Mrs Rita Lau, JP, Permanent Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works (Environment) (centre left), Mr Mike Stokoe, JP, Acting Director of Environmental Protection (centre right), Mr Ronnie Wong, JP, Chairman of ECC (5th left), and other honourable guests raised a toast at the opening ceremony of the "Twenty-five Years of Environmental Protection in Hong Kong" exhibition Environmental protection has been a matter of official concern in Hong Kong since 1977, when the Environmental Protection Unit was established by the government. In the 25 years since then, significant progress has been made in tackling such problems as industrial air pollution, vehicle emission, water pollution and waste management. To mark the achievements, a special three-day exhibition was organised at the Integer building in July 2002. More than 400 special guests were invited to the opening ceremony officiated by Mrs Rita Lau, Permanent Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works (Environment). The exhibition featured panels on both government and community efforts to improve the environment. More than 400 guests participated in the opening ceremony and the exhibition of "Twenty-five Years of Environmental Protection in Hong Kong" An education programme ran alongside the exhibition. A three-day environmental education programme was organised for primary school students, Boy Scouts and Girl Guides, while 85 workshop sessions were organised for interested parties and the public. The celebrations were then carried out into the community, with eight exhibitions on the 25th anniversary being mounted in various districts from October 2002 to March 2003. More than 20 000 people attended the exhibitions.