As hiking and eco-tours gain popularity among urban dwellers, HK Electric and the Conservancy Association (CA) call on hikers to "Go Green, Go Low Carbon" when they visit the countryside.
The appeal was the theme of this year's Green Hong Kong Green (GHKG) Eco-tour Festival, an annual event jointly organised by HK Electric and the Conservancy Association to promote eco-tourism and environmental awareness.
Speaking at today's (29 November) opening ceremony, HK Electric's Managing Director, Mr. Wan Chi-tin said the company had conducted a simple survey with CA to understand the habits of the public when they are out enjoying nature and have collected more than 230 responses.
Results show that out of nine good hiking habits, most respondents brought their own recycled water bottles (95%) and took public transport (91%). Some 88% also indicated that they would respect local culture and lifestyle, especially when they were in the vicinity of local villages.
However, only 55% of respondents said they brought their own lunch boxes and cutlery, or would prepare low carbon refreshments (53%) for their trips. Some people also tended to neglect the adverse impact of chemically-based products, such as sun blocks or mosquito repellents, on the environment as only 53% avoided using them when hiking.
Mr. Wan said it was encouraging to note that more than 70% of respondents adopted six green habits in the survey, and nearly 90% said that they already put into practice five such green habits in their hiking or eco tours. "HK Electric has been a keen supporter of enhancing green awareness and has considered environmental impacts on all our operations," he pointed out. "Our plan to build a new natural gas turbine has recently been approved, with tendering completed and detailed design underway. We are confident that we could achieve the emission targets set out by the Government."
Chairperson of CA, Ms. Lucy Woo, said: "To walk our talk, HK Electric and CA saw to every detail of the Festival to make it a truly green and local carbon event. We tried to use minimal designs and recyclables for venue decoration; arranged low carbon lunches for staff and encouraged them to bring their own water bottles. We set up recycling stations on site while encouraging the public to bring their own rubbish away, etc. With these in place, we hope to have an interesting, fun-filled and yet low carbon Eco-tour Festival."
The Festival staged at the Aberdeen Country Park today attracted more than 1,000 people who took part in various activities in the festival that included 26 eco-heritage tours conducted in various parts of Hong Kong and Lamma islands; a carnival featuring fun and educational game booths; hands-on workshops on organic mosquito repellents and recycled BYOB; quick sketching and low-carbon food demonstrations; book sharing sessions; and performances themed on nature.
Today's function marked 10 years of collaboration between HK Electric and CA as the GHKG programme was first launched in 2005. Since then, the programme has evolved over time, expanding its footprint to cover Lamma and Hong Kong islands, where eight eco-heritage routes have been developed with education panels installed en route. Eco-tour maps, smartphone app and facebook page featuring the major characteristics and access information of the routes have also been produced. Up to date, about 500 public tours involving nearly 7,000 participants have been organised.
For details of the programme and eco tours, simply download the "Green Hong Kong Green" app, browse CA's website at www.cahk.org.hk or call 2728 6781.