| Speaker(s) |
 | Guest of Honour:
Osvaldo Alvarez, President of the Basel Convention COP-15, President of the Rotterdam Convention COP-9 and President of the Stockholm Convention COP-6
Mr Alvarez is the Consul General of Chile to Hong Kong and Macau SAR. He is also President of the fifteenth meeting of Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention, also known as the Basel Convention COP-15. The meeting is to be held from 19 to 30 July 2021 in Geneva, Switzerland.
He was appointed Head of the Department for the Environment of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Santiago, Chile in 2011, and later Head of the Department of the Hazardous Chemicals and Waste Cluster. Prior to that, he was appointed Officer-In-Charge of Chemicals and Waste Conventions by the Chilean Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Department for the Environment).
Mr Alvarez served as Co-Chair to the Ad-Hoc Joint Working Group on Cooperation and Coordination among the Basel, Rotterdam, and Stockholm Conventions from 2007 to 2009. He also served as President to the Rotterdam Convention COP-9 as well as the Stockholm Convention COP-6. |  | Panelists: Chinali Patel, Consul – International Illicit Finance Policy Lead, British Consulate-General Hong Kong
Chinali Patel commenced the role as Consul International Illicit Finance at the British Consulate General in Hong Kong in April 2019. The role has a specific focus on policy and strategy - enhancing diplomatic engagement, capability and capacity building in close coordination with UK, regional and international partners to tackle illicit finance. Chinali also chairs the Diversity and Inclusion Committee at the British Consulate General. Chinali has 17 years of UK Law Enforcement experience in tackling serious and organised crime including predicate offences (child sexual exploitation and abuse online, modern slavery and human trafficking). Chinali maintains excellent relationships with key influencers, wider civil society and international partners to ensure a coordinated and responsive approach to issues which need addressing at international level, ensuring that public protection messages are aligned across agencies and have maximum impact. |  | Francesco Ricciardi, Environmental Specialist, Sustainable Development and Climate Change Department, Asian Development Bank
Francesco is an Environmental Specialist in the Sustainable Development and Climate Change Department (SDCC) of the Asian Development Bank. He holds a PhD in Environmental Science from the University of Milan (Italy). Prior to joining ADB, Francesco worked as a researcher focusing on the impact of pollution on natural ecosystems, biodiversity, and wildlife.
After leaving academia, he has worked as environment, ecology, and biodiversity consultant in several projects around Asia, including energy plants, coastal infrastructures, and natural resources planning. His work in ADB includes supporting environmental safeguards of development projects, and knowledge support to ADB operations related to biodiversity and critical habitats, nature-based solutions, and market-based instruments for environmentally positive investments. He is leading a Technical Assistance to the Philippines Government helping the Country to fight the Illegal Wildlife Trade (IWT) though legislation reforms, capacity building, demand reduction campaigns and piloting new technologies such as AI and Machine Learning to track illegal trade on digital media. He contributes as expert to Development Asia and he is a regular contributor to ADB Blogs. |  | Andrew Mead, Chief Architect (ARBUK), MTR Corporation
Andrew Mead has been the Chief Architect of MTR since 2013 and is responsible for the architectural design management of all new MTR stations, trains and transit facilities. In addition, he oversees the critically acclaimed Art in MTR programme, commissioning local and overseas artists to create site specific artworks in stations.
Andrew's passion is for improving the urban environment, creating buildings that are more than just places to wait for buses and trains. During his 30-year career in the transit industry, Andrew has been responsible for the design of over 200 metro stations in London, Toronto, Singapore, Dubai and Hong Kong. |  | Bosco Chan, Head of Kadoorie Conservation China Department, Kadoorie Farm & Botanic Garden
Bosco studied Zoology and conducted a Hong Kong-wide freshwater fish study during his PhD. He joined KFBG in 2001 and has been working on biodiversity conservation and protected area management projects in China and the region all these years. He has been spearheading the conservation work on the Hainan Gibbon – the world's rarest primate – since 2003 and has been invited by the local conservation authority to be the deputy director of Yinggeling National Nature Reserve – Hainan's largest nature reserve – since 2006 for over 10 years. He is a member of various IUCN/ SSC Specialist Groups and is the Chair of the Asia-Pacific Chapter of the Association for Tropical Biology & Conservation (ATBC). |  | Co-Moderators:
Wilson Kwong, Chairman of Environment & Sustainability Committee, Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce
Wilson is Chief Executive of Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Limited (Hactl). Prior to that, he was Chief Executive of Jardine Engineering Corporation. Wilson is Chairman of the Environment & Sustainability Committee of Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce and a Vice Chairman of the Employers' Federation of Hong Kong. He is also a Member of the Energy Advisory Committee, the Tripartite Taskforce on Manpower Training (Aviation), the Advisory Committee on Agriculture and Fisheries and the Independent Police Complaints Council respectively; a Co-opted Member of the Hospital Governing Committee of Queen Mary Hospital and Tsan Yuk Hospital, and a Council Member of the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, and a Member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. |  | Prof Thomas Wong, Adjunct Professor NJIST, Follows FBVCBS, Senior Engineer (Textiles), FCTES; MHKITA, Certified Sustainable Development Planner (CSDP) Professor Wong is the Founding President of the Institute of International Sustainable Development and the Founder & Chairman of the Belt & Road Youth Foundation (HK Charity # 91/15440). He had served for six years as an advisor to the HKSAR Agriculture and Fisheries & Conservation Department's Endangered Plants & Animals Species Advisory Committee. He is also the Director of the 60-year-old International Trade Federation and Chairman of its Audit Committee. Professor Wong is the Chairman of the Sustainable Development Committee of the Chinese Manufacturers' Association of Hong Kong. He has over 30 years of experience in the luxury fashion field and over 20 years of experience in the building industry with an emphasis of high-end interior decoration. He now focuses on the sustainable development of animal-based industries such as meat, animal fibres fashion and pets. |
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