|
|
Workshop
on Sustainable Development Indicators
Chung-Li,
Taiwan, 17-19 November 2001
Sustainable
Development Indicators for Taiwan
Jiunn-Rong
Yeh1, Shang-Lien Lo2, Ling-Ling Lee3, Jin-Tan Liu4,
Juju Chin-Shou Wang5, and Shu-Li Huang6
6.
Institutional Response Indicators
The
indicators of institutional response are divided into four
categories: Allocation of Government Expenditure, Organizations
and Policies, Information and Participation, and finally,
Specific Policies. Currently, there are 14 indicators included
(Table 6.1). The relationships among these four categories
are shown in Figure 6.1:
Figure
6.1
The relationship of the Institutional Capacity-building
and four categories.
The
indicators for Allocation of Government Expenditure and
Organizations and Policies are designed to show the factors
at the national government level associated with institutional
capacity-building, whereas the indicators for Information
and Participation are designed to reflect the factors associated
with environmental information and the participation of
local governments and civil society. These indicators may
reveal the intensity of institutional responses and the
mechanism through which specific policies have been made.
The indicators for Specific Policies are, in turn, designed
to verify these responses.
Indicators
regarding the Allocation of Government Expenditure and Organization
and Policies are expected to mirror, as much as possible,
the factors of budget, personnel, and due process involved
in institutional capacity-building. They are necessary both
for the implementation of environmental protection and for
academic researches. In a broader perspective, government
budget, organizational structure and decision-making process
are all related to the functions of the Executive and Legislative
Yuans and operated at the national government level.
To
address the concerns of sustainable development, however,
we cannot consider institutional indicators solely in the
perspective of the national government. The dimensions of
local governments, regional developments and public participation
must also be taken into account. Apparently, many environmental
problems are of greater local concerns. If local concerns
are not duly considered but ignored under a unified standard
imposed by the national government, the decisions thus made
will be biased. Hence, we have put a special emphasis on
the relationship between institutional capacity-building
and local governments and civil society, when designing
the indictors for the category of Information and Participation.
Moreover, the implementation of specific policies has impacts
on the development of both the country and the society.
While this indicator system is developed mainly at the national
level, only through the indicators that may reflect and
integrate the feedbacks of local governments and civil society
can we establish a better system to reflect genuinely the
sustainable development in Taiwan.
6.1
Results of Indicator Calculation
In
the second year of this research project, the division of
this research team that is responsible for the establishment
of the indicators for institutional responses collected
data from 1988 to 1998 for each indicator to understand
the tendencies of the Taiwanese sustainable development
in the institutional perspective. On August 22, 1987, the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was established, upgraded
from Environmental Protection Bureau under the Department
of Health. This was one of the most significant steps taken
towards the establishment of many institutions for environmental
protection in Taiwan, and that is why this research team
decided to take the year of 1988 as a starting point for
the observation of the institutional changes for sustainable
development.
Overall,
some indicators for institutional responses signaled positively
the sustainability, some signaled non-sustainability, while
a few of others were uncertain. In the following sections,
we will address the four categories respectively and into
more details. Table 6.1 lists the sustainable tendencies
of these indicators.
Table
6.1
Sustainability trend of institutional response
| Categories
|
Indicators
|
trend
|
| Allocation
of Government Expenditure |
RA1
Ratio of the environmental budget to the total budget |
↑
|
| RA2
R
& D expenditure proportion for the Environment |
=
|
| RA3
Case growth rate of financial measures taken as economic
incentives for the increase of "green industries" |
=
|
| Organization
and Policies |
RB1
Ratio of female officials in the environmental agencies |
↑
|
| RB2
Domestic legislation reflecting international environmental
treaties and arrangements |
↓
|
| RB3
Percentage of cases being rejected in the EIA reviewing
process |
=
|
| Specific
Policies |
RC1
Percentage of actual utilization of industrial parks |
↑
|
| RC2
The extent to which water price reflects the actual
costs. |
↓
|
| RC3
Percentage of installation of sewage systems |
=
|
| RC4
Percentage of utilization of fishing ports |
↓
|
| RC5
The Number of regulated chemicals |
↑
|
| Information
and Participation |
RD1
Popularity of Eco-Labeling |
↑
|
| RD2
The Number of non-government organizations (NGOs) |
↑
|
| RD3
Institutional Capacity of local environmental agencies |
↑
|
 |
RC1
cannot show the tendency due to the lack of data. |
|
↑denotes a trend toward sustainability,↓denotes a trend away from sustainability, and
=
denotes a unclear or unchanged trend. |
|
For
more detailed data and description of the indicator
tendencies, see the second annual report or our website. |
*Expenditure
Allocation
In
the category of allocation of government expenditure, indicator
RA1, the ratio of the environmental budget to the total
budget, increases since 1995; RA2, the ratio of biological
and environmental R&D expenditure, and RA3, the case
growth rate of financial measures taken as economic incentives
for the increase of "green industries," go up
and down, showing no clear tendencies.
