Environmental Protection

The 51.89-hectare Taiwan Pleione Nature Reserve located on Mount Ali is one of 19 nature reserves found in Taiwan. (Courtesy of Chang Chung-hsiung, Tourism Bureau, Ministry of Transportation & Communications)

Rapid industrial development over the past four decades has brought Taiwan great prosperity, but at a high cost to the natural environment. Today, the Taiwanese people demand a higher quality of life commensurate with economic prosperity. Consequently, the single-minded concern for economic growth prevalent in the 1960s and 1970s has been replaced by a more balanced view that puts equal emphasis on environmental protection.

Air Quality

The Air Pollution Control Act 空氣污染防治法, enacted in 1975 and newly revised in June 2002, empowers the governments at various levels to establish air quality standards for different areas across Taiwan and monitoring stations at appropriate sites. Air quality is currently monitored through the Taiwan Area Air Quality Monitoring Network 臺灣地區空氣品質監測網, which is composed of 72 stationary automatic air quality monitoring stations, two mobile monitoring stations, and one air quality assurance laboratory.

Since 1995, the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) 環境保護署 has levied an air pollution control (APC) fee on both stationary sources, such as factories and construction sites, and mobile sources, such as motor vehicles. Funds collected from this system are used to subsidize air pollution control programs. In fiscal year 2001, this system generated US$58 million.

The APC fee levying system has led to marked improvements in Taiwan's air quality, with sulfur dioxide concentration decreasing 46 percent from 7.5 ppb in 1994 to 4.0 ppb in 2001. Taiwan’s pollution standard index (PSI) exceeded 100 on only 3.06 percent of the days in 2001, compared with the 6.8 percent in 1994. In the heavily polluted Kaohsiung and Pingtung areas, the PSI exceeded 100 on 8.62 percent of the days in 2001, compared with the 17.5 percent in 1996.

Water Quality

Taiwan has 118 rivers and streams under government supervision, and 24 of these provide 85 percent of the water used by Taiwan citizens. As of 2001, Taiwan had established 294 river and stream water quality sampling stations throughout the island to ensure water quality.

The main pollutants of Taiwan’s rivers are domestic sewage and industrial effluent discharges. Urban communities are major culprits, primarily because of Taiwan’s lack of a comprehensive sewer system, which is less than 10 percent complete. Even Taipei’s sewer system, which was serving 390,619 households as of mid-2002, is only 59 percent complete.

As of mid-2002, about 420,000 tons of wastewater, released by some 8,000 factories in 42 industrial zones, was being treated daily in Taiwan by joint wastewater treatment facilities. In addition, under the April 2002 Water Pollution Control Act 水污染防制法, a water pollution control fee is now being collected from businesses, sewer systems, and homes based on the quantity and quality of their effluents.

Solid Waste Disposal

The amount of solid waste produced in the Taiwan area has increased significantly due to the island’s rapid industrial and economic development. According to the EPA, the amount of household garbage produced in Taiwan on average increased from 0.770 kilograms per person daily in 1986 to 0.895 kilograms in 2001. Estimates also show that roughly 40 percent of the refuse produced in the Taiwan area is recyclable, prompting the ROC government to make greater efforts to recover recyclable resources and reduce waste.

In Taipei City, for example, the city government began implementing a “fee per package” policy on July 1, 2000, requiring residents to use designated trash bags purchased from the city government. This, in turn, caused residents to seek ways to reduce the amount of trash they produced and bolstered recycling efforts. To alleviate the burden of environmental pollution even further, the EPA implemented the “Plastic Shopping Bag and Plastic Disposable Dishes Use Restriction Policy” on July 1, 2002, imposing restrictions on the use of plastic shopping bags and disposable tableware (including such products made from styrofoam) in phases.

Wildlife Conservation

In 1989, the Wildlife Conservation Law 野生動物保育法 was promulgated, classifying 1,955 species of rare fauna into three levels of protection. A Wildlife Protection Unit 野生動物保護小組 was established under the Council of Agriculture (COA) 農業委員會 in 1993 to investigate violations of related laws, and dissolved in June 2002 after successfully completing its mission. Since the dissolution of the Wildlife Protection Unit, the COA has continued to coordinate the implementation and enforcement of the Wildlife Conservation Law at the local government level.

