Press Releases

Speech by PSE/DEP at the EPD's Cocktail Reception of 7 April 2005

Dr Liao, distinguished guests, colleagues,

It gives me great pleasure to welcome you all to this happy occasion marking the merger of the Environment Branch of the Environment, Transport and Works Bureau and the Environmental Protection Department. The merger is a landmark in the way Government organizes itself to deliver its environmental initiatives. From its modest beginning in 1980 as an agency, Environmental Protection Department went through a period of rapid expansion in pace with the growing prosperity and increasing awareness of the community about the environment, and became a full-fledged government department in 1986. To cope with the rising expectations of a modern society for greater efficiency, we experimented with a partial merger of the Department with the Environment Branch of the Bureau by bringing the EPD division on air to the Bureau last year. The results were most encouraging, as the de-layering in the decision-making process has greatly speeded things up. It is hence a logical step that there should be a full merger between the Bureau and the Department.

Over the years, EPD has built up an enviable reputation as a highly professional and impartial authority in safeguarding the environmental interests of Hong Kong. We have therefore decided not to temper with success or re-invent the wheel. Instead, we would very much like to build on the success of EPD as a household name, and continue to call ourselves the EPD, albeit with enhanced capability in covering a broader range of responsibilities. The new EPD now has the full responsibility to formulate environmental policies and administer environmental legislation under one roof. On the policy side, it has taken on nature conservation, and has set up a special team to tackle cross-boundary and international cooperation issues. After the merger, the new EPD has a total of 1 633 staff with an operating budget of about $2.2 Bn in the current financial year. It brings the different expertise and skill sets of Environmental Protection Officers and Administrative Officers together and achieves synergy in meeting future challenges. We are confident that through this merger, we are able to streamline the policy formulation process, improve our response to new issues as they emerge, shorten the line of command and achieve greater efficiency and effectiveness in the way we deliver our services. It will also enable us to fully align our priorities and better deploy our resources in support of the agenda set by the Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works under a unified command.

With a growing population in a small geographical area, the Hong Kong environment is facing increasing pressures on all fronts. On the other hand, Hong Kong is also blessed with such rich biodiversity that is probably unparalleled among the world’s major cities. I still remember last year when I was on a business trip to Japan, I caught the sight of one of my favourite hiking trails being splashed across the front page of the Time Magazine. Last Sunday, I had this unforgettable experience of seeing hundreds of rare migratory birds resting and feeding at the Mai Po marshes during their transitory stop on the way to far away places such as the Siberia. Given the richness of our natural heritage, it is even more important that we do a proper job in protecting our environment, because we will have much to lose if we are not careful.

On the first day of the merger, I announced to the media that there will be two main themes in the new EPD’s agenda in the coming years. First, we aim to forge a strong partnership with the public in our collective effort to improve the environment. We will step up our interface with the public through the internet, enhance our public education and community involvement activities and continue to engage the public and consult them on major policy issues. Second, we shall step up our effort to deal with full range of environmental problems which pose a threat to our environment. Having spent some time on the works side of Government, I have developed a habit of attaching a timetable to whatever we do. Instead of enumerating our long list of policy initiatives, perhaps I should set out what you can expect to see from us in the next few months :  

The community has high expectations of us, and this is reflected in the high profile given to environmental issues in the media and the large number of questions on the environment that the Secretary has to handle in the Legislative Council every week. By way of illustration, we have to answer 91 Special FC questions this year, which is almost a 1/3 increase over the 69 questions we dealt with last year. This is a clear reflection of the importance the community attaches to the environment.

While we are faced with challenges to our environment on all fronts, I would only quote what was once said in some darkest hours in modern history :

The world is going to judge the success of this merger by our ability to deliver. At the end of the day, it is the results that really matter. I am of the firm conviction that with the determined effort and professionalism of everyone in the new Environmental Protection Department and your support, our mission to protect and improve our environment will succeed.

Thank you.