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The past decade has seen many achievements in Hong Kong's efforts to
pre-empt environmental problems through the application of an environmental
assessment process to policy, planning and project proposals. Development
and policy proposals submitted to the Executive Council that involve environmental
issues and all submissions to the Public Works Subcommittee of the Legislative
Council's Finance Committee must contain an assessment of the environmental
implications.
The Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance (EIAO) came into effect
on April 1, 1998. It provides a systematic, clear and transparent framework
for assessing the environmental impacts arising from major development
projects and, where avoidance of the impacts is not practicable, for identifying
effective measures to mitigate the impacts to an acceptable level. It
is supplemented by a technical memorandum setting out clear and consistent
technical guidelines and criteria. Information on applications made under
the ordinance is available at the EPD's home page. Since the implementation
of the ordinance, 75 EIA reports have been approved (as at December 31)
and over one million people and many ecologically sensitive areas are
protected against unacceptable environmental impacts.
The EIAO Support Section was established in July 2002
to provide support service to government project proponents on the implementation
of the EIAO. The section implements an EIA training and capacity building
programme for relevant government departments to enhance their understanding
of the EIA mechanism.
Environmental monitoring and audit (EM&A) is an integral part of
the EIA process to validate the assumptions made in the planning stage
and to monitor the effectiveness of prescribed mitigation measures during
project implementation. This is to ensure that every project delivers
the environmental performance promised in the impact assessments. In 2003,
the EPD managed about 154 EM&A programmes for major projects.
Starting from 1999, the EPD has been promoting EM&A
reporting through the Internet — the Cyber EIA Process under the
EIAO. For major projects, permit holders are required to set up dedicated
websites to publish their project information including EM&A data
and results in a user-friendly format. Since April 2002, major projects
have been required to set up web camera systems to make live images of
the site conditions accessible by the public through the dedicated website.
The web-based reporting provides easier access to information on environmental
performance and enhances public participation in the monitoring of the
EIA process.
Environment concerns are incorporated into land use planning through
the application of the environmental planning standards and guidelines.
The Advisory Council on the Environment considered the results of a strategic
environmental assessment of the Territorial Development Strategy Review
in 1996. In 1997, the Planning Department began further studies on some
new development areas that the review identified. Environmental Impact
Assessments form the integral part of these studies and have identified
major environmental issues and possible mitigation measures for integration
into the land use plans.
The assessment of the Territorial Development Strategy showed that continuing
urbanisation would likely have implications on air and water quality,
increase public exposure to noise and overload Hong Kong's waste disposal
capacity. While the timely provision of resources and environmental mitigation
measures could resolve some of these issues, others may require fundamental
reconsideration of the proposals' implications on Hong Kong's long-term
sustainability. The issue of environmental sustainability is being revisited
in the new round of review of the Territorial Development Strategy (known
as the Hong Kong 2030: Planning Vision and Strategy) which began in September
2000.
The Government has been promoting environmental management in both the
public and private sectors since 1992. A number of initiatives have been
introduced, including the Green Manager Scheme, the adoption of environmental
auditing, the environmental management systems (EMS) and environmental
performance reporting. The Government leads by example: all bureaux and
departments have appointed their Green Managers; most of them have regular
environmental audit programmes; and some have been certified to ISO14001
standard. Since 2000, all bureaux and departments have been required to
publish annual environmental performance reports on their operations,
programmes and policy areas. To further improve the quality of their reports,
a seminar workshop was launched together with the dissemination of a Benchmark
guidebook in January 2003. Useful environmental management information
is also available at the EPD's home page.
Environmental pollution transcends administrative boundaries. Hong Kong
and Guangdong have worked together on environmental matters for nearly
20 years. In order to enhance the collaboration, a Joint Working Group
on Sustainable Development and Environmental Protection was set up in
2000. Various special panels were formed under the Joint Working Group
to examine specific environmental issues in which cooperation could be
enhanced.
In combating regional air pollution, the HKSAR Government
and the Guangdong Provincial Government are working together and have
drawn up a regional air quality management plan that aims to reduce the
regional pollutant emissions by 20 per cent to 55 per cent by 2010, taking
1997 as the base year. On the water quality front, Hong Kong and Shenzhen
are undertaking a 15-year joint implementation programme to gradually
reduce the pollution loads in Deep Bay with the objective of returning
the water body to a clean and healthy state by 2015. In 2003, a regional
strategy to protect the water environment of Mirs Bay was jointly developed
by the two sides. In addition, Hong Kong and Guangdong are now working
on a joint project to construct a numerical water quality model to provide
an analytical tool and the scientific basis for the two Governments to
formulate water quality management plans for the Pearl River Delta region.
The two sides are also working in collaboration to improve the water quality
of the Dongjiang (East River) and to protect Chinese white dolphins and
fishery resources.
The Government is committed to improving the quality of life in rural
areas and to ending or removing land uses that degrade the rural environment.
Village sewage disposal has also improved in the rural areas of the New
Territories.
The Government has completed risk assessments of all potentially hazardous
installations (PHI), such as liquefied petroleum gas and oil terminals
and chlorine stores at water treatment works. It has completed or is implementing
all its plans for risk reduction and has substantially reduced the risk
to the public. However, the risk management of these sites is an ongoing
process due to changes in dangerous goods inventories and population development
near the sites. In addition to coverage of PHI sites, risk assessment
is required under the EIAO for designated projects which manufacture,
store, use or transport dangerous goods. |