Due
to limited resources and funds, the allocation and distribution
of government budget may reveal perfectly the governmental
preferences. A higher ratio of environmental budget indicates
that the government and all citizens have shown a greater
concern about environmental issues. Compared with social
and economic issues, environmental issues often take longer
to address and resolve; it is particularly so when the perspective
of sustainable development is lacking.
The
environmental budget can be roughly categorized into two
kinds: one is for precaution or educational measures taken
before any damages would happen, and the other is for pollution
control or biological recovery after damages have been made.
The second usually needs a lot more money than the first,
not to mention more time costs, and it is also more difficult,
if not impossible, to recover environmental damages fully.
Therefore, precaution measures should be more emphasized.
Yet, the indicators have shown us the other way. While the
overall environmental budget ratio increases, there is no
obvious increase in the R&D item and in the financial
aid for the polluting companies to improve their environmental
technology. Considered the ratio of expenditure for pollution
control to the GDP of many countries (Table 6.2), the ratio
in Taiwan is rather high, showing a greater governmental
concern as well as a need in redirecting our ex post strategies
to ex ante strategies of sustainable development.
Facing
the economic cycles, budgets on less responsive items like
R&D or financial aids are often the first targets of
government cost downs. Thus, how to educate related parties
and enhance the content of sustainable development is the
primary concern in designing the expenditure allocation
indicators.
Table
6.2 Ratio of Expenditure for pollution control to the
GDP in other nations:
| Country
|
Ratio
|
Country
|
Ratio
|
| Canada
|
0.7
|
German
|
0.8
|
| USA
|
0.7
|
Greece
|
0.2
|
| Japan
|
0.5
|
Italy
|
0.5
|
| Korea
|
0.8
|
Netherlands
|
1.2
|
| Australia
|
0.5
|
Portugal
|
0.6
|
| Austria
|
1.2
|
Spain
|
0.5
|
| Belgium
|
0.4
|
Sweden
|
0.8
|
| Denmark
|
0.6
|
Switzerland
|
1
|
| Finland
|
0.6
|
England
|
0.4
|
| France
|
0.9
|
Taiwan
|
0.9
|
Source:
EPA Taiwan (1999), Taiwan's Environmental Protection Statistics,
p.310-311.
*
Organizations and policies
In
the category of Organization and Policies, indicator RB1,
the ratio of female officials in the environmental agencies,
has a significant rise. However, Indicator RB2, the extent
upon which domestic legislation reflects international
environmental arrangements and treaties, cannot be analyzed
due to the lack of data. RB3, the percentage of cases
being rejected in the reviewing process of environmental
impact assessment (EIA) is too low to show any visible
tendencies. This is because the Law Governing Environmental
Impact Assessment (the EIA law) was enacted in 1995 and
so far we have data only for 4 years from 1996 to 1999.
Overall, during the ten years after 1988, since the minorities
have been paid more attention and laws concerning environmental
protection such as the EIA law have been enacted, the
institutional capacity of the national government has
been strengthened and improved gradually.
Looking
back to the situation of 1988, female officials in the
environmental agencies was almost not present, while the
ratio of female officials to male ones has increased into
about 10%. Yet, this ratio is still far below the female
ratio in the government, no to mention that in the population.
Moreover, although a number of laws and regulations concerning
environmental protection, such as the EIA law and its
enforcement rule, have been enacted, the percentage of
cases being rejected in the reviewing process of environmental
impact assessment (EIA) is too low. Recently, many cases
even tried to escape the EIA process by all kinds of manipulative
ways. And the legislative initiative of environmental
impact assessment on policies has not yet been put into
realization despite the fact that relevant regulations
have been already passed. To sum up, the indicators for
the category of organizations and policies have shown
clearly an increase in the environmental capacity-building.
Yet, that increase is mainly due to the comparison that
started from the bottom line. In fact, a lot more efforts
should be made in this aspect.
Indicator
RB2, the extent upon which domestic legislation reflects
international environmental arrangements and treaties,
is designed to show the government's attitude towards
international environmental issues and international cooperation.
As global trades expand and environmental concerns internationalize,
the globalization or internationalization of sustainable
development has become an important factor. Unfortunately,
because of factors in international politics, Taiwan cannot
participate directly in most international organizations
such as the United Nations, not to mention joining any
international agreements. Yet, domestic legislation or
administrative regulations may still incorporate the principles
laid down by international agreements. Therefore, for
the indicator RB2, we choose to observe whether and to
what extent domestic legislation or administrative regulations
have integrated with the principles of international treaties
and arrangements. It is worth noting that this is involved
with complex criteria, and that international politics
or Taiwan's relationship with the People's Republic of
China (PRC) may be entangled in this process. Although
we have primary statistical data, a lot more researches
are needed to enrich this indicator.
