The government has said that by the end of the year Taiwan would face a water shortage, and the problem is estimated to continue throughout next year.
This is perhaps the most serious warning of its type to have been issued in the past decade, and farmers are concerned that there might not be enough water for the spring harvest. We see this kind of problem time and again, and yet, after the initial panic, few people manage to maintain a sense of urgency. Neither do we see the government formulating substantive policies in response. The prospect of water shortages therefore hangs over the nation like a specter.
Water shortages occur for a variety of reasons, but experts agree that the main cause of the current global water resources crisis is uneven allocation and inadequate management.
In order to have ideal water resources management, modern technology must be used to reduce the amount of water required in agriculture, a reasonable price for water must be set, recycling of urban water usage must be backed and pollution decreased. We should regard water as a commodity and make sure water rights are clearly defined and pricing is fair.
Although annual rainfall in Taiwan is 2.6 times the global average, the nation is only able to use 20 percent as a water resource, meaning the nation is in 18th place in UN global rankings in terms of being a “water resource-poor region.”
Most of the nation’s water — between 60 and 70 percent — is used for agricultural purposes. In fact, water for agriculture accounts for about 75 percent of total water use globally, compared with 20 percent for industrial use and 10 percent for everyday use in cities. However, the actual situation in Taiwan is not clear, as with economic and structural changes, some agricultural land is being left fallow and some has been rezoned. Consequently, the amount of land requiring the use of water for agricultural use needs to be reviewed.
The picture is further complicated by the fact that differing farming tasks require different quantities of water. How to categorize these tasks and more effectively manage water resources and enhance our ability to conserve water are important considerations, as well as how we conserve water resources and allocate them more effectively. Some countries even import grains as a way to effectively obtain international water resources.
As climate change brings a drier climate, the government should look into the cultivation of hardy plants that are resistant to hotter, drier weather and developing resource-saving irrigation equipment and technologies, as well as maintaining and upgrading the current irrigation and conservancy systems, and using better irrigation supply management. Together, these measures would go some way to addressing the potential food crisis that might result from a water shortage.
A shortage of water not only has the potential to cause international tensions as countries vie for scarce resources, it might also have a detrimental effect on human health. For this reason, experts are saying that water resources are set to become a major factor influencing human existence and survival.
Unfortunately, politicians are more interested in short-term considerations and how they fare in elections, which to them is far more important than how they might create a better future. This is as true for the energy crisis as it is for water resource shortages and the food security crisis.
The question is: Just how much more time and resources does Taiwan have?
Lee Wu-chung is a professor of agricultural economics and a former director of Yunlin County’s Department of Agriculture.
Translated by Paul Cooper
They did it again. For the whole world to see: an image of a Taiwan flag crushed by an industrial press, and the horrifying warning that “it’s closer than you think.” All with the seal of authenticity that only a reputable international media outlet can give. The Economist turned what looks like a pastiche of a poster for a grim horror movie into a truth everyone can digest, accept, and use to support exactly the opinion China wants you to have: It is over and done, Taiwan is doomed. Four years after inaccurately naming Taiwan the most dangerous place on
Wherever one looks, the United States is ceding ground to China. From foreign aid to foreign trade, and from reorganizations to organizational guidance, the Trump administration has embarked on a stunning effort to hobble itself in grappling with what his own secretary of state calls “the most potent and dangerous near-peer adversary this nation has ever confronted.” The problems start at the Department of State. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has asserted that “it’s not normal for the world to simply have a unipolar power” and that the world has returned to multipolarity, with “multi-great powers in different parts of the
President William Lai (賴清德) recently attended an event in Taipei marking the end of World War II in Europe, emphasizing in his speech: “Using force to invade another country is an unjust act and will ultimately fail.” In just a few words, he captured the core values of the postwar international order and reminded us again: History is not just for reflection, but serves as a warning for the present. From a broad historical perspective, his statement carries weight. For centuries, international relations operated under the law of the jungle — where the strong dominated and the weak were constrained. That
On the eve of the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE) Day, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) made a statement that provoked unprecedented repudiations among the European diplomats in Taipei. Chu said during a KMT Central Standing Committee meeting that what President William Lai (賴清德) has been doing to the opposition is equivalent to what Adolf Hitler did in Nazi Germany, referencing ongoing investigations into the KMT’s alleged forgery of signatures used in recall petitions against Democratic Progressive Party legislators. In response, the German Institute Taipei posted a statement to express its “deep disappointment and concern”
RSS