Hong Kong Nature-based Solutions Week

Under Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, The Government of Hong Kong SAR

Mr Chan has many years of senior executive experience in the banking industry. He was a Managing Director in the Global Markets Division of Credit Agricole Corporate & Investment Bank, and was a Managing Director in Financial Markets of Standard Chartered Bank.

Prior to joining the Government, Mr Chan held multiple roles in a number of public and professional bodies, including Vice President of the Hong Kong Society of Financial Analysts, Director of Hong Kong Securities & Investment Institute, Advisor of the Chinese Gold & Silver Exchange Society, as well as a General Committee member of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce. Mr Chan was also a member of the Central & Western District Council.

Mr Chan holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics (Hon) and Psychology from the University of Michigan, USA. He is also a Chartered Financial Analyst.

President, Hong Kong Institute of Landscape Architects

Mr. Chan, a seasoned landscape architect, boasts academic expertise in architecture, project management, law, and landscape architecture. Transitioning through roles in architectural consultancies and construction firms, he eventually led a project management department at an international developer before directing landscape architecture at Earthasia Limited. His journey continued as the founding head of landscape architecture at THEi and as a co-founder at Otherland Limited. Mr. Chan has helmed numerous significant projects in Hong Kong and neighboring areas, spanning public realm, institutional, infrastructural, residential, and commercial landscapes. Actively engaged in various professional and consultative bodies and NGOs, he currently presides over the Hong Kong Institute of Landscape Architects and leads multiple committees focused on town planning, land conservation, urban forestry, and climate adaptation. His leadership roles extend internationally, notably as Chairperson of the Climate Change and Biodiversity Working Group for the International Federation of Landscape Architects Asia Pacific Regions.

Managing Director, URBIS Limited

Sandy 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 development and golf courses. Since 1977 URBIS has undertaken over 2,500 projects throughout the Asia Pacific region, South Asia and the Middle East and has won well over 250 awards and competition designs both locally and internationally. Many of these award-winning projects Sandy has worked on, designed and / or directed personally. He is particularly concerned with the promotion of sustainable design, designing the public realm to meet the needs of modern society and protecting the wonderful landscapes and biodiversity of Hong Kong. He is currently a 2nd Vice Chairperson of BEAM Society Limited, a Director of the Hong Kong Green Building Council, a Member of the HKGBC Green Building Faculty and a Member of Nature and Biodiversity AG (N&B AG) of Business Environment Council. In 2024 and 2025, Sandy was Convenor of the Expert Task Force on Biodiversity and Nature-based Solutions that was responsible for drafting the new Chapter 7 ‘Biodiversity and Nature-based Solutions’ in the ‘Climate Change Framework for Built Environment (v.3)’ that was launched on 26 November 2025.

Sandy was the Executive Landscape Architect for Taikoo Square and Taikoo Garden which recently won a Highly Commended Award at the World Architectural Festival in Miami in November 2025.

Director of Civil Engineering and Development, Civil Engineering and Development Department of The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China

Ir Michael Fong is currently the Director of Civil Engineering and Development, leading the department in advancing Hong Kong’s new town development and land supply projects, among which are the Northern Metropolis, which serves as a key driver for the social and economic growth of Hong Kong.

Over the past 30 years, Michael has held numerous positions in various work departments, as well as the Development Bureau. He is widely known in the construction industry as a determined champion of construction collaboration, safety, innovation technologies and urban-rural-nature integration.

Chief Expert International Cooperation, Ministry of Natural Resources

Dynamic environmental governance and sustainability expert with over 30 years of proven track record and skills in advancing ecosystem resilience and policy reforms, fostering global partnerships, and implementing high-impact sustainability initiatives.

Currently serving as Chief Expert for International Cooperation at the Ministry of Natural Resources, leading negotiations and cooperation in nature and natural resource management, developing strategies for marine hazard mitigation, blue carbon certification, and nature-based solutions. Previous roles include managing 100 million US dollar donor projects for improved governance of biodiversity, river basin and international waters, spearheading integrated coastal management and large marine ecosystem approach across Southeast and East Asia, contributing to the implementation Sustainable Development Strategy for the Seas of East Asia and the global frameworks.

Global Head of Nature-based Solutions Centre, IUCN

Charles Karangwa is the Global Head of Nature-based Solutions Centre at IUCN. He was recently appointed to advise Her Excellency Razan Mubarak, IUCN President and COP28-COP 29 High Level Climate Champion on Matters related to Nature-based Solutions.

Before joining IUCN Head Quarter in Switzerland, He served as Regional Head of Land Systems, Covering Forests, Drylands, Nature Based Solutions, Sustainable Agriculture at IUCN Africa Region. He also served as Country Representative for Rwanda since January 2016 and was appointed Country Representative for Kenya starting from 1st of June 2022. Charles have led IUCN Work on NbS and Nature Finance, Land restoration in Africa as part of the Decade of Ecosystem Restoration, Bonn Challenge and AFR100, he engaged both Governments and Non States actors to bring Africa’s commitments to land restoration up to speed since 2016. In 2020, he joined the COP26 High Level Champion team as the lead for land restoration in Africa and worked to engage private sector and other Non-State Actors for an ambitious climate action to Race to Zero and Race to Resilience by 2050.

