Conference speakers say management models in Sydney and Boston show Hong Kong the way to develop harbour
An authority with real power to protect Victoria Harbour should be set up, as similar bodies at other cities have proven to be successful management models, speakers at an international conference on the harbour said yesterday.
At the EnviroSeries conference sponsored by the South China Morning Post yesterday, overseas experts and officials from Sydney, Boston and other centres shared their own experiences on preserving their own harbours.
Sean O'Neill, director of communications at the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, said public participation is the key to the success of harbour planning.
Mr O'Neill cited Boston's Big Dig project as a good example.
Before the project began - it put a highway underground and replaced it with parks - the authority engaged the public by consulting widely and arranging tours for everyone affected by the project. 'Now instead of having a highway at the heart of Boston, we have a park at the city centre. No one needs to be resettled because of the project,' he said.
