To mark World Environment Day, the Consulate General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and Business Environment Council will co-host a webinar to discuss shared challenges and present inspiring examples from Hong Kong and the Netherlands towards creating green infrastructure strategies to support biodiversity and more sustainable ways of living, in harmony with nature.
In dealing with the hustle and bustle of city life, green spaces offer people breathing room; a place to recover physically and mentally, and connect with nature. These green spaces are vital for climate resilience and contribute to a better quality of life for people.
The Hong Kong Government has announced a number of large-scale infrastructure initiatives, including the Northern Metropolis Development Strategy and the Lantau Tomorrow Vision, with the aim to secure a more sustainable living environment for people. How can we develop a coexistence of infrastructure, urbanisation and nature to support an eco-friendly and balanced lifestyle?
Speakers
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Mr David Yuen Mr David Yuen is a Registered Landscape Architect, Professional Member of the Hong Kong Institute of Landscape Architects, Certified Arborist of the International Society of Arboriculture and holder of Professional Tree Inspection (Hong Kong) of Lantra Awards, UK. David has joined the HKSAR Government for over 10 years and worked in various departments for exposure in handling work types such as landscape design and contract administration, development control, vegetation maintenance etc. He recently joined Development Bureau as the Assistant Secretary since March 2022, and is responsible on the promotion of quality greening, adoption of new landscape design and technologies such as blue-green infrastructure elements and the urban forestry strategies.
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Mr Martin Putnam Martin has spent over 25 years working on environmental and sustainability issues, primarily in Hong Kong and with a focus on the aviation sector. His experience straddles both mega-project environmental management and developing and driving key elements of the sustainability agenda at HKIA. For Three Runway System project delivery he leads the technical input in areas including terrestrial and marine ecology, landscape and visual aspects, waste management and he was instrumental in the development of an innovative airport green design strategy to drive the development of best practice green / efficient infrastructure and facilities. Martin’s work extends to a number of other corporate sustainability aspect areas, including biodiversity, waste management strategy development, greening of the supply chain and green financing. Martin has a Bachelor’s Degree in Environmental Science and a Master’s Degree in Marine Resource Development and Protection. He is a corporate member of both the Hong Kong Institute of Environmental Impact Assessment and the Hong Kong Institute of Qualified Environmental Professionals.
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Mr Wouter Jochemsen Wouter Jochemsen is director of Global Business & Partnerships at Sempergreen Group. He obtained an engineering degree and has years of experience in the field of sustainable landscaping. Wouter worked for several companies in the Middle East, Asia and Europe. Within Sempergreen Group, Wouter is responsible for the development of new Sempergreen Branches around the globe. All with the aim of making Sempergreen's sustainable products available globally and making the world a little greener.
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Mr Martin Probst Most of Martin’s work is about the transformation of existing cities. This means dealing with complex existing situations and engaging with people already involved locally. Key questions are often how to kickstart transformation and how to frame initiatives for development. Rather than Urban Planning, we think of this as Urban Editing. Throughout his career, Martin choose to work on different scales ranging from regional urban projects to detailed architectural designs. This wide ranging knowledge allows him to successfully lead ambitious urban and architectural commissions from concept design all the way to implementation. Martin believes that success can only be achived through direct collaboration with existing local experts. He has established “Collaborative Consultancy” as an interactive way of working with clients and stakeholders and as effective methodology to give targeted advice on complex projects.
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| Moderator | ||
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Ms Debra Tan, Tan built CWR from an idea into a 'go-to' resource in the global climate water risk conversation. Reports she has written were ground-breaking and instrumental in understanding not just China's but future global water challenges in a changing climate. They are widely cited from the IPCC and IGOs to the financial sector and mainstream media. Tan is published by SpringerNature, Palgrave MacMillan, China policy journals and is a contributing author to the latest IPCC report “Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability”. She also sits on various advisory committees including CDP, CDSB (now IFRS), MNCs as well as judging panels for ACI and UNPRI awards. Before water, Tan spent over a decade in finance. She spends her spare time exploring Himalayan glaciers. |
