2023 Nature-based Solutions for Climate Forum

The first forum was held successfully in North Point, Hong Kong, on 27 October 2023. The event witnessed the attendance of over 90 in-person participants, including representatives from the government, related industries, and interested corporates. This Nature-based Solutions-themed forum provided a platform for stakeholders to delve into the transformative potential of Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) and their role in climate mitigation and adaptation.

The Nature-Based Solutions for Climate Forum, co-organised by The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and Civic Exchange, was held on 27th October 2023 with resounding success. The event witnessed the attendance of over 90 in-person participants, including representatives from government, related industries, and interested corporates. This Nature-based Solutions-themed forum provided a platform for stakeholders to delve into the transformative potential of Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) and their role in climate mitigation and adaptation.

NBS involves the protection, management, and restoration of natural and semi-natural ecosystems to effectively address climate change- related challenges whilst benefiting both people and nature. These solutions have the potential to contribute up to 30% of the cost-effective mitigation required to limit global warming to 1.5°C by 2030. Additionally, NBS offers multiple other socio-economic and environmental co-benefits. 

Addressing the forum, Ms Lulu Zhou, Director of Strategic Partnerships (Asia Pacific) and Hong Kong Program Lead at The Nature Conservancy, emphasised the urgent need for a holistic and integrated NBS policy in Hong Kong. She stated, "Nature-based solutions are nothing new, but we realize the science is evolving, and we have to take more bold actions to integrate practices and policies to keep up with the increasing threats from climate change."

The distinguished speakers at the event shared their expertise and insights, highlighting the potential of NBS in various contexts. Dr. Billy Hau （侯智恒博士）, from the University of Hong Kong, emphasised the impact of reforesting the Northern Metropolis, stating, "Reforesting the Northern Metropolis can get an additional gain of 340,000 tons of carbon, also bring co-benefits such as hill fire control, reduced flooding and cooling of urban areas."

Mr. Lam Chiu Ying （林超英先生）, representing the Hong Kong Countryside Foundation, former Director of Hong Kong Observatory, and an advocate for wetland conservation, affirmed the importance of nature. He suggests expanding wetland conservation in Hong Kong and proposes that Hong Kong should become a Ramsar Wetland City. He states, "Nature is the fundamental answer to all problems, without Nature, civilisation would not exist." 

Echoing the sentiment, Mr Tobi Lau （劉兆強先生） from WWF-Hong Kong, speaking at the forum, envisioned a wetland-rich Hong Kong, saying, "We can uplift Hong Kong to a Wetland City, not just the Deep Bay area but an international demonstration site, that shows that Hong Kong is ecologically civilised."

Recent research by Dr. Han Baolong （韓寶龍博士）, Assistant Professor at the Research Centre for Eco-Environmental Science, The Chinese Academy of Science, shed light on the importance of oyster and mangrove restoration strategies in Hong Kong. He shared that, "The risk of sea level rise and population increase at the Northern Metropolis by the end of this century will increase 50% of the coastal vulnerability risk, whilst oyster and mangrove restoration strategies will reduce 20% of the risk from sea level rise." 

In his closing remarks, Mr. Lawrence Iu （姚俊業先生）, the Executive Director of Civic Exchange highlights the need to develop a platform that brings together corporate and conservation experts to work collaboratively. He concluded, “By embracing nature as our ally and integrating naturebased approaches into our policies and practices, we can forge a path towards a sustainable and resilient future for our city and the Greater Bay Area.”

The Nature-Based Solutions for Climate Forum successfully brought together stakeholders from diverse backgrounds, fostering collaboration and knowledge exchange. The event concluded with a shared hope that the insights and ideas generated during the forum would contribute to meaningful actions in tackling the climate crisis. The Nature Conservancy extends sincere gratitude to J.P. Morgan for their support of this event. 