With more than 18 years of Experience in interface between sustainable development, conservation and sustainable finance, Charles focused his work on Climate Change, sustainable agriculture, biodiversity conservation, nature-based solutions, ecosystem restoration, and sustainable finance.

Charles holds degrees from University of London (SOAS), University of California Berkley, Africa Leadership University School of Business and University of Rwanda. He specialized in Environmental Economics and Global Policy.

Professor of Climate and Environmental Risks in the University of Oxford

Prof. Hall is internationally recognised for his research on risk analysis and decision making under uncertainty for infrastructure systems, water resource systems, flood and coastal risk management and adaptation to climate change. Prof. Hall is a member of the UK Prime Minister's Council for Science and Technology. He was a Commissioner of the National Infrastructure Commission until 2025 and was President of the Institution of Civil Engineers for the year 2024-25. He was a member of the UK independent Committee on Climate Change Adaptation from 2009 to 2019, and was Chair of the Science Advisory Committee of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) from 2020 to 2022. Amongst various distinctions, Prof. Hall was awarded the George Stephenson Medal from the Institution of Civil Engineers in 2001 and the Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Water in 2018. Prof. Hall was a Contributing Author to the Nobel Prize-winning Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. In 2010 Prof. Hall was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering “for his contribution to the development of methods for flood risk analysis, which underpin approaches for flood risk management in the UK and internationally” and in 2025 was made a Fellow of the Royal Society.

Senior Disaster Risk Management Specialist, World Bank 

Chyi-Yun Huang is the Urban, Resilience and Land Global Practice coordinator for China and Mongolia, and a Senior Urban Development and Disaster Risk Management Specialist at the World Bank. She has more than 20 years of experience in integrated urban planning and design, urban resilience, public policy, city management, municipal services and finance and sustainable development. She recently relocated to Beijing, China from Almaty, Kazakhstan. She has led and contributed technical expertise to numerous operation projects and analytical studies in more than 15 countries across four regions (ECA, AFR, SA, EAP). She also co-leads the Transit-oriented Development (TOD) Community of Practice (CoP) in the WB. Prior to joining the World Bank as a Young Professional, she was an Executive Planner with the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), Singapore's national urban planning agency. At the URA, she led various international urban planning/management consultancies and government-to-government collaborations notably with China, oversaw planning initiatives in Singapore, and conducted capacity-building activities and training for international participants. Chyi-Yun holds a M.Sc. in Urban Planning from Columbia University, New York and a B.A. in Architecture from the National University of Singapore, and is a LEED Accredited Professional.

Netherlands Enterprise Agency, Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy

Dr Caroline van Leenders has a PhD in Environmental Studies and works for the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality of The Netherlands on biodiversity and the financial sector. For more than twenty years Caroline has successfully engaged in transformational  change in the field of sustainable energy, plant based food and green cities. In recent years her focus has been on accelerating the transition towards a nature positive financial sector. Bringing people together is essential to change and Caroline has therefore formed various Communities of Practice where financial frontrunners learn from each on natural capital (see Finance for One Planet) other and supported the forming of coalitions such as PBAF, the IDFB and the TNFD. She also creates attention for the importance of halting biodiversity loss by writing books, giving  presentations and commissioning research. Caroline van Leenders is a member of the Advisory Committee on Resource Mobilization of the CBD and lead authors for the IPBES Assessment on Business and Biodiversity. In 2022 Caroline was honored for the second year in the list Top 50 Women in Sustainable Finance.

Chief Development Strategist, Institute for the Environment, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Former Under Secretary for the Environment

She was Under Secretary for the Environment in the HKSAR Government (2012-17), Special Consultant to the Chief Executive on the mainland’s ecological civilization policy (2019-20), and a Member of the Hong Kong Legislative Council (1992-97 and 1998-20). She is currently a board member of Global Maritime Forum, New Forests Pty Ltd, and Towngas Smart Energy Company Limited, and is Asia Society’s Scholar in Residence (2023-24). She is also a Steering Committee member of the United Nations International Organization for Migration’s new Climate Mobility Innovation Lab. Loh has been active in public policy and politics since the 1980s. She founded and was the CEO of the non-profit think tank, Civic Exchange (2000-12), and helped to establish several non-profit organizations in Hong Kong related to the environment, equal opportunity, and arts and culture.

Director, Impact Programs, Columbia Climate School

She specializes in urban climate adaptation planning and public infrastructure project design that is forward-looking and conscious of community-based and ecosystem resilience. At CRCL, she manages the Resilience Accelerator, which delivers strategic support, technical design and climate systems research, and intensive local workshops to advance resilience project design and implementation in partnership with local governments around the world.  Prior to joining CRCL, Johanna worked as a Senior Analyst and Program Manager at HR&A Advisors, where she scaled resilience capacity-building models, developed city- and district-wide climate adaptation plans, and supported the design and evaluation of transformational urban resilience infrastructure investments. As City Planner at the New York City Department of City Planning, she researched planning opportunities in post-industrial, waterfront communities impacted by Hurricane Sandy.

