Although our focus is local, we are committed to the global
aspirations for sustainable development. Accordingly, HKSDF has
established substantial links with the most active and global NGO
coordinating bodies for sustainable development.
Sustainable Development in Hong Kong is still in its infancy, and
although the number of SD groups organisations and stakeholder
involvement is certainly increased over the years, there is still much
work to be done. And wherever possible, the HKSDF will continue to
driving further initiatives to meet our goals and objectives.
HKSDF has taken the lead helping and driving sustainable development initiatives in
in Hong Kong:
- 16 Sept 2007 - Member of Jury panel Designing the
Waterfront Competition Harbour.
- 11 October 2006 - Invited and attended European
Commission international NGO forum.
- May 2006 - Invited and attended LegCo, and
Government consultation for the Tamar development project.
- 3 May 2006 - Green future - published in South China
Morning Post on 3 MAY 2006, by chairman John Herbert
- April 2006 - Hong Kong Renewable Energy Finance
conference, HKSDF is endorsing this import Hong Kong conference
which will be held in June 2006.
- April 2006 - Once again HKSDF is supporting the 2006
Enviroseries conferences.
- February 2006 - Supported and attended SCMP conference
Taxing Waste, seeking views to resolve the Municipal waste
problems.
- December 2005 - Supporting BEC, HKSDF is associate member of
BEC.
- May 2005 - Supporting Organisation for Enviroseries
2005 conferences. The first conference held 12 May 2005 - Living
under blue skies at the Marco Polo Hongkong hotel.
report event photos
- September 2005 - supporting organisation for Council
for Sustainable Development Consultation.
- September 2002 Energy Saving Competition -
Organised community engagement for school children to increase
awareness regarding sustainability issues.
- December 2004 Organised and hosted event to raise
awareness of air pollution problems in Hong Kong.
- October 2000 - co-hosted the first colloquium on Environmental Mediation in Hong Kong.
The colloquium was co-hosted by the Commercial Mediation Group of
the Mediation Council of the Hong Kong International Arbitration
Centre and the MA in Arbitration Programme at City University of
Hong Kong.
- September 2000 - launched the Roundtable Discussion Series the first of which was held in
September 2000 on the proposed Council on Sustainable Development.
The outcomes/recommendations of this discussion were forwarded to the Chief Executive and
were focused particularly on the composition, function, constitution and likely impact of
the CSD for Hong Kong. Other Roundtables have included: Agenda 21 in
November 2000 and Greening the Bottom Line: Sustainable
Development Framework Initiatives for Business in February 2001.
- February 2000 - Hosted the first international conference on Sustainable Communities and a
Local Agenda 21 in Hong Kong. The conference was co-hosted by The
British Council in Hong Kong and featured presentations by prominent local and
international speakers in areas such as sustainable development and Local Agenda 21 in the
UK; sustainability indicators; sustainable development and ISO 14000; sustainable
development and the EIA process; building multi-stakeholder
partnerships and public participation in sustainable development
initiatives.
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- January 2000 - Hosted the first public lecture on the Earth Charter Global Initiative
in Hong Kong in January 2000. The Earth Council representatives were sponsored for their
visit to HK by Soka Gakkai International in Hong Kong.
- September 1999 - Hosted the first international conference in Hong Kong on Developing A
World Class City Together – a Powerful Process – A Conference on Consensus
Building in Hong Kong in September 1999 . The conference was sponsored by Swire
Properties, United States-Asia Environmental Partnership (US-AEP) and CLP Power and
supported by the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Productivity
Council, AT Kearney, the Hong Kong Business Coalition on the Environment (HKBCE) and the
Hong Kong Tourist Association (HKTA). It involved local speakers
from green groups, government and business. The consensus-training
workshops were conducted by the American based internationally
renowned consultancy, the Plowshares Institute.
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Although HKSDF is a local NGO, it values and is committed to the
global aspirations of sustainable development. Accordingly, it has
established substantial links with the most active and global NGO
coordinating bodies for sustainable development
- invited to join and has become the Hong Kong member of the Earth Council.
The Earth Council co-ordinates all country NGOs sustainable development initiatives
world-wide. The HKSDF contribution for Hong Kong appears in the NCSD
Report 1999-2000 (most recent update in 2001) which can be viewed on the Earth
Council website: http://ncsdnetwork.org/global/reports/ncsd1999/
- invited and participated in the global internet discussion on the Earth Charter
Benchmark Draft II organised through the Earth Council in
October 1999. Details of this and other work by the HKSDF on the Earth Charter can be
viewed on the Earth Charter Initiative website:
http://www.earthcharter.org/consultation/asiapac/
The HKSDF views, as critical, the establishment of polices, strategies
and plans for sustainability in Hong Kong. Over the years, the forum has
actively participated in various initiatives:
- May 2005 invited and attended launched of the Hong Kong
governments very first sustainable development policy
- November 2004 invited and attended EPD waste technologies
consultation for review and comment on the proposed waste technologies;
- September 2004 - invited and attended EMSD workshop consultation to
establish life cycle costing indices which will be used to model the
subjective weighting factors.
- September 2004 - invited to participate in Sustainable
Development First Strategy consultation. Subsequently attended
many of the events, including the launch, forums and workshops Read More
- arranged and attended a meeting with the then Secretary for Planning, Environment
and Lands Bureau of the Hong Kong SAR government to discuss in particular introducing
consensus building into the government decision making process in all departments was
invited to attend, submit reports, comment on and participate in working groups set up
under the Environmental Polices for the 21st Century Policy initiative in Hong
Kong (concluded in 1999);
- invited by the Hong Kong SAR government, Planning Department to present its view
on the South-East Kowloon development and subsequently the Visions for Victoria Harbour
Review – our concern here was that the process of consultation used
and subsequent review of this proposal was not and is not consistent
with the principles of consensus building and unlikely therefore to
result in a sustainable development for Hong Kong; The Forum has subsequently been invited to participate in all Planning Department planning consultation
exercises which have more recently involved local Density Plans, Metroplans and Vision 2030;
- invited by REDA, CET and Poly University to comment on the HK BEAM Study i.e. the
study to review and comment upon an environmental assessment scheme for residential
buildings;
- invited by the Hong
Kong SAR government, Agriculture & Fisheries Department to attend Stage 1 of the
public consultation programme for the Wetlands Compensation Study
which commenced in November 1998;
- participated in the trials of the CASET or computer based model from the Sustainable
Development in the 21st Century Study (SUSDEV21). CASET is proposed for use as a tool for
the HK SAR Government to assess the sustainability of policies and proposal under its
consideration;
- regularly participated in all the public consultation exercise for SUSDEV21;
- compiled and submitted the outcomes of the Roundtable on the Council on Sustainable Development
to the Chief Executive in October 2000. These outcomes summarised recommendations
for the composition, function, constitution and likely impact of the CSD for Hong Kong;
- conducted
briefing, subsequently published online at HK-lawyer.com, the
future outlook for sustainable development in Hong Kong and the
implications for the legal sector.
Capacity Building
Capacity building is an essential element of the HKSDF strategy,
without disseminating knowledge (free of charge) - how can one
progress?
Free ask the expert section on the HKSDF web-site, to help
disseminate information.
Wherever possible, the HKSDF acts as an electronic notice board and billboard for sustainable
development and related events in Hong Kong – we view as critical the sharing
of information and the fostering of communication between all stakeholder groups. Notices
are sent through the Chair of the HKSDF and posted to all members by
email free of charge.
The HKSDF Executive Committee members are also regularly called upon and welcome the
opportunity to act as guest speakers for local and international events.
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