The environmental Protection Department of Hong Kong's annual report -- "Environment Hong Kong 2007" was published Tuesday.

The annual report, which reviews trends and events in environmental issues and reports on the work of the department during the year, also sets out plans for the coming year.

Secretary for the Environment of Hong Kong Edward Yau said, " environmental protection is a major policy area for the third term of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government."

"Our approach in addressing environmental issues is to set clear targets and milestones, taking into consideration the need to strike a balance between protecting the environment and sustaining economic and social development, while harnessing technological advancement and economic incentives to accelerate their attainment," he said.

Permanent Secretary for the Environment of Hong Kong Anissa Wong said that the department was committed and determined to its environmental protection mission over the next 10 years.

"More than 8 billion HK dollars (US$1.03 billion) will be invested to improve sewerage infrastructure, additional waste treatment facilities and reduction programs and an air program that aimed to achieve further reductions in pollution beyond 2010," she said.

The department's decade of achievements, as addressed in the report, includes the joint efforts of the Guangdong administration on air quality improvement, which resulted in a reduction of locally generated emissions by 15 percent to 36 percent; the completion of Stage one of the Harbor Area Treatment Scheme resulted in vastly cleaner water in the eastern and central parts of the Victoria Harbor.

(Xinhua News Agency September 19, 2007)