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CUHK Jockey Club Initiative Gaia (Gaia) held a forum entitled ‘New Thinking in Waste Management’ at the HKPC Building in Kowloon Tong today (24 January).  As a part of the ‘Environment and Climate Change Forum Series’, the forum gathered academic and environmental experts to discuss and share their insights of waste management in Hong Kong.  About 135 participants from public or private sectors, local schools and tertiary institutions took part in the event.

Prof. Jonathan WONG, Professor of the Department of Biology at the Hong Kong Baptist University, and President of the Asia-Pacific Association for Sustainable Solid Waste Management, was the keynote speaker.  Other guest speakers included Mr. Luther WONG, Chief Executive Officer of C&G Environmental Technology Ltd., and Mr. Angus WONG, Policy Advocacy Manager of World Green Organisation.  The forum was chaired by Prof. Kwai-cheong CHAU, Adjunct Associate Professor, Department of Geography and Resource Management, CUHK.

Prof. Jonathan Wong is an environmental scientist specializing in waste management, composting of organic wastes, sludge reutilization, contaminated site remediation and rehabilitation, as well as organic standard and certification system development.  He is currently Director of the Hong Kong Organic Resource Centre and Director of Sino-Forest Applied Research Centre for Pearl River Delta Environment.

At the forum, Professor Wong pointed out that the rate of daily per-capita domestic waste generation in Hong Kong is the highest among Asian cities.  Although recycling has been increasing since 2005, total waste generation continued to rise in Hong Kong.  Waste management is highly dependent on time and space; it is now high time to devise new policies and provide relevant facilities to implement waste separation.  To succeed in effective waste management, public participation and cooperation between the government and the Legislative Council are essential.

During the Question and Answer session, participants raised questions on how waste management can move forward at the individual and community levels, and shared views on Hong Kong’s environmental development.

CUHK Jockey Club Initiative Gaia

CUHK Jockey Club Initiative Gaia is a 5-year community engagement programme launched in 2012 by CUHK, with a generous donation of HK$54 million by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust.  Committed to paving a sustainable future for Hong Kong, the programme aims at promoting environmental conservation and sustainability in local communities, through public education and carbon reduction partnerships with schools and non-governmental organizations.

Rising environmental awareness, together with the proactive policies implemented by the government, has inspired the community to advocate for environmental protection.  In order to draw on collective wisdom and to encourage active public participation in pro-environment activities, CUHK Jockey Club Initiative Gaia organizes the ‘Environment and Climate Change Forum Series’.  Experts and practitioners from different fields and the public are involved to confer on the best ways to deal with environmental challenges and impacts of climate change.

Also under the programme is the Jockey Club Museum of Climate Change which presents the ‘Three Poles’ collection of renowned Hong Kong explorer Dr Rebecca Lee (the North Pole, the South Pole and Mt Everest), innovative research in environment, energy and sustainability initiated by CUHK, and the Trust’s endeavours contributing to the improvement of the environment.

More details of the CUHK Jockey Club Initiative Gaia can be found at www.cuhk.edu.hk/gaia.