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The 2009 Macao International Environmental Co-operation Forum and Exhibition (2009MIECF) was held in Macao from April 2nd to 4th. It was held by the Government of the Macao Special Administrative Region and jointly organized by Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM) and Environment Council. Supported by the National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Environmental Protection, environmental departments of various provinces (the “9+2” regions), the 2009MIECF was underlined by the presence of heads of numerous provinces, cities and international trade and investment promotion institutes at its opening ceremony on April 2nd and other activities. Under the theme of “A Global Green Gathering - Environment Business Connection”, 2009MIECF aimed at promoting green spirit and conveying the social responsibility of environmental protection, as well as elevating the international status of Macao in the field of environmental protection industry. By making full use of Macao’s role as a platform, the event was held with a view to promoting co-operation between Macao and international communities and sharing green technologies and plans, thus creating economic benefits and help overcoming the global economic crises. The 2009MIECF lasted three days and closed on Saturday (April 4th). According to the statistics of 2009MIECF, participants totaled 5,697, of which 3,901 were professional representatives, from 43 different countries and regions. The number of the participants and diversity of their origins showed MIECF’s growing support from the trades and the recognition of Macao’s role in green industry by the Pan-Pearl River Delta region, European Union and local organizations and institutions. The 2009MIECF enjoyed a great success this year, which really made full use of the regional advantage of Macao and its role as a platform promoting exchanges. The event made satisfactory achievement in promoting green business, industry exchanges, environmental protection research and raising the awareness of environmental protection among the public. Green Business Connection Day In order to help exhibitors seek for green business opportunities, the 2009MIECF set the first day (April 2nd) of the event as Green Business Connection Day (GBCD). The 2009MIECF assisted enterprises to find partners and promoted cooperation by symposiums and summits. GBCD, under the theme of “Environment Business Connection”, was co-organized by Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute, China Council for the Promotion and International Trade, Macao Chamber of Commerce, European Union Business Information Project and other international chambers of commerce. Green Business Matching To take full advantage of Macao as a service platform for exhibitors and participating representatives, IPIM upgraded its effort in promoting the green business matching services to small- and medium- sized enterprises and set up special areas for business matching, with a view to assisting the SMEs to explore market opportunities and find suitable partners. Before and during the exhibition and forum, MICEF received 536 projects of green investment and sale of green products, showing a dramatic increase comparing to the figure of last year. These projects were from Macao, Mainland China, Hong Kong, Brazil, Britain, Canada, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Korea, Belgium and Finland. According to the requirements from professional representatives, MIECF arranged 336 business matching sessions (excluding impromptu exchanges among participants in other activities). The businesspeople were from Mainland China, Macao, Hong Kong, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, Singapore, Belgium, Finland, Austria, Chinese Taiwan, Australia, United States, Germany, Portugal and Korea. About 62% of them are from small- and medium-sized enterprises. Besides, 20 projects (11 agreements, 4 letter of intent, 3 contracts and 2 memorandums) were signed on-site, which worth 2.502 billion MOP in total. The signatories were mainly from Macao, Mainland China, Hong Kong, Brazil, Portugal, United States, Finland, Belgium, etc. 67% of these enterprises were small- and medium-sized enterprises from Macao. These projects were mainly about oil pollution treatment, energy program in Asia, air purification, agent services of ethanol-type environmental-friendly gasoline equipment for Portuguese-speaking countries (Brazil), environmental protection program for public transportation vehicles, energy equipment using oxy-hydrogen flame, cultivation technology and pest control, popular science of green food, mountain spring water, environmental friendly travel, friendly communication and cooperation in environmental protection technology among companies, renewable energy production, agency service of fire emergency lightings, collection and recycling of printer toner cartridges, the development of tea products, recycling of materials and goods, promotion of environmental-friendly carpets and flooring materials in Macao; cooperation in research and development of sweet sorghum, importing equipments for manufacturing soap and detergent by recycled solid waste, sales of environmental-friendly and energy-saving products, etc. Exhibition There were 254 exhibitors taking part in 2009 MIECF. Macao Pavilion, PPRD zone and European Union Pavilion were set up in the exhibition hall, while exhibitors from United States, Portugal, Brazil, Canada, Finland, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Britain, Chinese Taiwan, Zhuhai, Zhongshan and Guangzhou had set up their own booths as well. These booths showcased advanced environmental protection products, equipment, technologies