18
The Environment
SIGNIFICANT developments in pollution control beyond the usual drafting of laws and the introduction of additional means of protecting the environment occurred during 1977.
A 21-year consultancy study, completed during the last half of the year, made recommendations for comprehensive environmental protection legislation together with a programme for establishing the organisation required to control pollution. An environmental protection adviser was recruited during the year to head a new Environmental Protection Unit that will be responsible for developing environmental protection policy; establishing priorities and guidelines for pollution control; co- ordinating pollution control efforts; providing technical expertise on pollution control; and ensuring that the provisions of environmental protection legislation are properly implemented.
Pollution Control Organisation
The policy-making and co-ordinating body responsible for the environment is the Environment Branch of the Government Secretariat. As well as pollution and conservation, its responsibilities broadly cover land matters, overall planning, new towns, urban services and transport.
The Secretary for the Environment's task is to encourage and oversee development and, at the same time, to ensure that the environment is protected. He also considers ways of tackling existing pollution and guarding against potential pollution from sophisticated new industries. A wide range of pollution control legislation has existed in Hong Kong for many years. But this grew in a somewhat piecemeal fashion and was enforced by a number of departments without any overall co-ordination. Although this proved effective in such areas as smoke control, water pollution, oil spills and the management of waste disposal, both the legislation and the fragmented control are now considered to be generally inadequate.
For this reason, environmental consultants were engaged in 1974 to study the situation and advise on the general approach to be adopted towards environmental protection. The consultants also were asked to draw up detailed recommendations for monitoring the environment, and for the legislation, organisation and strategy required for its implementation. Their recommendations will form the basis for comprehensive environmental protection legislation. Earlier advice put forward by the consultants led to the establishment of the Environmental Protection Unit, which has a professional adviser as its head and for which qualified staff are being recruited.