Opening remarks
(Ms Lulu Zhou, The Nature Conservancy)

Session 1: NBS Policy framework overview in addressing climate change challenges for Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area
(Chair by Mr Lawrence Iu, Civic Exchange)

A holistic and integrated Nature-based Solution policy for Hong Kong
(Ms Kitty Tsz-ching Tam, Civic Exchange, HK2050isNow)

NBS Climate Policies and Practices in the Greater Bay Area
(Ms Kelly Dai, ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability)

A NBS pathway to Carbon neutrality in the Greater Bay Area
(Prof Faming Wang, South China Botanical Garden, The Chinese Academy of Science)

Coastal vulnerability assessment and Habitat restoration as Nature-based Solutions for Hong Kong
(Dr Baolong Han, Research Centre for Eco-Environmental Science, Chinese Academy of Science)

Session 2: NBS Case studies and local applicability
(Chair by Ms Marine Thomas, The Nature Conservancy)

Resilient Drainage - Blend the Natural Water Environment into our City
(Ir Edwin Shing Cheong Lau, Drainage Service Department)

Applications of Nature-based Solutions in Hong Kong
(Ir Dr Vincent Cheng, ARUP)

Forest Restoration in the Northern Metropolis, Hong Kong
(Dr Billy Hau, School of Biological Science, University of Hong Kong)

Nature-based Solutions Implementation in Futian, Shenzhen
(Dr Patrick Yeung, Mangrove Conservation Foundation, Shenzhen)

Ms Lulu Zhou
The Nature Conservancy

Lulu Zhou is Director of Strategic Partnerships (Asia Pacific) of The Nature Conservancy, acting as Hong Kong Program Lead and leading the philanthropy and conservation programs in Hong Kong. Her responsibility focuses on both building the conservation vision and on-the-groundwork locally, and strengthening the supporter base in Hong Kong that ensures TNC’s financial sustainability throughout Asia Pacific region. Ms. Zhou joined TNC in 2008, first as Conservation Project Officer and later as Director of Strategic Development, when she oversaw the planning and implementation of a comprehensive development program to secure philanthropic resources for the China program.

Mr Lawrence Iu
Civic Exchange

Lawrence Iu is the Executive Director of Civic Exchange. His research and engagement projects focus on climate change modelling and carbon neutrality policy issues. Mr Iu previously worked in a multinational corporation and a higher institution, where he coordinated environmental sustainability and occupational health & safety projects across Asia Pacific and led emerging technology management, circular economy, and green chemistry research. He was awarded two research grants for enhancing process hazard assessment. Mr Iu holds a Master of Philosophy in Environmental Engineering, a Master of Science in Environmental Science and Management and a Bachelor of Engineering in Chemical and Bioproduct Engineering from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

Ms Kitty Tam Tsz-ching
Civic Exchange, HK2050isNow 

Kitty is a dedicated professional with a passion for environmental conservation and policy-driven solutions. With a degree in geography, business management, and environmental governance, she discovered her calling whilst working in the Amazon rainforest. Kitty is now leading the decarbonisation programme “Hong Kong 2050 is Now” at the public-policy think tank Civic Exchange, to drive for rapid, deep, and sustained climate actions.

Ms Kelly Dai
International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives – Local Governments for Sustainability

Ms Dai is the program officer at ICLEI. She has a transdisciplinary academic background in both social science and sustainability research. She holds a Master’s degree from the Lund University Centre for Sustainability Studies, where she was engaged in various community climate action and sustainable urban food system projects and has gained expertise from community work in the Pearl River Delta region. Ms Dai has a keen interest in sustainable transition in developing countries, especially China.

Prof Faming Wang
South China Botanical Garden, The Chinese Academy of Science

Prof. Faming Wang is a bio-geochemist. His research focuses on examining how climate change and human perturbations of the coastal ecosystems affect bio-geochemistry cycling. His approach to research is multi-disciplinary, spanning the fields of plant physiology, ecology, microbiology, and molecular biology. Prof. Wang graduated from South China Botanical Garden (SCBG), The Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2010, and earned Ph. D in soil ecology. From 2015 to 2019, he visited the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) The University of Chicago and worked as a post-doc researcher in MBL. Currently, Prof. Wang is the head of Coastal Ecosystems Biogeochemistry Lab and holds the position of professor in SCBG. In 2021, He was listed in the China National Youth Talent Support Program. His lab in SCBG mainly focuses on: Soil Ecology, Bio-geochemistry, Ecology Restoration, Tropical Forest, Coastal Wetland, Ecosystem C, N and P cycling, Plant P adaption.

