|
 |
 |
|
The EPD celebrated 25 years of environmental protection in Hong Kong with a special exhibition at the Integer Pavilion
|
Hong Kong celebrated 25 years of environmental protection in 2002 with a travelling exhibition that reached thousands of residents. The occasion provided people with an opportunity to reflect on how far Hong Kong has come in providing facilities and programmes to protect the environment, and how far we still have to go. More importantly, it also highlighted how much attitudes have changed over the years. This applies as much to the government as to the community.
For years, the government engaged with polluters largely through the enforcement of pollution laws. Polluters played a cat-and-mouse game, waiting for the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) to catch them offending. Any dialogue was limited. The community also had little involvement in discussing environmental issues, such as air or water pollution. Instead, the government was expected to sort out any problems on its own.
 |
|
Improving air quality is one of the top priorities on the environmental agenda
|
A different approach has taken hold over the past few years. Co-operation, consensus and partnership are the key words, and they are bringing positive results. Polluters are complying with the law more than ever and helping the EPD to promote good green practices. The community is being engaged in debates about major projects at the earliest stages, so they can give input and air concerns. Like administrations in other developed countries, the EPD is learning that communication enhances participation. It also enables the department to understand better the needs and constraints of the industries it deals with.
The scene was much different in 1977 when the government's first dedicated environmental body was set up, the Environmental Protection Unit. The population was much smaller, about two-thirds of today's total of seven million. Sewage was being dumped untreated into the harbour and factories were emitting unacceptable air pollution. But because quantities of pollutants were smaller - thanks to fewer people - there was less urgency than today to sort things out. Nonetheless, the government saw the need to start controlling impacts on the environment.
 |
|
The Environmental Protection Unit was set up in the late 1970s to lay down a blueprint for containing environmental problems in Hong Kong
|
In the following decade, laws were introduced to control water and waste pollution. Unfortunately, they were not effectively enforced. This started to change when the Environmental Protection Department was formed in 1986, a much larger and more powerful establishment than its predecessor. Picking up the pieces, the department enforced and continued to introduce laws. Limits on pile driving and other construction noise were introduced, as were limits on the sulphur content in industrial fuel, bringing immediate, dramatic improvements. Tolo Harbour was cleaned up through the enforcement of water quality and livestock waste controls, as well as a scheme to export treated effluent from Tolo Harbour to the greater tidal flow of Victoria Harbour. The groundwork was laid for a separate, extensive sewage treatment scheme around Victoria Harbour. Beach water was made cleaner by controlling discharges in the areas surrounding beaches. Three strategic landfills were built, along with a network of strategically-located refuse transfer stations to collect waste. The Chemical Waste Treatment Centre opened on Tsing Yi Island to properly treat this problem waste. Major projects were required by law to undergo environmental impact assessments. Air pollution from diesel vehicles was greatly reduced through incentives and control measures (see box).
 |
|
EPD's website (http://www.epd.gov.hk/) gives members of the public one-stop access to environmental information
|
The successes did not mean everything was going smoothly, however. Some operators still did not comply with the law and treated fines as a cost of doing business. Also, major infrastructural projects - notably new landfills and the Harbour Area Treatment System for sewage - were going to need more than good plans and engineering to ensure they got built. The community had to understand and support these projects, and be involved in the decision-making process. By the late 1990s, the EPD recognised it needed to put greater effort into building partnerships with polluters and communicating with the public to build a consensus for its programmes.
 |
 |
 |
|
Cleaner Water
 Water quality has improved on several fronts over the past two decades. Beaches are cleaner as a result of measures to control discharges in beach hinterlands. The Tolo Harbour Action Plan has led to significant improvements in that harbour, which used to be hit by multiple red tides each year.
Improvements are also being seen in Victoria Harbour. The first and least contested stage of the Victoria Harbour scheme - to gather sewage from Kowloon and the northeast of Hong Kong Island and treat it on Stonecutters Island - was completed in late 2001. During its first full year of operation, it has treated 70 per cent of the sewage load that was previously dumped untreated into the harbour. E. coli counts - an indicator of sewage - have dropped by 90 per cent in the eastern harbour. Ammonia levels have dropped by more than 50 per cent. And dissolved oxygen, which is needed to support marine life, has increased by 20 per cent. Even more benefits will be seen when the rest 30 per cent of the sewage is collected and treated. The following stages of the scheme are undergoing further studies.
|
|
 |
|
 |
 |
|
Seminars and dialogues are held regularly with the property managemant sector
|
With polluters, it was clear that multiple offences were not deterring some operators from re-offending. The traditional command-and-control approach was not having the desired effect. So in 2000, the EPD began entering into partnerships with trades that attracted a large number of complaints. The construction industry, restaurants, vehicle repair workshops and property management operators were offered advice and training in complying with the law, and on-going contact with the EPD. As a result, overall prosecutions have dropped from a high of 1 824 in 2000 to 842 in 2002. At the same time, complaints have dropped by 20 per cent, to about 20 000 in 2002. The EPD is no longer viewed - erroneously - as an organisation that mainly prosecutes operators, but rather one that helps them.
 |
|
Stonecutters Island Sewage Treatment Works has brought significant improvements to Victoria Harbour's water quality
|
With bigger issues, the EPD learned a hard lesson through its sewage strategy for Victoria Harbour. The strategy was first proposed in 1989 and involved collecting sewage from around the harbour, treating it and disposing of it in the South China Sea. But objections were raised by a number of stakeholders, leading to a review of the strategy by international experts in 2000. The review supported many of the basic elements but recommended the government investigate four modified options (although this did not prevent the first stage of the strategy being built and bringing immediate benefits - see box). The EPD realised that public consultation and consensus building need to start at the earliest stages of planning to avoid undue delays. Feasibility studies are underway on the costs, possible sites, engineering requirements and environmental impacts of each of the four options. The results will be made public and people will be asked to help decide on the best option.
 |
|
The Hong Kong Eco-Business Awards promote good green practices in business. The 2002 Launching Ceremony was officiated by the Hon Elsie Leung, JP, Secretary for Justice (centre), and other distinguished guests
|
The lesson of early consultation is also being applied to the looming landfill crisis. Landfills will be full between 2008 and 2015, despite the widespread introduction of recycling programmes. That is barely enough time to build a new landfill or consider waste management technology, such as incinerators. These are expensive and controversial facilities because no one wants a landfill or incinerator in their backyard. Without support from the key players, they may not be built. An advisory group of mostly non-government members has been set up to look at appropriate waste management technologies for Hong Kong. The public will also be fully briefed and consulted about the various options.
Partnerships and consultation do not solve environmental problems. Instead, they pave the way for the acceptance and successful implementation of solutions. Yes, there will still be offenders, and a strong enforcement programme is in place to deal with them. There will also be staunch opponents to landfills, sewage treatment systems, cleaner fuel or any number of environmental programmes. But by establishing a dialogue with these groups - and listening to their concerns - the EPD is able to engage them in a mature and informed debate about what is best for Hong Kong's environment. Twenty-five years on, the environment has progressed from being the responsibility of a small government unit to one which involves the entire community.
|
|