and green business industries of different countries and regions. Macao’s international status in environmental protection was elevated by the participation of a great number of countries and regions. Most of the exhibitors of 2009 MIECF were government department, public entities, enterprises, chambers of commerce, environmental protection organizations from Macao, Hong Kong, P-PRD regions, and consulates based in Hong Kong. The total exhibition area covered some 12,000 square metres. They mainly displayed energy-efficient and water-saving technology, solar power generation technology, domestic waste collection and recycling technology, environmental-friendly and renewable construction material, air purification technology, wind energy program, oil pollution treatment technology, etc. Products and services presentations and other activities During 2009MIECF, 24 products and services presentations s and a host of activities were held, including symposiums, conferences. These events were organized by tgovernments, organizations, local chamber of commerce and local enterprises. The presentations were conducted by Lamor Group from Finland (on oil pollution treatment), Melco PBL Entertainment (on environmental protection measures of firms) and Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings (on biological degradable plastics). More than 1,100 people took part in these presentations and other activities. Forum In addition, 2009MIECF invited 51 scholars, professionals, experts and executives from green enterprises as speakers for several symposiums. These symposiums attracted an audience of more than 1,390. Participants from the trades attached special importance to the results of the “Energy Saving, Emission Reduction and Carbon Trading Symposium” and “Natural Disaster Management Symposium”s, which were held on April 3rd. The 16 speakers of the two symposiums were officials, scholars and experts from Mainland China, European Union, Britain, Czech Republic, Belgium, Portugal, the Philippines, Hong Kong and Macao. They shared the experience in tackling deteriorating environmental problems caused by global warming and natural hazards. The number of participants of the two symposiums exceeded 300 and 140 respectively. After attending the symposiums, the participants could learn more about the environmental protection policies and green business markets in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macao, Guangdong and European Union. These symposiums enhanced regional cooperation, business opportunities and technology transfer. Besides, the suggestions made by the speakers during the symposiums would facilitate the management natural hazards, research in new technology and products, and pollution control. In short, this forum raised public awareness of environmental protection, encouraged enterprises to embrace green economy and enhanced the communication between the governments and the trades. In the last day of 2009MIECF, which was a public open day, 1,796 visitors toured the exhibition hall. They showed great interests in exhibits, such as environmental-friendly vehicles, air purifiers and energy-saving light bulbs. They could learn more about Macao’s efforts in promoting green energy and environmental protection by the panels shown in the exhibition hall and game booths.
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Three projects have been selected for the Cultural Affairs Bureau Academic Research Grants supported by the Macao Special Administrative Region aimed at fostering academic research on Macao-related fields. This semester, the following projects were chosen out of the applications received between June 1, 2008 and November 30, 2008: Zhou Weiqiang will focus on “The Adoption of Breech Loaders in China: A Case Study of the Spreading of European Cannons in China during the 16th to 18th Centuries.” Zhou received a Ph.D in History from Tsing Hua University in Hsinchu, Taiwan, and is now a Member of IUHPS/DHS (International Union of the History and Philosophy of Science Division of History of Science), and the Academia Sinica’s Committee for the History of Science (Taipei). Dai Dingcheng will conduct research on “Catholic Music in 20th Century Macao – Composers and Works of a Unique Historical Background”. Dai received a Ph.D in Music Theory and Composition from the Shanghai Conservatory of Music and is now a professor at Macao Polytechnic Institute’s School of Arts. Fook Yee Man Noel will investigate “Marketing Tactics and Service Creativity in Consumer Relationship: The Case of Museums in Macao”. Fook obtained a Ph.D in Marketing from Nottingham Trent University, Britain and is now an associate professor at the School of Business Administration, Hong Kong Baptist University. The Cultural Affairs Bureau Academic Research Grants are aimed at supporting academic research projects in the Humanities that make a significant original contribution to the understanding of Macao, and of Macao's relationship with China and other countries. The regulations provide a flexible scheme for application and for the payment of grants. Applications may be submitted at any time throughout the year. The Evaluation Panel meets twice annually and applicants are informed of the Panel's decision in March or August, depending when the application is received. Each grantee must submit, within the research period, a monograph of 120,000 words minimum and the Cultural Affairs Bureau reserves the exclusive right to publish all or part of the grantee's original monograph, for example, in the Bureau’s publication Review of Culture. For more information on the Cultural Affairs Bureau Academic Research Grants, please visit the Cultural Affairs Bureau’s website: www.icm.gov.mo.