Dr Baolong Han
Research Centre for Eco-Environmental Science, Chinese Academy of Science

Dr Han is an Associate Professor at the Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences (RCEES), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). He works as the Urban Program Director of the CAS-based Natural Capital team. He leads the development of the Chinese urban ecosystem assessment platform, which is the core engine of Easy GEP (a Chinese Gross Ecosystem Product accounting system) and is used for urban planning and governance evaluation. 

Ms Marine Thomas
The Nature Conservancy

Marine is the Senior Conservation Project Manager for The Nature Conservancy (TNC) Hong Kong. She is responsible for overseeing TNC’s marine conservation projects on the ground, with a current focus on restoring natural habitats and developing sustainable oyster aquaculture. Marine joined TNC in 2014 as a volunteer, bringing seven years of project management experience from various industries in the corporate world. She graduated with a Master’s degree in Environmental Management from The University of Hong Kong. Marine also holds a Bachelor’s degree in Chinese language and civilisation from the National Institute of Oriental Language and Civilisation in Paris and a Master of Science in International Management for China from the School of Oriental and African Studies in London.

Ir Edwin ShingCheong Lau
Drainage Services Department

Ir Edwin SC Lau is the Assistant Director of Hong Kong Drainage Services Department. He is a civil engineer by profession with over 25 years of working experience. Ir Lau has master degree in Civil Engineering and Environmental Management. He has been involved in various stages of planning, design, construction and operation of drainage and sewage infrastructure projects, as well as participated in new development area projects. Ir Lau is currently the Assistant Director heading the Operations and Maintenance Branch of Drainage Services Department (DSD), responsible for formulating flood control strategy, planning river revitalisation, maintenance of drainage and sewage systems as well as research and development projects for the department.

Ir Dr Vincent Cheng
ARUP

Dr Vincent Cheng is an Arup Fellow and East Asia Climate and Sustainability Leader at Arup. Vincent has over 25 years of work experience on low-carbon master planning, infrastructure and properties, carbon neutrality, green finance, environment, society, and governance (ESG) for international, greater China and local clients and projects. Vincent and the team assist clients in solving complex business, operational, and strategic design issues, especially in the planning and management of resilient system infrastructure, carbon reduction path planning, and "Nature-based Solutions (NbS)" etc. Dr Cheng has been appointed to serve as committee member of various government and professional organisations, including the Energy Advisory Committee of the Environment and Ecology Bureau, the Green Technology and Financial Development Committee of the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau, Hong Kong Green Building Council and so on.

Dr Billy Hau
School of Biological Science, University of Hong Kong

Dr Hau is the programme director of MSc Environmental Management at University of Hong Kong. He is a terrestrial ecologist and a conservationist. His research focus is ecological restoration, especially for terrestrial habitats in degraded tropical East Asia. He founded the Native Tree Nursery of the Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden (KFBG) which promotes the use of native plant species in forest restoration work. He is also one of the founders of the China programme of KFBG which aims at halting biodiversity loss in South China. He serves in government committees on ecology and conservation. He is currently a member of the Town Planning Board.

Dr Patrick Yeung
Mangrove Conservation Foundation, Shenzhen

Patrick obtained his PhD in Biology from the Chinese University of Hong Kong. He joined WWF-Hong Kong in 2014 to study on marine litter problem as well as coastal biodiversity in Hong Kong through citizen science activities, form solutions to the marine litter problem with different sectors, and to facilitate for regional cooperation. He has joined the WWF-China’s team as expert consultant to develop the ocean conservation program. In particular, he is leading the projects on marine habitat/species conservation, sustainable fisheries, and ocean plastic. He joined the Mangrove Conservation Foundation in 2023 as the Senior Program Director, Conservation Program Office where he leads the conservation program of MCF, and he contributed to the setup of International Wetland Centre in Shenzhen. 

Prof Juan Diego Gaitan-Espitia
Swire Institute of Marine Science, University of Hong Kong

Prof Gaitan-Espitia is a marine biologist and molecular ecologist with broad expertise in conservation of marine resources. He has been working on different approaches to understand and mitigate the loss of marine biodiversity, and to develop adaptation strategies in the face of climate change. Prof Gaitan-Espitia is the Hong Kong representative at the Indo-Pacific Seagrass Network and a contributing author for the Working Group II of the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report, Chapter 3: Ocean and coastal ecosystems and their services. Dr Gaitan-Espitia is also one of the members of the Biological Working Group of the Global Ocean Acidification Observatory Network (GOA-ON). His research aims to develop better understanding of the ecological and evolutionary responses of biodiversity to environmental stress and climate change.

