The "HSBC Rural Sustainability Programme" of the Centre for Civil Society and Governance (CCSG) at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) has been selected as one of the 11 winning projects for UN-Habitat's 2021 Asian Townscape Awards (ATA).
ATA was initiated by UN-Habitat's Regional Office for Asia and Pacific, Asian Habitat Society, Fukuoka Asian Urban Research Center and Asia Townscape Design Society in 2010 to honour projects that effectively enhance living environment through urban transformation in Asian cities.
The jury commended that the HSBC Rural Sustainability Programme "revived a devastated rural village into an ideal farm. The various organisations brought out the vitality of the people". "We also focused on the interaction between rural and urban areas to make it sustainable," the jury further commended.
In an effort to conserve rural social-ecological systems and to promote a symbiosis between urban and rural livelihoods, CCSG initiated and implemented the "Sustainable Lai Chi Wo Programme" (2013-2017) and its on-going new phase "HSBC Rural Sustainability Programme" (hereinafter together referred to as "the Programme"). Through leveraging the resources and commitment from the academic, business, public, and social sectors, the Programme strives to promote sustainable rural development using the traditional Hakka Lai Chi Wo village as a base. By rehabilitating the once abandoned co-management practices of the agricultural landscape, reviving the rural community through network development and capacity building, strengthening village governance and rural resource management, building an innovative and self-sustaining community economy, and re-branding rural identity of villages, the Programme has turned Lai Chi Wo's rural cultural landscape into a hub for rural-urban interaction and collaboration for sustainability and innovation; it also showcased the importance of environmental stewardship and nature-culture integration for community resilience.
The Programme has raised and incubated the interest of keen individuals and organisations to start new conservation projects in Lai Chi Wo and beyond. This year, CCSG has also launched revitalisation initiatives in two villages in the vicinity of Lai Chi Wo and established a partnership with international agencies and universities in the Asia-Pacific region for the incubation of rural sustainability knowledge and actions.
Winners of the 2021 ATA were selected from among 24 entries from Asian countries after multiple rounds of selection by the review committee based on the criteria of harmonious coexistence with regional environment, safety, convenience and sustainability, respect for regional culture and history, high artistic quality, contributions to local development and capabilities of becoming models for other cities. The "HSBC Rural Sustainability Programme" is one of the three winning projects selected from China.
About "HSBC Rural Sustainability Programme"
With support from HSBC, CCSG launched the "Sustainable Lai Chi Wo Programme" in 2013 in collaboration with local villagers, experts in related fields, interested individuals, and nonprofits including The Hong Kong Countryside Foundation, Produce Green Foundation and The Conservancy Association. The Programme strived to replenish and revitalise the disappearing social and natural capitals of the desolate, remote traditional farming landscape at Lai Chi Wo as an action model. Building upon the solid foundation of the "Sustainable Lai Chi Wo Programme", which was successfully completed in 2017, CCSG has received further support from HSBC and launched a new phase of the programme titled "HSBC Rural Sustainability" in 2017. The new phase focuses on mobilising actions of the local community through implementing socio-economic models that emphasise the role of rural community for the benefit of the wider Hong Kong society. The Programme received the inaugural "Special Recognition for Sustainable Development" in the 2020 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation. For programme details, please visit https://ccsg.hku.hk/ruralsd/
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