Mass education is indeed an important element for Hong Kong to achieve sustainable development. However, as seen from the Longweitan incident described as an "ecological disaster", in addition to the general public's knowledge of environmental conservation, the problem also comes from the SAR officials who formulated the relevant policies. Body-When the Environmental Protection Agency under the Environment Bureau handles relevant disputes, whether it has sufficient knowledge and research work to minimize the impact on the environment is also the key to the success or failure of "sustainable development".
In 1998, the government enacted the "Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations" (hereinafter referred to as the "Environmental Assessment Regulations"), which stipulates that if there are any large-scale development projects, such as transportation infrastructure, reclamation, industrial facilities, etc., the foreseeable environmental impacts and risks caused to evaluate.
However, Longwei Beach does not seem to benefit from the protection of the "EIA Regulations"-this has to be puzzling, since the government has a mechanism to balance land planning and environmental conservation, where is the problem?
"Development and Conservation" In-depth Report Series No. 4
The "Longwei Guardian Alliance" once filed a judicial review and asked the government to withdraw the environmental permit for the Longwei artificial beach. In the end, it lost the lawsuit and was unable to recover.
(Photo by Wu Zhongkun)
From the Longwei Beach and offshore LNG incidents, it can be seen that the problem with the EIA system is that it only focuses on the short-term impact of the project on the environment, rather than the long-term ecological impact.
(Photo by Ou Jiale)
Ecological crisis. One｜"Sustainable Development" Global Responsible Policy Doesn't Bring Ecological Disaster
Ecological crisis. 2. What's wrong with "environmental education" when citizens know but do not practice?
Ecological crisis. Three | Three major shortcomings of the environmental impact assessment system
Ecological crisis. Four | The concept of "development first, conservation later" should be parallel to the backwardness of the two
For details, please pay attention to the 297th "Hong Kong 01" Electronic Weekly Article published on December 28, 2021, "
Three Shortcomings of the Environmental Impact Assessment System: Counting Missing Numbers, Too-Institutionalization, and Lack of Principled Discussion
".
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