Public
Involvement
The public has access to EIAs and environmental monitoring and
audit data through the EPD website. Under the EIA Ordinance, people
may give their views at the project profile stage and during the
public exhibition of the EIA report. However, a number of planning
and design activities precede these reports. The EPD therefore
is promoting continuous public involvement (CPI) to go beyond
the current requirements and allow public input at an earlier
stage.
The
need for CPI became apparent after the EIA for the Lok Ma Chau
spurline was rejected in 2000, prompting the project proponent
to go back to the drawing board. In September 2003 the Environment,
Transport and Works Bureau included CPI in its technical circular,
Guidelines and Procedures for Environmental Impact Assessment
of Government Projects and Proposals. The EPD is also promoting
CPI during training sessions with government officers and the
private sector.
Links
with Stakeholders
The EPD maintains links with a number of stakeholders, with the
aim of improving the EIA process. Training and capacity-building
is a major focus of these links. An EIAO Support Section was set
up in July 2002 to help enhance understanding of the EIA process
among government works departments. This goal was extended to
the private sector in 2003. By the end of 2003, 23 workshops on
the EIA process had been held for 550 participants, including
tailor-made workshops for works departments. The EIA Helpdesk
Hotline was expanded to offer assistance to the private sector,
as well as government departments. A Training Manual for the
EIA Mechanism was also produced during the year for practitioners
in both the public and private sectors.
|
An
EIA helpdesk hotline is established to answer enquiries from
government staff, consultants, contractors and the public. |
The
EPD also meets regularly with stakeholders to share experiences
and discuss how the EIA process can be improved. Four User Liaison
Groups were set up in 2000 for government works departments, consultants,
contractors, and private developers and public corporations, and
eight meetings were held with these groups in 2003.