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Macao Post will participate the “China 2009 World Stamp Exhibition”, located at Luoyang City, Henan Province, China, during 10th to 16th April 2009. To commemorate this Exhibition, Macao Post produces the commemorative envelopes and provides the commemorative postmark cancellation service for the “China 2009 World Stamp Exhibition” on site of the exhibition. Be convenience to the philatelist, the commemorative envelope with stamp priced at MOP3.50 will also be available for sale at the Philately Shop of Macao Post Headquarters staring from 13th April. You may send your registered mail of this commemorative envelope at the following locations *: Philately Shop at
Macao Post Headquarters: 13th April 9H00 – 17H30 Post Offices: 13th to 16th April Office Hours to Public * No commemorative postmark cancellation service provided in Macao.
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As of 6:00 p.m. today (3 April), the second day of the 2009 Macao International Environmental Co-operation Forum and Exhibition (2009MIECF), 193 procurement and business matching sessions were conducted today, while nine projects were signed on-site, involving an amount of about 294 million patacas. The contracts signed involved production of renewable energy, distribution of fire and emergency signs, green carpets and floors and recycling of printer toner cartridges. The signing parties were from Brazil, Mainland China, Macao and Belgium.
The 2009 MIECF will be officially closed tomorrow (4 April), yet onsite business matching sessions will be opened until 6 p.m. Exhibitors and visitors should make use of this valuable business opportunity.
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“I hope that more trees can be planted to beautify the environment.”
“I wish for a pollution-free planet.”; “I hope that everybody protects the planet so that we can have fresh air and clean water.”
These simple sentences, written by the Macao public, expressed their passion to the nature. A ‘Green Wish Board’ was set up for the public to express their wishes regarding environmental protection today (4 April), which was designated as the Public Open Day for the 2009 Macao International Environmental Co-operation Forum and Exhibition (2009MIECF), at the Exhibition Hall A of Venetian Macao-Resort-Hotel. Many parents took their children to visit the educational exhibition. They wrote down their wishes on the Green Wish Board and it was not difficult to see they shared their wishes with a similar goal—a wish for a greener planet. Environmental protection is an important issue that is directly related to the future of mankind. Therefore, it is necessary to promote the importance of environmental protection continuously. Children are the masters of the future; the wishes they made today might encourage them to support environment protection works tomorrow.
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The Public Open Day of 2009 Macao International Environmental Co-operation Forum and Exhibition (2009MIECF) drew a large number of visitors, which were entertained by the exhibits, games and performances. Most visitors showed special interest in the latest environmental-friendly products and technologies such as green vehicle, air purification appliance and energy-efficient lamps. Some visitors said that 2009MIECF broadened their horizons by gathering green product companies from different countries and regions. They also hoped that Macao could apply more innovative technologies to build a better environment for the public, they said. Visitors could learn more about environmental protection and energy reduction from panels and games. Some visitors said that 2009MIECF provided an opportunity for them to educate their children about the importance of protecting the nature. Business meetings between exhibitors and visitors continued until the closing of the event. The business matching team of the organizer successfully arranged 55 meetings today and one of them secured the signing of a 50-million patacas contract. In all, the amount of green deals matched in the event exceeded 2.5 billion. The organizer said that this year’s MIECF brought a fruitful result, and it would be useful for the preparation of next year’s MIECF. Detailed information and figures about this year’s event would be verified and announced later.
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Environmental friendly building materials manufacturers and sellers expected to find international business partners and promote business through 2009 MIECF. The 2009 MIECF played host to a spectrum of manufacturers and sellers of green products. Mr. Phillip Yip, an exhibitor who promoted environmental paving bricks in the show, said the bricks were made of construction wastes, waste glass, pulverized fly ash and titanium dioxide, which helped recycle resources and abate air pollution. He said his company was now studying the recycling of construction wastes in Macao and would consider the possibility of manufacturing the bricks in Macao in the future. Mr. Lawrence Wong, an exhibitor, said some construction material may release harmful matters, and as people are more health conscious, the future market for environmental friendly building materials were expected to be vast. Currently, environmental friendly building materials were a bit pricier than their traditional counterparts, but these green building materials still hold advantages over their rivals.
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Prof. Gao Jianguo, a researcher of the Institute of Geology of China Earthquake Administration, said today that by adopting the Chinese way of thinking and carrying out a comprehensive and multidisciplinary approach to research, a successful prediction methodology might be reached. At Natural Disaster Management Symposium, an event of the ongoing 2009 Macao International Environmental Co-operation Forum and Exhibition (2009MIECF) in Macao, Prof. Gao presented a thesis, “The Chain Disaster Research and Forecast in China”, saying that catastrophe prediction is still at its infant stage worldwide. Departments in China are currently adopting traditional Western unidisciplinary approaches in studying disaster prediction. Even predicting catastrophes is not easy, sudden catastrophes usually have an irregular mechanism as its root cause. Therefore, by adopting the Chinese way of thinking and carrying out a comprehensive and multidisciplinary approach to research, a successful prediction methodology might be reached, he said.
