Response to Policy Address 2023/2024 from Mr. Paul Chan, President of the Hong Kong Institute of Landscape Architects

We support the government’s efforts to accelerate the development of the “Northern Metropolis” and the artificial islands of Kau Yi Chau. We have previously proposed the creation of a landscape committee to improve coordination and planning, ensuring the implementation of various government policies related to ecology, landscape and greening. We advocate for the use of nature-based solutions to address the challenges posed by climate change, with the aim of helping Hong Kong become a more attractive international city.

This year’s policy speech introduced the “Shining City Project”, which will focus on developing the Shing Mun River and Yuen Long Nullah into flower viewing hotspots. We are delighted to see the government’s focus on urban greening projects and its proactive efforts to beautify the city, with the aim of improving the well-being of its citizens. We also anticipate the use of Hong Kong’s landscape expertise in future sustainable development plans, enabling landscape architects to make meaningful contributions to Hong Kong’s development.

We are delighted to see that the government has adopted our recommendations in the development of the “Métropole du Nord” project. With a focus on environmental preservation and high-quality urban development, the project takes into consideration the natural topography and includes the creation of the Sam Po Shue Wetland Conservation Park. This park will improve ecological quality and biodiversity. We collaborated with a team of experts from Hong Kong and Shenzhen to provide planning advice and recommendations for this project.

The government released “Hong Kong 2030+: Towards a Planning Vision and Strategy Transcending 2030” in October 2021, which plans to increase the amount of open space per person to 3.5 m² compared to 2.0 m² original, but this still remains the case. lower than that of most large developed cities. Additionally, there are still significant amounts of undeveloped recreational land and some existing public open spaces (POS) do not meet society’s design and amenity requirements. We recommend that in the next 5 years, modernize at least 5% of existing POS, and in the next 5 years, develop at least 50 hectares of POS in urban areas (i.e. excluding those in new areas). of development). .

In response to the growing demand for green urban planning, we propose to explore the proposal for self-certification for tree preservation and removal (TPRP) by a licensed landscape architect to be applied to public works. This initiative aims to optimize urban forestry policies, reduce project approval times while effectively managing the life cycle of trees, preserving valuable landscape resources and ensuring public safety.

Currently, there are only around 300 registered landscape architects in Hong Kong. With society’s increasing emphasis on ecological landscapes and the continued implementation of many construction projects, the demand for landscape professionals continues to increase.

In this year’s policy speech, the government outlined its intention to allocate substantial resources to promote innovation and technological development. Recognizing the challenge of rapidly increasing the number of qualified landscaping professionals in a short period of time, we hope that the government will devote some of these resources to the development of the landscaping industry. This allocation would help alleviate the problem of labor shortage and contribute to the overall growth of the sector.

We express our support for the government’s efforts to attract and retain talent, and recommend providing more incentives and funding for mainland and overseas professionals wishing to work in Hong Kong. This would ensure a stable supply of talent for the industry. However, it is crucial to strike a balance and also provide sufficient employment opportunities for local talents, in order to maintain Hong Kong’s competitiveness.

We are committed to promoting cross-border collaboration with the Greater Bay Area (GBA) to facilitate mutual complementarity in terms of human resources and management resources. We aim to promote the development of the industry and actively participate in the national development agenda.

We are pleased to see the government’s proactive efforts to expand the professional talent pool, as we believe this will lay a solid foundation for attracting more elites to the industry. The assessment and certification systems we implement for landscape architects and arborists are widely recognized in the market and have rich experience in quality assurance. We are willing to enter into discussions with the government regarding cross-border recognition of qualifications for professionals from other regions who wish to develop their careers locally. Additionally, we are ready to provide relevant professional advisory services in this regard.