The Secretary for the Environment, Mr Wong Kam-sing, began his itinerary in Sichuan today (August 14).
Upon his arrival in the afternoon, Mr Wong departed for the Hetaoping base of the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda in Wolong to learn about the conservation of giant pandas. Reconstructed after the massive Wenchuan earthquake, the Hetaoping base is the first training establishment for reintroducing pandas to nature through systematic transitional wilderness training with a view to letting pandas live in the wild. During the visit, Mr Wong, together with the former Chairman of the Steering Committee for the Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan for Hong Kong, Professor Lam Kin-che, and the former Convenor of the Steering Committee’s Marine Biodiversity Working Group, Professor Nora Tam, exchanged views with officers at the base. They discussed the overall planning for reintroducing pandas to the wild and the challenges encountered during the process, and spoke with education ambassadors at the China Giant Panda Garden to learn more about the lives of giant pandas after returning to the wild.
Professor Lam will host a sharing session on biodiversity and the future of human beings in the evening to exchange views on environmental conservation and related issues.
Mr Wong will continue his visit tomorrow (August 15), when he will call at Zumushan, the Museum of Nature and Earthquake in Wolong, the Dengsheng conservation station and Wolong Old Street.
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