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Our Responsibilities | Working
with Partners |
Our
Responsibilities
We will
work with others and continue to build new partnerships in the pursuance
of sustainable development objectives.
We actively
encourage businesses and other organisations in Hong Kong to adopt
environmental management systems and pollution prevention measures.
Working
with Partners
| Locally |
Nationally | Globally |
Working
with Partners - Locally
Formal Partners
The EPD has established
formal partnerships with the construction industry, vehicle repair
workshops, restaurants and property managers to promote greater
compliance with environmental laws. In 2004 a helpdesk service was
set up offering a one-stop source of environmental information for
each sector, and arrangements were made to enable application, payment
and issuing of permits and licenses online. Other highlights in
2004 included:
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a
conference on general environmental issues and good work practices,
organised in June with the Hong Kong Construction Association
and the Environment, Transport and Works Bureau. More than
160 people attended. Another 500 participants attended a workshop
on green construction practices organised in October by the
EPD and HKCA. |
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a
symposium on pollution control technologies for restaurants,
organised in February. More than 600 people attended. A mooncake
container recovery campaign in the autumn organised by the
EPD collected more than 42 000 tin cans. |
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the
first Green Garage Election 2004, in which 160 garages participated.
The event was co-organised by the EPD, Hong Kong Vehicle Repair
Merchants Association and Environmental Vehicle Repairers
Association. Judging was based on a green guidebook for garages,
released in January. |
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a
free audit of residential housing estates, as part of a district-based
building management competition. Property managers were also
involved in a trial programme to separate waste on each floor
of housing blocks. 159 were also trained as Environmental
Protection Ambassadors for Property Management to help in
green campaigns. |
Photo
of EPD partnership programmes with trades: (Clockwise from top left)
1) Restaurants; 2) Construction Industry; 3) Property Management
Companies; and 4) Vehicle Repair Workshops.
Government Partners
The EPD held
over 50 training sessions for about 900 civil servants in 2004.
The programmes cover such topics as green office, green living,
waste reduction, eco-driving and green consumerism, and more targeted
training has been organised for the works departments. The EPD and
Highways Department also completed a six-month exchange to enhance
awareness about each other's operations. We also work with the Government
Logistics Department to establish green specifications for commonly
used products, such as paper. By the end of 2004, 37 product categories
carried green specifications. Details
are available on the EPD website.
Waste Partners
The EPD has helped
the Airport Authority, hotels, tertiary and vocational institutions,
the recycling trade, the packaging trade, retailers and others to
prevent and reduce waste. Assistance is provided through regular
discussion forums, ad hoc meetings and dedicated programmes such
as the Wastewi$e Scheme and product responsibility schemes (see
5.2e Environmentally-Sound
Waste Management and Facilities for details).
EIA and Corporate
Environmental Management Support
An EIA Ordinance
Support Section provides a helpdesk and other services for government
and the private sector, and four User Liaison Groups on the EIAO
have been set up with government works departments, consultants,
contractors, and private developers. In 2004 we also started offering
support to small and medium enterprises (SME) on environmental management
(see 5.2a Prevention and
Mitigation Through Environmental Impact Assessment for details).
Consultation
Formal consultation
on environmental issues is conducted through the Advisory Council
on the Environment and the Environmental Affairs Panel of the Legislative
Council. The EPD also participates in District Council, industrial
and business association meetings to explain new initiatives and
seek views. Regular meetings are held with green groups for view
sharing. The Environmental Campaign Committee has frequent liaison
and works with District Councils, green groups and community groups
on waste reduction and awareness-raising campaigns.
Working
with Partners - Nationally
National
In 2004 the EPD's
links with the Mainland were deepened further, when formal blanket
approval was received for regular exchanges and co-operation with
the State Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) on EIA related matters.
Previously, each exchange required approval from the Hong Kong and
Macau Affairs Office. The EPD also was a co-organiser of the 1st China
International Forum on Environmental Impact Assessment. (See 5.1
Our Contribution to Strategic Decision-making for details.)
Guangdong
Hong Kong and Guangdong
are working together on a variety of cross-border issues. Working
groups have been set up on regional air and water pollution and jointly
worked on the development of the Pearl River Delta region water quality
model and environmental management in Deep Bay and Mirs Bay. There
is also close liaison over such projects as the Tonggu Channel of
the Shenzhen Port, the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge and the Shenzhen
Western Corridor.
Workshops
and Conferences
The EPD attended
a workshop on persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and a conference
on incineration technology for waste in Hangzhou in October. A week-long
visit to Shanghai mid-year focused on hazardous waste and waste management,
and included meetings organised by the working groups of the International
Solid Waste Association and site visits to a municipal waste incinerator
and a chemical industrial park. In Hong Kong, Mainland authorities
attended a Motor Vehicle Emissions Control Workshop 2004 organised
by EPD, which included experts from the US and elsewhere in Asia.
The EPD, ECC and SEPA also organised a Nation-wide Environmental Competition
for Youths of Mainland China and Hong Kong featuring "Caring for Our
Water Resources", which attracted more than 400 000 entries.
Photo
of EPD delegates visit the Jiangqiao municipal solid waste facility
in Shanghai.
Working
with Partners - Globally
A workshop
on dioxin pollutants was organised by the EPD in Hong Kong with the
US Environmental Protection Agency, in advance of the conference in
Hangzhou (see above).
A
workshop on the planning and management of sewerage systems and the
control of urban storm water pollution was organised by the EPD in
Hong Kong with participation from our counterparts in Tokyo and Toronto.
The
EPD also organised a workshop on pig waste treatment that brought
together experts from China and Malaysia and farmers from Hong Kong.
The
EPD was invited to give presentations at the United Nations Environment
Programme's first regional training programme on environmental law
in Tianjin.
The
department also attended a workshop on enforcement issues and environmental
impact assessment with Environment Canada in Vancouver. Hong Kong
and Canada have a Memorandum of Understanding on Environmental Protection
dating back to 1992.
Photo
of The EPD organises a workshop on stormwater pollution with overseas
counterparts.
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