Just as the Nobel Prize in Economics is awarded for work in environmental economics, the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) — which should champion green governance — approved the environmental impact assessment for the Datan Power Plant at Taoyuan’s Guantang Industrial Park, to the surprise of many.
Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), while on the presidential campaign trail, vowed that algal reefs in the area would be protected, while Taoyuan Mayor Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) expressed his concern for them.
However, now, the powers-that-be are allowing the destruction of this precious natural heritage. The Democratic Progressive Party has abandoned its environmentally friendly image and can kiss goodbye to the idea of a green homeland.
The reefs are one of Taoyuan’s most valuable ecological resources and might be accorded World Heritage status. Unlike coral reefs, which are made of the remains of coral polyps — algal reefs are made of plants through the calcification of crustose coralline algae and the gradual accumulation of layers of calcium carbonate.
The production of algal reefs proceeds at a slow rate, less than 1cm per decade. Their destruction should not be taken lightly. Algal reefs contain a wealth of natural resources, and provide habitats for marine species such as crabs, mullet, blowfish and sea anemones.
The coastal algal reef in Taoyuan’s Guanyin District (觀音) is the largest stretch of algal reefs in Taiwan. More than a decade ago, groups protested a CPC Corp, Taiwan project to dig up natural gas pipes in the area and in 2014 the Council of Agriculture placed the Guanxin Algal Reefs Ecosystem Wildlife Conservation Area under the protection of the Wildlife Conservation Act (野生動物保育法) to conserve this valuable wildlife habitat.
Meetings of the EPA’s environmental quality advisory committee require that academics and experts testify in person and that committee members who are government officials be present, not represented by proxies.
The vote on the Datan assessment passed with seven affirmative votes from government representatives; two from academics and experts were declared invalid and one was left blank; three attendees abstained; and there were eight no-shows. The vote was clearly pushed through by the government representatives and could hardly be regarded as a resounding endorsement.
The entire process has been flawed and controversial. The non-governmental committee members clearly did not support the assessment and the vote cannot lay claim to any legitimacy.
Given their unique nature, algal reefs should qualify as a “natural landscape” as defined by the Cultural Heritage Preservation Act (文化資產保存法).
The Council of Agriculture, in Article 8 of the Wildlife Conservation Act, specified the designation requirements to conserve wildlife habitats and ecologies and a public hearing should be called to decide whether this should include Guantang.
During its review, the EPA, faced with differing legal standpoints for three central government agencies, evaded a strategic environmental assessment, but it should complete one to defend its decision from criticism by environmental groups and the public.
Our children and grandchildren should not be denied the opportunity to see this valuable natural heritage, so committee members should reconsider their decision.
Ted Chiou is a professor in Yuan Ze University’s Department of Social and Policy Sciences.
Translated by Paul Cooper
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