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The community will have the chance to help directly shape long-term government policies under the "Engagement Process" launched by the Council for Sustainable Development, said council chairman and Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Donald Tsang, today (September 13).

Describing the process as "a new type of consultation", Mr Tsang urged members of the public to register for the series of forums and workshops that the council will organise in the coming weeks to gather feedback directly from the community on sustainable directions for Hong Kong in three key areas.

"The council will organise a series of workshops from late September to early November, focusing on the issues of 'Solid Waste Management', 'Renewable Energy' and 'Urban Living Space'," said Mr Tsang. "These workshops will be open to the general public, and will be a key element of the council's engagement process. The council is genuinely seeking the community's views on the long-term sustainability of our city."

At the council's meeting today, the chair of the Strategy Sub-committee, Dr Edgar Cheng, reviewed the feedback so far on the council's "Invitation and Response" (IR) document, entitled "Sustainable Development ¡V Making Choices for Our Future", which was issued in July 2004.

"So far there has been a good response from the community," said Dr Cheng. "This reflects Hong Kong people's concern about the well-being of our future generations."

Dr Cheng noted that some 400 responses had already been posted on the interactive Sustainable Development Strategy website at http://www.susdev.org.hk, and that nearly 100 written responses and questionnaires had been received.

"It is important that we build upon this initial response by engaging members of the community in more direct discussions and debates," said Dr Cheng. "To this end, we will hold the workshops in different districts of Hong Kong, and encourage people from different sectors to take part."

The engagement process is due to run until late November, and the council plans to consider reports and recommendations on the way forward for Hong Kong's Sustainable Development Strategy in December this year.

At today's meeting the council also considered the work of the Education and Publicity Sub-committee in planning and implementing awareness raising activities on sustainable development. Several applications have been received under the second funding round of the Sustainable Development Fund, the deadline for which is September 30.

Ends/Monday, September 13, 2004

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