Hong Kong to collaborate with WHO to measure success in pollution fight
City's new 'globally important' partnership with WHO to measure success in pollution fight and improvements in public health hailed by official
Hong Kong is to be the focus of a "globally important" link-up with the World Health Organisation to monitor the success of clean air policies in the city.
The aim is to develop a mechanism to measure changes in air quality and the public's health.
The idea comes as the city plans to introduce what could be the world's biggest diesel vehicle replacement scheme to improve roadside pollution at a cost of nearly HK$12 billion. It is one of a series of measures included in a comprehensive seven-year blueprint to tackle Hong Kong's environmental problems that was launched in March.
Dr Carlos Dora, a co-ordinator at the WHO's Department of Public Health and Environment, said: "We are interested in documenting what policy measures are introduced and what follows in terms of changes in air quality.
"It is about connecting different data sources over time and creating a system to track changes in policy and improvements in the quality of the air and people's health."
Dora, who met Hong Kong officials during a visit last week, added: "The WHO believes it is important globally and we see Hong Kong has a reason and the means to do that."
Dora said the clean air plan rolled out by the government was a "very good" one as it clearly identified problems.
