Climate Resilient Cities: Integrating Nature-based Solutions in Urban Planning

As Associate Director of Conservation for TNC HK, Marine oversees all TNC’s local conservation programs, with a special focus on protecting and restoring wetland habitats. She joined TNC in 2014 as a volunteer, bringing 7 years of project management experience from various industries in the corporate world. She graduated with a Master’s degree in Environmental Management from HKU. Marine was born in HK with French-British background.

My Sustainability Goals for 2024:

To strengthen ocean health and coastal resilience in the Greater Bay Area by restoring habitats, revitalizing sustainable aquaculture, catalysing investment in Nature-based Solutions and engaging the general public in conservation action.

Alexander [Sandy] Duggie is a Registered Landscape Architect, a Fellow of the Hong Kong Institute of Landscape Architects and the Managing Director of URBIS Limited, a Hong Kong based multi-award winning design consultancy established in 1977, and providing services in masterplanning, urban design, town planning, landscape design, golf course design and environmental impact analysis. He has lived in Hong Kong and worked for URBIS since 1985, during which time he has contributed to several major territorial and strategic planning studies for the Hong Kong Government, and designed a very large range of private and public sector projects from small private gardens to large scale public infrastructure works. Designed projects include public parks, open spaces and streetscapes, schools, hospitals, hotels, residential, commercial and mixed-use developments and golf courses. Sandy is particularly concerned with designing the public realm to meet the needs of modern society, including the promotion of sustainable design and increased biodiversity in urban development. He is also the 2nd Vice Chairman of the BEAM Society Limited, a Director of the Hong Kong Green Building Council, a Member of the HKGBC Green Building Faculty, and a Director of the Professional Green Building Council.

My Sustainability Goals for 2024:

• To press Government to deliver on promises to preserve Hong Kong’s remnant natural environment and to stop continued destruction of woodlands and wetlands in the name of economic development (e.g. Fanling Golf Course, San Tin Wetlands)
• To encourage a radical rethink of the design, management and maintenance of landscape open spaces – both public and private – to promote biodiversity and biophilia so as to enhance long-term community health and wellness.
• To prevent green-washing.

Dr Michael Lau is now working as an independent ecological consultant and is also an Adjunct Professor in the School of Biological Sciences, the University of Hong Kong. Previously, he had worked for World Wide Fund for Nature – Hong Kong as the Wetlands Conservation Director and for Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden as the Department Head of the South China Biodiversity Programme. He has wide experience on studying the threats to the natural world, formulating conservation and sustainable development strategy and implementing projects in the region.

He pursued his Ph.D. research in the University of Hong Kong on the habitat use of Hong Kong amphibians and the conservation of the Romer’s Tree Frog and took part in the Hong Kong Biodiversity Survey that covered all the terrestrial and aquatic habitats in the SAR.

He had sat in a number of Government advisory committees including Hong Kong Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan Steering Committee, Advisory Council on the Environment, Lantau Development Committee, and, Country and Marine Parks Board. He is a founding member of the Hong Kong Wetlands Conservation Association. He is also a member of several IUCN Species Survival Commission specialist groups and has contributed to the Red List assessment of various threatened wildlife.

My Sustainability Goals for 2024:

Formulate a wetland restoration plan not only to increase the resilience of Northern Metropolis but also to enhance the biodiversity in a changing climate.
Formulate the nature positive criteria for businesses and developments in Hong Kong.

Kitty Tam is the Programme Lead of Hong Kong 2050 is Now. In her role, she aims to influence and encourage societies to adopt rapid, deep, and sustained climate actions, while promoting a nature-positive world. Having a diverse educational background in geography, business management, and environmental governance, Kitty has acquired a comprehensive understanding of the intricate connections between human activities and the natural world. With her previous experience at WWF-Hong Kong, Kitty played a key role in driving policy change to address pressing environmental challenges.

My Sustainability Goals for 2024:

1. Nature positive: The government set a clear target on biodiversity that aligns with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework in its next Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan.

2. Carbon neutrality: The government publish the allocation of the $240 billion budget for carbon mitigation and adaptation.

3. Waste Management: The government provide a clear timetable and roadmap for the launch of the Municipal Waste Charging Scheme.

Ms. Woo is experienced in conservation advocacy and environmental monitoring in Hong Kong with over a decade of dedicated work in environmental NGOs. She actively engages with government departments and stakeholders providing ecological advice on various projects, works and management practices, and has published three reports assessing Hong Kong’s progress in biodiversity conservation under the Convention on Biological Diversity. Current environmental challenges are often complex and interconnected, she is particularly in cross-sector collaboration to seek practical solutions for nature conservation and benefits to the local community.

My Sustainability Goals for 2024:

• Raise awareness of the importance of our natural environment among all people in Hong Kong, no matter in what industry or field they are.
• Gain more support from different sectors nature conservation projects, especially for agriculture/aquaculture-related, and further develop conservation projects to be more socially, economically and ecologically sustainable.
• Assist Hong Kong to become a more eco-friendly city, which can in turn align with the national policy of Ecological Civilization and help fulfil mainland China’s obligation under the Convention on Biological Diversity.