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This study examined divers' recreational specialization, pro-environmental attitudes, and marine-based conservation behaviour intentions. A questionnaire-based data collection approach was used to survey 398 divers who visited popular diving sites in Hong Kong by employing structural equation modelling to determine the potential relationships among the proposed variables. The results showed a statistically positive relationship between divers' recreational specialization and their pro-environmental attitudes, along with a statistically valid relationship between divers' recreational specialization and their marine-based conservation behaviour intentions. However, divers' pro-environmental attitudes were not statistically significant with their marine-based conservation behaviour intentions; thus, the discrepancy regarding different research findings between the current and previous studies was further discussed. In particular, our findings confirmed that recreational specialization could be a reliable predictor of divers' pro-environmental attitudes and marine-based conservation behaviour intentions to fill the research gaps regarding scuba diving-based nature tourism in Hong Kong. Consequently, management implications and recommendations were presented in accordance with the development of marine environmental conservation and sustainable scuba diving tourism in Hong Kong., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

As COVID-19 has swept across the world, governments have been prompted to order social distancing measures, from the closure of schools, restaurants and public facilities to quarantines and lockdowns. Access to and contact with nature have been suggested to help combat impacts associated with isolation measures, and a coincidental surge in the number of visitors to country parks in Hong Kong has recently been observed. The current study sought to explore the visitation of country parks as an adaptation to COVID-19 by employing the socio-psychological model of precautionary adaptation (SPMPA). Questionnaire surveys were administered in 12 country parks in Hong Kong, and a total of 600 samples were collected. A conceptual model based on the SPMPA was proposed and tested through multiple regression analysis. Significant associations between perceived severity, threat experience and adaptative behaviour were found, suggesting the possible risks of visiting country parks. However, the relationships among perceived adaptation efficacy, adaptation cost and reliance on public adaptation implied that the adaptative benefits of visiting country parks may outweigh the risks when proper visitor management measures are implemented. The findings highlighted the importance of providing accessible protected areas or other types of nature-based spaces to facilitate the adaptation of people to disease outbreaks in both the short and long run., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Ecotourism has seen both demand and attention increase globally and locally. Dolphin watching tours, as a type of nature-based activity, have become popular in Tai O of Hong Kong. However, little attention has been paid to the quality and pricing of the tour operators in relation to the expectations of visitors. This study seeks to understand the willingness to pay (WTP) of local and non-local visitors and the relationship between WTP and environmentally responsible behavioural intentions (ERBI) and satisfaction. The key findings include a positive correlation between WTP and ERBI for local visitors and a positive correlation between WTP and satisfaction for non-local visitors. These differences between local and non-local visitors are the result of the affective connection of local visitors to the environment, as such connection is not found among non-local visitors. These findings provide important clues to help improve pricing strategies and service quality towards achieving a sustainable ecotourism industry in Hong Kong, and they offer implications for ecotourism elsewhere., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Rivers are recognised as an important source of plastic debris in the open sea. The Pearl River in China is estimated to transport 0.1milliontonnes of plastic waste to the open sea annually. However, no empirical study has been conducted to assess the plastic contamination levels in the Pearl River Estuary. Hong Kong is situated in the east of the Pearl River Estuary; its western waters are strongly influenced by river discharge, whereas the eastern waters are unaffected by the freshwater plume. In this study, we quantified the neustonic plastic debris density in the western and eastern waters of Hong Kong. The mean microplastic (0.355-4.749mm) and large plastic debris (≥4.75mm) densities in the western side were 3.627 and 0.758n/m 3 , respectively. Seasonal comparisons indicated that both size classes of plastic debris were significantly more abundant by number in the rainy season than the dry season (p<0.001). However, the influence of rivers on plastic density at the sea surface may be highly restricted to the estuarine delta, as no significant spatial difference was found between the western and eastern waters., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)