DEP chairs Technology Discussion Forum on Water Quality Management and Pollution Control under Belt and Road Initiative

     The Director of Environmental Protection, Dr Samuel Chui, today (September 14) chaired the Technology Discussion Forum on Water Quality Management and Pollution Control under the Belt and Road (B&R) Initiative held at the Environmental Academy of the Environmental Protection Department (EPD).

     Representatives from the Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the Chairman and representatives of the Central Environmental Authority of the Government of Sri Lanka were invited to join the forum, which was held by the EPD with a view to further enhancing the development of water quality management, water pollution control and smart enforcement in countries including Sri Lanka.
      
     At the forum, Dr Chui shared Hong Kong's successful experience as a coastal city in using seawater toilet flushing, sewage treatment and submarine outfall discharges. EPD officers participating in the forum also introduced the practices of water pollution control, environmental impact assessment, water quality monitoring and modelling, as well as sewage surveillance for COVID-19 in Hong Kong. Colleagues from the Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences of the Chinese Academy of Sciences gave a briefing on their co-operation with Sri Lanka on the protection of water environment and the sewage treatment strategies in rural areas in Mainland China, while the Sri Lanka attendants introduced the current water management in their country.
      
     Dr Chui said the EPD would continue to proactively connect with B&R regions and leverage Hong Kong's experience and advantage in environmental protection to assist B&R regions in jointly achieving green and sustainable development.
      
     On the eighth Belt and Road Summit held yesterday (September 13), a co-operation agreement was signed between the Environment and Ecology Bureau and the Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The EPD also signed a memorandum of understanding with the Central Environmental Authority of the Government of Sri Lanka. Today's forum is part of an exchange programme held under the two co-operation frameworks. The programme also included visits to the EPD's sewage sludge treatment facility T·PARK, Stonecutters Island Sewage Treatment Works of the Drainage Services Department and Wan Chai No. 2 Seawater Pumping Station of the Water Supplies Department on September 12.

  Source：The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region