Dr Felix Leung
The Nature Conservancy

Felix is the Climate Change Fellow for The Nature Conservancy (TNC) Hong Kong. He is responsible for assessing nature-based solutions for climate mitigation potential in Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area, developing strategic partnerships with academic partners and industries to achieve conservation goals. Felix has over ten years of research and professional experience specialising in climate change science, agriculture, marine ecology, and environmental management. Prior to joining TNC, he completed his Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. His research focused on the impact of urbanisation and policy on the environment and biodiversity of the Greater Bay Area.

Dr Carmen Or
Worldwide Fund for Nature Hong Kong

Carmen is the manager of wetland research in WWF-Hong Kong. She obtained her PhD in Biological Science at the University of Hong Kong and joined WWF-Hong Kong in 2017. Based in Mai Po Nature Reserve, she oversees the monitoring and research in the Reserve. She is also responsible for managing wetland research projects in Hong Kong and Greater Bay Area, supporting the mainstreaming of NBS locally and regionally. 

Moderator

Mr Robert Gibson
Civic Exchange

Robert Gibson is a Fellow of Civic Exchange, and a Chair of the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants’ Sustainability Committee. He moved to Hong Kong in 1980 and worked for the Swire Group from then until 2010, including as Director of Sustainable Development for John Swire & Sons (HK) Ltd from 2007 to 2010. His research areas are (1) How to make capitalism more sustainable. This includes the work of International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) and Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). (2) Governance for mitigating greenhouse gas emissions, carbon dioxide removal and adapting to climate change.

Panellists

Mr Chiu-ying Lam
Hong Kong Countryside Foundation, HK2050isNow

Mr Lam is a Chartered Meteorologist and the former Director of the Hong Kong Observatory. He served as Chairman of the Hong Kong Bird Watching Society between 1997 and 2004 and is now its Honorary President. He is the chairman of Hong Kong Countryside Foundation and an advisor of HK2050isNow. Mr Lam has been a guest host of several radio programmes, covering nature and climate change. He lectured at the Geography and Resource Management Department of the Chinese University of Hong Kong for ten years.

Dr Ting Fong May Chui
University of Hong Kong

Dr. Ting Fong May Chui is currently an associate professor in the Department of Civil Engineering of The University of Hong Kong. She obtained her bachelor’s degree from Lafayette College and completed her M.S. and Ph.D. studies at Stanford University, both in the U.S. Her general research fields are hydrology and sustainable water resources engineering. In particular, she has contributed to the sustainable management of stormwater and groundwater. She has also facilitated the conservation of wetlands and rivers in the face of urbanisation and advanced our understanding of the interactions between surface water, groundwater, and ecology. Further, she has developed various innovative numerical modelling techniques for coupled hydrological and ecological processes. She is currently the chairperson of the International Association for Hydro-Environment Engineering and Research Asia and Pacific Regional Division- Hong Kong Chapter. She is also serving on the executive committee of International Water Association Regional Committee of Hong Kong, Drinking Water Safety Advisory Committee of HK Government, etc. 

Mr Tobi Lau
Worldwide Fund for Nature Hong Kong

Tobi has been with WWF-Hong Kong for over two decades. In the early years, Tobi worked at the Mai Po Nature Reserve, overseeing habitat management on one hand, and facilitating communication between the Reserve, the Deep Bay pond-fish farming community, and the Government to resolve conflicts between humans and wildlife on the other. Tobi is now the senior manager of the Hong Kong Biodiversity and Conservation Policy team, whose mission is to safeguard local biodiversity through various means, including reviewing existing environmental policy loopholes and providing solutions. Additionally, the team advocates for government authorities, legislators, and influential bodies to support and/or adopt WWF's recommendations. One of Tobi’s recent major interests is studying the applicability of the Integrated Conservation Development Framework in peri-urban areas with development potential or permission in the society.