Sustainable Finance Consultant, ADM Capital Foundation

Kate is the lead author of the recently published work ‘Blue Finance for a Blue Economy – Pathways to Marine Conservation in Hong Kong’ and is an accomplished sustainable finance specialist with three decades of experience in financial markets. She currently specializes in developing conservation finance structures and advancing blue economy financing. Previously, she established and managed a team responsible for structuring derivatives and hedging solutions at SMBC Capital Markets (Asia), launching several successful and profitable business initiatives across the Asia-Pacific region. At Pacific Risk Advisors, Kate evaluated significant ESG risks and opportunities within supply chains throughout China and Southeast Asia.

Beyond finance, Kate is an adventurer at heart, passionate about the outdoors and inspiring others to explore.

General Manager, Investment Strategy and Operations at New Zealand’s Ministry for the Environment

Ilana Miller is General Manager, Investment Strategy and Operations at New Zealand’s Ministry for the Environment. She led delivery of the NZ$1.2 billion Jobs for Nature programme, considered the biggest single injection of funding and human effort Aotearoa New Zealand has ever directed at nature; investing in nature-based solutions to restore ecosystems, strengthen climate resilience, and support employment during New Zealand’s COVID-19 recovery. Her leadership is defined by pace, clear accountability, and an ability to turn complex priorities into action.

She oversees national environmental funding portfolios and has developed long-term investment strategies that align policy, science, and funding to deliver measurable results. Ilana has a practical approach to environmental investment: she brings discipline to what gets funded, why it matters, and how success is measured.

Her career spans senior leadership roles across environment, energy, natural resources, and infrastructure regulation. This experience shapes her work integrating nature-based solutions into public investment systems, supporting co-investment, and ensuring environmental restoration delivers lasting value for communities and the economy.

Lead Project Officer (Environment), Asian Development Bank

Mr. Zhiming Niu is a Lead Project Officer (Environment) at the Asian Development Bank (ADB), focusing on food and nature operations. His responsibilities include the design and management of investment projects and knowledge products. He also serves as the focal for ADB’s cofinancing programs with the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and biodiversity in the PRC Resident Mission. He previously oversaw environmental safeguards for ADB operations in the PRC from 2006 to 2015. Mr. Niu worked as Senior Advisor for Land Degradation and Environment at ADB from 2002 to 2006. Prior to joining ADB, he served as a Senior Engineer for watershed management at the PRC Ministry of Water Resources.

Mr. Niu received his academic training at Beijing Forestry University and North Carolina State University (USA), where he earned a PhD. He also completed the Executive Master of Business Administration (EMBA) program at China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) from 2016 to 2018.

Global Managing Director of Climate, The Nature Conservancy

Clare has more than 30 years of global experience on climate change, energy and natural resource management. Her experience includes seven years at the International Institute of Environment and Development (IIED) leading the climate group and 15 years with the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) leading first Asia and then Africa Division’s climate change response. Clare has deep experience working with Least Developed Countries and has focused much of her career advancing priorities in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Clare received her BSc in environmental science and development studies from University of East Anglia and her MSc in forestry and its relation to land use from Oxford. As global managing director of climate at TNC, Clare leads the Climate team as it executes on TNC’s vision for achieving TNC’s 2030 climate goals. Clare is from the UK and speaks Nepali, Swahili and Spanish.

Programme Lead, Hong Kong 2050 is Now

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.

Associate Director of Conservation for The Nature Conservancy (TNC) Hong Kong

Marine is responsible for overseeing TNC’s marine conservation projects on the ground, with a current focus on restoring natural habitats, community-based conservation, and developing sustainable oyster aquaculture in Deep Bay as nature based solutions. Marine is also restoration ecologist specializing in shellfish reefs. Over the past 8 years, she has been developing restoration methods, evaluating ecosystem services that shellfish reefs provide, and advocating for policy changes that support widespread restoration efforts in Hong Kong's waters. She also works on large scale innovative projects, including the retrofitting of the 3rd Runway Seawall of the airport, in partnership with the Airport Authority Hong Kong.

Senior Manager of Community Resilience Service, Hong Kong Red Cross

Eva is the Chairperson of the IFRC Asia Pacific Community Resilience Community of Practice, and Steering Committee of the Disaster Risk Reduction Working Group, focusing on research and development relating to community resilience, urban development, disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation.

Eva is enthusiastic about promoting participatory development and community resilience. She has placed special emphasis on enhancing resilience in high-risk areas of Hong Kong by integrating international and local experiences and examining comprehensive strategies for resilient communities. Including introducing working with nature for disaster risk reduction initiatives to mitigate the impact of climate disasters on vulnerable populations.