the Head of the Department of Earth Sciences of the University of Hong Kong are thanked for their support in nominating me to attend this conference. This paper is a contribution to the Commission on Coastal and Marine Processes of the International Union for Quaternary Research, the Carbon Hydrology and Global Environmental Systems (CHANGES) co-initiative of the International Union of Geological Sicences/UNESCO/International Council of Scientific Unions, and the International Year of Planet Earth. References Anandasiri, K. compiled (1998). Fill resources, mud disposal areas and major reclamations.

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