Although no comprehensive deal was reached at climate talks in Copenhagen, countries now recognize global warming as an important issue that must be addressed by humanity as a whole. As Taiwan is susceptible to flooding, droughts and other natural disasters, we cannot ignore the question of whether we are prepared for potential crises caused by climate change.
Months after Typhoon Morakot brought the worst flooding in half a century last summer, southern Taiwan is now facing a water shortage. Last week, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) called a meeting to discuss the matter. Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) has instructed the Ministry of Economic Affairs to formulate a drought response mechanism.
The ministry’s Water Resources Agency proposes to offer a discount on water bills for households that conserve water, with the highest possible discount at 15 percent. At that rate, the average household would only save NT$30 per month. Is that a strong incentive to watch how much water we use?
Statistics show that average water usage per capita on Taiwan proper and in Kaohsiung City is 290 liters per day. The figure for Taipei is 396 liters. This is far above the international average of 250 liters. The reason for this is that water is cheap, which encourages waste.
The ministry’s plan is obviously modeled on the electricity discount. Because of rising electricity prices, the government last year introduced a plan to encourage the public to save energy, offering discounts to anyone using less electricity than during the previous billing period.
This only worked because electricity is much more expensive than water, and now that electricity prices have gone up even further, people are trying to save energy just to save money. But applying the same reasoning to overly cheap water is not likely to work.
Water prices should have been raised long ago, but Taiwan’s frequent elections have discouraged the government from taking a step that could anger voters. But if electricity prices can be raised, the government should be able to substantially raise water prices. Then it can offer a discount substantial enough to function as an incentive to save water.
Pecuniary benefits cannot be the only means to encourage conservation, however. This should be combined with education and other changes. In addition, water conservation plans should not only involve the public, but also industries and agriculture.
In the past, when Taiwan’s food self-sufficiency rate was around 50 percent, the agricultural sector accounted for 70 percent of the nation’s water usage. Today, with a self-sufficiency rate at only 25 percent, agricultural water usage still accounts for 70 percent. It is clear that there is much room for improvement. When it comes to industrial water usage, Taiwan’s low water prices have always been an incentive for the high-tech, electroplating and dyeing industries to set up factories. In particular, lax water recycling rules have resulted in the public subsidizing wasteful consumption by industrial users.
Urbanization and a changing climate mean that Taiwan’s water situation will continue to deteriorate. The government must not only tackle the immediate water shortage, but also launch a comprehensive review of our water resources, industrial structure and wastefulness. Quick fixes to such a complex problem are not realistic.
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