*Information
and Participation
In
the category of Information and Involvement, the indicators
show a considerable enhancement in information and public
participation in the past few years. The number of social
organizations is an important indicator for social diversity.
The more social groups exist, the more aggressive the
people are to speak out their preferences, complaints
and opinions via their organizations. For the environmental
issues, governments tend to defend the interests of developments,
so we need more social groups to express environmental
and local concerns. The number of social organizations
doubled in the years we collected data, showing the great
vitality of the civil society in Taiwan. The institution
of a more open assess to environmental information and
the development of eco-labeling point to a general consensus
that our society have made on environmental protection.
After environmental agencies were established in all cities
and counties, the institutional capacity that local environmental
agencies have in handling environmental issues has been
strengthened, showing a tendency towards suitability.
Environmental
problems are not only involved in technological feasibility,
but also entangled with values and balances of interests.
Hence, information upon which the government rely to make
decisions, opening government, as well as participations
of local governments and social groups are all indispensable
parts of issues concerning environmental protection.
6.2
Sustainable Trends of Specific Policies and Institutional
Responses
Although
there are increases in the indicators of the above three
categories concerning institutional capacity, the indicators
in the category of specific policies appears to be the
opposite. Indicator RC3, the percentage of installation
of sewage, grows only in Taipei, while the overall rate
of sewage system build-up is too low, compared to other
countries. Besides, with considerable limited assistance
from the national government and with greater difficulties
in financial situations, Indicator RC3 is expected to
go even lower as local governments cannot afford building
sewage systems. The reduction of RC4, the Percentage of
utilization of fishing ports, reflects serious problems
in agriculture and fishery. Taken together the low utilization
rate of fishery port and the opposite increase of fishery
port, it is clear that due to the lack of proper evaluation,
the construction of the many fishery ports has not only
became a grave waste of resources but also brought more
serious impact on the coastal environment. Among these
indicators, only RC1, the percentage of actual utilization
of industrial parks, and RC5, the number of regulated
chemicals, improve. However, while RC1 is about 60%, total
industrial parks are still in growth, a bad sign for over-construction
of these industrial parks, showing a long distance away
from sustainability.
It
is problematic when the total institutional capacity has
been strengthened but the decision-making and implementation
of specific policies have failed to a larger extent. And
we much pay attention to this problem. Beneath the surface
lies various concerns we need to address and there are
several important directions at which we may put our observation
and do more researches:
1.
It may take time for environmental legislation enacted
and policies made in the national government to be implemented
effectively at the local level.
2.
Rigid legislation without due consideration for enforcement
feasibility; this may cause inefficiencies in implementation.
3.
The design of environmental institutions and regulations
has been confined to case management without a broader
perspective in environmental issues and long-term planning
in environmental protection. For example, the environmental
impact assessment on policies has not yet put into force.
Having
reviewed the indicators and observed the tendencies they
have shown, we have acquired the information carried within
these indicators. Through the design of the indicators
in the above four categories, we may describe more precisely
the current situations and developments of Taiwan's institutional
capacity-building and, more importantly, by analyzing
the relationships between these indicators, we may be
able to address more effectively the problems concerning
institutional responses for Taiwan's sustainable development.
6.3
Conclusions
Based
upon the three-hierarchy structure of the PSR system,
the indicators for institutional responses have become
an important part of sustainable development. To evaluate
the institutional responses of Taiwan's sustainable development,
this research team has designed the above institutional
indicators in the perspective of the government's institutional
capacity-building and with an emphasis on the process
of decision-making and the roles of participation.
We
have been faced with the problems in statistical data
deficiency and confronted the difficulties in data collection
throughout the process. Some indicators with data deficiency
problems have therefore been excluded despite their richness
in meanings or representations, as a practical indicator
system requires a more extended database. Other indicators,
which may reflect Taiwan's unusual situations and may
be improved over time by way of more extra efforts, have
been kept. Indicator RB2, the extent to which domestic
legislation reflects international environmental treaties
and arrangements is one example.
The
tendencies represented tell us that since the establishment
of the EPA in Taiwan, there has been significant improvement
in the government institutional capacity-building. The
vitality of local governments and social groups in their
participation of environmental policies outgrows the increase
of the budget and personnel in the national government.
These are all positive signs for sustainable development.
However, while the total institutional capacity has been
strengthened, the decision-making and implementation of
specific policies have not shown satisfactory results,
and many policies are in effect heading away from sustainable
development. Further attention must be paid on this issue.
|
|
|
 
|
