Following is a question by the Hon Ir Dr Hon Raymond HO and an oral reply by the Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works, Dr Sarah Liao, in the Legislative Council meeting today (November 2):
Question:
During the visit to the Pearl River Delta in September this year, Legislative Council Members were deeply impressed by the urban greening efforts made by the cities including Shenzhen, Dongguan, Guangzhou and Zhongshan. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether it has formulated any greenery scale guidelines or requirements for the urban development of Hong Kong which involves road planning and community planning, etc; if not, whether it will consider introducing the relevant requirements with reference to the experience of other places including Mainland cities, with a view to further greening up the urban area and thereby improving the environment of the community; and
(b) whether it will arrange for officials of the Government's relevant works departments to visit Mainland cities and engage in exchanges, so that they can learn about the successful experience of such cities in person, and thereby enhance the urban greening efforts in Hong Kong?
Reply:
Madam President,
(a) In a crowded place with dense population like Hong Kong, the Government is always committed to greening up of our environment. General planning principles are set out under the heading of "Greening" in Section 2, Chapter 4 of the Hong Kong Planning Standards and Guidelines, providing a source of reference on various developments such as residential, district and local open space, roads and expressways, etc. for government departments. Through the implementation of these guidelines and concerted efforts of all sectors in our community, the total greened area in urban districts and new towns of Hong Kong has increased by about 130 hectares, or from 18% to 19% in terms of "artificial greening coverage" since early 2003.
The Architectural Services Department has strived to adhere to the concept of sustainable development in designing and constructing government facilities. By formulating environmental policy initiatives, introducing landscape designs and rooftop greening, it seeks to harmonize buildings with their surrounding environment. The Highways Department also provides planting along central dividers and beside pavements as far as possible, while reserving a 3-meter wide strip on new pavements for amenity or tree planting if practicable. Similarly, the Civil Engineering and Development Department is progressively mapping out Greening Master Plans for selected urban districts as a comprehensive strategy to improve the planning process by determining the distribution of greening zones and overall planting themes.
(b) Drawing on the experience of other places including Mainland cities to enhance effectiveness of our greening efforts, we maintain close contact and frequent exchanges with landscape experts in the Mainland and organize bilateral exchange visits by management and professional staff of various departments. Relevant activities conducted last year are set out at Annex distributed to Members and will not be repeated here.
Ends/Wednesday, November 2, 2005