Taiwan’s high population density and extensive economic development have endangered the island’s ecological system. To rectify this situation, the government has formed an inter-ministerial task force responsible for formulating policies to reduce mankind's impact on the environment and preserve precious natural assets for future generations. The government has also continued to cultivate forests and establish preservation zones.

Habitat Protection

Taiwan’s three major climatic zones and diverse topography make it the ideal home for a wide variety of flora and fauna. Over 70 species of mammals, 500 species of birds (40 percent of which are resident), 90 species of reptiles, 30 species of amphibians, nearly 2,700 species of fish, and 18,000 species of insects (including 400 butterfly species) live in the Taiwan area. Taiwan is also famous for its rich and diverse plant life, with some 4,238 species of flora on the island classified to date.

To protect ecological diversity, the government has set aside 19.5 percent of Taiwan’s total land area as a multi-tiered conservation system that includes six national parks 國家公園, 19 nature reserves 自然保留區, eight forest reserves 國有林自然保護區, 14 wildlife refuges 野生動物保護區, and 28 major wildlife habitats 野生動物重要棲息環境.

National Parks

Taiwan has a comprehensive national park system that balances conservation, recreation, and research. The system was inaugurated in 1984 with the establishment of Kenting National Park 墾丁國家公園 at the southern tip of the island. In 1985 and 1986, Taiwan moved swiftly to set up Yushan National Park 玉山國家公園, Yangmingshan National Park 陽明山國家公園, and Taroko National Park 太魯閣國家公園 in central, northern, and eastern Taiwan, respectively. In 1992, Shei-Pa National Park 雪霸國家公園 was established in north-central Taiwan. In October 1995, Taiwan’s sixth national park, Kinmen National Park 金門國家公園, was opened to the public, encompassing 25.5 percent of the land area in the Kinmen (Quemoy) 金門 Islands. The government is currently setting up Magao National Park 馬告國家公園 in northern Taiwan’s Cilan Mountain, which is famous for its primeval forests covering more than 53,000 acres of land across Taipei, Yilan, Taoyuan, and Hsinchu Counties.

Nature Reserves and Wildlife Refuges

The COA administers land protected under two designations: nature reserves and wildlife refuges. The COA has overseen the establishment of 19 nature reserves in Taiwan, ranging in size from a five-hectare plot to protect volcanic land forms in Kaohsiung to the 47,000-hectare forest preserve surrounding Mount Dawu 大武山. Altogether, 64,477 hectares of land have been designated as nature reserves.

Fourteen wildlife refuges, totaling 24,801 hectares, have been established in the Taiwan area: the Cat Islets Seabird Refuge in Penghu County 澎湖縣貓嶼海鳥保護區; the Taipei City Waterbird Refuge 台北市野雁保護區; the Wuwei Harbor Waterbird Refuge in Yilan County 宜蘭縣無尾港水鳥保護區; the Nanzihsian River Wildlife Refuge in Kaohsiung County 高雄縣楠梓仙溪野生動物保護區; the Sihcao Wildlife Refuge in Tainan City 台南市四草野生動物保護區; the Wangan Island Green Turtle Refuge in Penghu County 澎湖縣望安島綠蠵龜產卵棲息地保護區; the Dadu River Mouth Wildlife Refuge in Taichung County 台中縣大肚溪口野生動物保護區; the Mianhua Islet and Huaping Islet Wildlife Refuge in Keelung City 基隆市棉花嶼和花瓶嶼野生動物保護區; the Lanyang River Mouth Waterbird Refuge in Yilan County 宜蘭縣蘭陽溪口水鳥保護區; the Formosan Landlocked Salmon Refuge 櫻花鉤吻鮭野生動物保護區 in Taichung County; the Hsinwulyu River Wildlife Refuge 新武呂溪魚類保護區 in Taitung County; the Yuli Wildlife Refuge 玉里野生動物保護區 in Hualien County; the Matsu Islands Tern Refuge 馬祖列島燕鷗保護區; and the Hsinchu Coastal Wildlife Refuge 新竹濱海野生動物保護區.

Natural Forest Reserves

Approximately 72 percent of Taiwan’s 1.57 million hectares of national forestland are natural forests. National forestlands recognized as possessing unique natural characteristics are classified as forest reserves. Although forest reserves are still subject to multiple-use policies, preservation is usually emphasized over development. The COA’s Forestry Bureau 林務局 is the authorized body responsible for managing national forests and has been developing various forest recreation areas since 1965. At the present, 16 forest recreation areas have been established throughout Taiwan.