shocks & stresses: making hong kong a resilient...

Shocks & Stresses: Making Hong Kong a Resilient City

Dr. Timothy Sim

Associate Professor

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Outline1. Uniqueness of Hong Kong

2. Overview of Disaster Resilience in Hong Kong

3. Strengths

4. Shortcomings

5. Future Direction & Action

1. Uniqueness of Hong Kong

> High priority of safety and stability• International financial centre; Tourist destination • More action, less talk (Government-lead DRR)

> Engineering advantages in disaster risk reduction• Slope safety• Drainage system

> Low risk perception of disasters among

Hong Kong people• Low natural disaster incidents in the past decades• Epidemic diseases (such as SARS in 2003) top concern

> Inadequate preparation for the future risks of disasters• Historical record - based preparation (such as the design

standards of drainage system)

2. Overview of Disaster Resilience in HK

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

4.5

5

Governance

Risk Identification

Financial Capacity

Urban Development

Natural Ecosystem

Insititutional Capacity

Society Capacity

Infrastructure Resilence

Preparation andResponse

Build Back Better

Score

Benchmarking

2. Overview of Disaster Resilience in HK

> The integrated performance of disaster resilience in

Hong Kong is SATISFACTORY

> Strengths:• Proactive protection of natural ecosystems (Essential 5)• Salient society capacity for resilience (Essential 7)• Adequate financial capacity (Essential 3)

> Shortcomings:• Inadequate in identifying, understanding and leveraging of

current and future risk scenarios (Essential 2) • Weaker institutional capacity for resilience (Essential 6)

Budget 2016-2017 (Estimate)：

Government expenditure –HK$486,871 million(US$62,425 million)

Public expenditure -HK$525,381 million(US$ 67,363 million)

Public expenditure in terms of percentage of GDP (Estimate) – 21.2%

3. Strength One: Adequate Financial Capacity

Education, social welfare, health, security, and infrastructure have long been the major areas of recurrent government expenditure.

DRR investments are mainly concentrated in the area of Infrastructure.

Expenditure on infrastructure for 2016-17 is US$ 2.7 billion, accounting for 4 per cent of total public expenditure.



> 3.1 Environment-friendly Investment

• Hong Kong SAR Government is committed to protecting the environment, making Hong Kong a green and more pleasant place to live

• The current-term Government allocated over HK$30 billion (US$ 3.87 billion) for building environment-friendly facilities, funding green projects, improving air quality, combating climate change, and improving waste management in the budget 2015-2016


> 3.2 Risk Reduction Investment • In the 2016-2017 Budget, HK$3,078,980,000 (US$395 million) was

apportioned to DRR related projects (See the below Table)

Department Item Budget 16-17 (US$)Civil Engineering and

Development Department Landslip preventive measures 164,199,351

Lands DepartmentMaintaining man-made slopes on

unallocated and unleased government land

70,113,600

Agriculture, Fisheries & Conversation Department

Nature conservation and country parks

85,789,750

Drainage Services Department

Drainage anderosion protection

43,829,703

Hong Kong Observatory

Promotes public awareness of, and community preparedness for, natural

disasters30,844,050


> 3.2 Risk Reduction Investment

• Landslip Risk Reduction: slope reinforcement & maintenance• Continuous investments in improving slope safety

since 1970s• In the 2015-2016 Budget, HK$1,045,636,000

(US$135 million) was granted to launch a Landslip Prevention and Mitigation Programme (LPMitP) to systematically deal with the landslide risk associated with both man-made slopes and natural hillside, and another US$164 million is injected programme in the 2016-2017 Budget


> 3.2 Risk Reduction Investment • Flooding Risk Reduction: effective drainage system

• Drainage Master Plan Review Studies (On-going, since 2008)

The substantial investments to DRR are essentially due to sustainable development of Hong Kong economy, which means adequate public revenues.

The Hong Kong WestDrainage Tunnel

> 3.3 Financing from financial companies• AXA – The AXA Research Fund

Dedicated to boosting scientific progress and discovery to understand and better prepare against environmental, life and socio-economic risks

• HSBC – HSBC 150th Anniversary Charity Programme Invested HK$477 million (US$61 million) for the benefit of the

community in Hong Kong

> Ample opportunity to develop DRR business or related industry in

Hong Kong • HK-based, Global-oriented


4. Strength Two: Salient Society Capacity

> 4.1 The establishment of many statutory funds covering charitable, educational and welfare purposes, significantly increase the chance to access financing for resilience building• The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust: Emergency Relief Fund

• The General Chinese Charities Fund: Disasters or Accidents Relief Fund under

• The Community Chest of Hong Kong: Community-based services for the vulnerable sponsored by

• A vast number of grass-rooted organisations have been actively providing services to the vulnerable groups


> 4.2 Social cohesion in Hong Kong high in providing disaster assistance to the disaster-stricken areas

• Any disaster occurred in Hong Kong, regardless of natural or man-made, often trigger prompt social assistance from the public

Example: After 2010 Yushu Earthquake occurred in mainland China, the Hong Kong SAR Government provided USD16,748,607, while the Hong Kong society and the public raised about USD17,392,958 for relief measures and reconstruction


> 4.3 Extensive engagement of academic institutions

• Collaborating Centre for Oxford University and The Chinese University of Hong Kong for Disaster and Medical Humanitarian Response (CCOUC) (located in The Chinese University of Hong Kong)

• The Hong Kong Disaster Medicine Association• The Hong Kong Polytechnic University• The University of Hong Kong, and • Hong Kong Jockey Club Disaster Preparedness and

Response Institute (HKJC DPRI)

5. Shortcomings

> 5.1 Lack Legislation

• Lack legislation to ensure strategic and longer term financing of risk reduction and resilience

5. Shortcomings

> 5.2 Lack Participation & Communication

• Lack effective mechanism to enable a bottom-up public participation and community engagement in DRR (e.g. building disaster-resistant community)

• Lack mechanism to promote mutual communications on resilience building between the government and the society

6. Future Direction

• Promote further cooperation among different stakeholders involved in disaster resilience via dialogue and/or knowledge sharing mechanism between the government and the community stakeholders

• Enhance the understanding of the DRR concept of different stakeholders in Hong Kong, especially the government, and to design and provide more prospective & integrated risk management to replace out-of-date remedy management

• Carry out a pilot programme of resilient community building at a district level

Thank you

2016/12/6 20

Dr. Timothy Sim

Associate Professor

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Email: [email protected]

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