Content > Public Inspection and Comment > Locations for Public Inspection > Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance Register Office > Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance Website > Consultation with the Advisory Council on the Environment (ACE) > Sharing the Spirit of Environmental Protection... Involving the Community...

Sharing the Spirit of Environmental Protection... Involving the Community...

Apart from the consultation on a project basis as directed under the Ordinance, a number of public forums were held to gather views and opinions from a wide variety of sources. Participation in these public forums and seminars involved a representative range of concerned parties and stakeholder groups.

Through the public forums a number of important issues were raised. First was the awareness of a growing community need for access to EIA information. The need for good practice guidelines to guide EIA studies and recommended mitigation measures was also called for, as was the need for further strengthening enforcement and prosecution actions.

Other suggestions included raising public awareness and encouraging public involvement to increase a sense of partnership between the department and the community. An enhancement of the EIA Ordinance website was recommended to better meet the public's demand for EIA Ordinance information. The production of guidance notes on various operational and technical issues was also encouraged to facilitate good practices for the users and practitioners of the EIA Ordinance process.

The establishment of an EIA Ordinance Help Desk and a web-based project template were also raised. In the medium to long term, a strategic environmental assessment was recommended to have its place in the legal framework to regulate strategic developments and related sustainability issues.

The series of meetings, briefings and forums were conducted by or participated in by a range of applicants, project proponents, EIA consultants, relevant government authorities specified under the Technical Memorandum, the ACE and its EIA Subcommittee as well as internal colleagues. Direct feedback was gained from participants during a number of different events within this period, which were incorporated into the "Review of the Operation of EIA Ordinance" completed by the department in August 1999.