HKU landscape undergraduates defended their design and regional planning strategies for northern Laos today in front of a cross-disciplinary panel of experts on environmental impact, politics and administration, geography, sociology, architecture and planning. Students and faculty were honored to have Dr. Ng Shui Meng, former Deputy Representative for UNICEF Laos and wife of 2012 disappeared Laos civil society leader Sombath Somphone, join from Vientiane.
Students addressed a wide range of impacts related to the planning, construction and operation of the China-Laos Railway. Some dealt with the uncertainly going forward, some questioned how communities could have prepared themselves differently, and some argued for greater responsibility of the rail, road, dam, or mine developer. Topic areas included:
Cross-border conservation and alternative ecotourism models;
China-Laos Railway support infrastructure, material sourcing, waste, reuse, and environmental impact;
Resettlement planning, compensation, and capacity building along the corridor;
Mitigating agricultural intensification and mining investment; and