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During the symposium of “Energy Saving, Emission Reduction and Carbon Trading Symposium” at 2009MIECF today, Mr. Li Hui, the Deputy director of Guangdong Provincial Environmental Protection Bureau, introduced the measures taken in promoting a green economy and reducing emission for the long-term in Guangdong. He also said Macao enabled government and green business representatives to learn more about Guangdong’s green initiatives and help promote co-operation under the framework of Pan-Pearl River Delta Regional Co-operation Agreement on Environmental Protection. He said that by implementing the Agreement, the involved parties would jointly improve cooperation mechanism, expand the collaborative areas and increase the ways of cooperation. 2009MIECF promote environmental protection cooperation in Pan-PRD Mr. Li, who is also the Secretary-general of the secretariat of Pan-PRD Environmental Co-operation Joint Meeting, said that 2009MIECF utilizes Macao’s regional advantage and set a good cooperation platform for its neighboring areas, Pan-PRD regions and Macao. 2009MIECF is of great significance in realizing the mutual benefits on environmental protection in the Pan-PRD region, improving a more diversified economy in Macao SAR, and enhancing the international influence of Pan-PRD region. Guangdong introduces rewards and penalties mechanism to promote environmental protection He said, since June 2007, Guangdong has set eight environmental criteria into its credit management system, such as excess sewage, illegal environment, pollution accident, which are under the joint supervision of environmental protection and finance departments. Loan for illegal enterprises will be cut off and green loan will be carried on. Besides, Guangdong government has taken a leading role in green procurement and promoting green trade in order to curb the expansion of firms that were detrimental to the environment. Li Hui also said that Gungdong has come into the crucial stage of economic and social transformation. At present, the provincial government makes use of environmental economic policy to adjust the market and improve people’s behavior. It rewards green enterprises and punishes the illegal ones, and charge enterprises for treatment of sewage, garbage, medical waste, plastics, as well as vehicle emission. According to last year’s statistics, sulfur dioxide and chemical oxygen demand, two major pollutants, dropped 5.58% and 5.28% respectively in Guangdong. Thus, the province over-fulfilled the targets set up by the Central Government.
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At the Natural Disaster Management Symposium of 2009 MIECF, several scholars presented their studies on earthquake disaster control. Among them, Professor Zhang Xiaojian and Professor Nie Yongfeng of the Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China, gave special presentations on the water quality risk and emergent measurement for Municipal Water Supply after the Wenchuan Earthquake. Water Works Should Formulate Contingency Plans for Various Water Contamination Risks In his presentation, Professor Zhang Xiaojian of the Institute of Drinking Water Safety, the Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University summarized the earthquake’s impacts on the municipal water supply and the emergent measures taken in response, as well as the good results of the water quality control efforts made by the Chengdu Municipal Water Supply Company and the various water works in such cities as Mianyang and Deyang after the disaster. Prof. Zhang Xiaojian pointed out that the water resources agencies must pay attention to water contamination risks after an earthquake and monitor water quality, including pathogenic microorganisms, pesticides, petroleum and organic pollutants, heavy metals, taste and odor, and suspended solids. He presented a number of effective techniques for emergent treatment of water contamination, for future reference of Macao and other cities when in face of a major natural disaster or epidemic. He recommended that a water works should first determine the corresponding technique of emergent treatment for each particular risk, and then, taking into consideration of the unique conditions of the works, determine the emergent measures for different water quality risks and objectives. Safety as First Priority in Solid Waste Treatment after a Disaster Professor Nie Yongfeng of the Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China gave a presentation titled Solid Waste Treatment in the Sichuan Disaster Areas after the Earthquake, in which he shared the priorities and measures in the treatment of solid wastes in the disaster areas as a real life experience. Professor Nie proposed that different measures be adopted for different wastes emerging after an earthquake, such as household wastes, animal corpses, hazardous wastes and building ruins. These wastes could be recycled while minimizing potential hazard. Professor Nie pointed out, according to environmental safety principle, priority should be given to treatment of drinking water, medical wastes and hazardous chemicals in the treatment of wastes in a disaster area, and other kinds of wastes should also be sorted out and treated centrally. In this way, massive pollution to the environment and harm to human health can be minimized.
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