The Hong Kong 2022 International Urban Forestry Conference was held today to enable renowned experts, decision-makers, academics and industry professionals to share experiences and exchange best practices on urban forestry management.

The online conference is one of the celebration activities for the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Chief Executive Carrie Lam gave an address to launch the two-day event.

Noting that Hong Kong continues its focus on developing arboriculture and horticulture talent to ensure effective management of its urban forest, Mrs Lam said the US$26 million Urban Forestry Support Fund has been in place to subsidise the Study Sponsorship Scheme and Trainee Programme.

“These two offerings help fund individuals undertaking tree-management studies and also provide on-the-job training and a monthly allowance for arboriculture and tree-management course graduates.”

So far, some 430 students have been approved under the study scheme, while close to 100 graduates are engaged as trainees in private companies, as well as government departments, she added.

“I am confident that these, and other initiatives, will help Hong Kong build an adequate and quality workforce to support our tree management work.”

On the research and development (R&D) front, the Chief Executive pointed out that the Development Bureau is driving a variety of R&D projects, including a three-year study to collect and analyse tree-movement data from 8,000 urban trees installed with tilt sensors to identify trees at risk of collapse.

“In addition, they have begun installing some 200,000 QR code labels on trees in the urban area to make it easier for the public to report problematic trees. The project is expected to be finished in April.”

The biennial event, organised by the Development Bureau, has attracted over 1,700 registrations from cities all over the world including Hong Kong.