EPA head charts new course after Hau's resignation

Promoting environmental education, stressing environmental harmony and adopting incentive strategies will be major ways for the Environmental Protection Admini-stration (EPA) to tackle problems, EPA head Chang Juu-en (張祖恩) said yesterday.

Chang received an official seal yesterday from Minister without Portfolio Yeh Jiunn-rong (葉俊榮), who said Chang had been praised by legislators and the public for his experience in the environmental sector.

Chang, who grew up on a farm, said environmental considerations are an important part of rural life.

He said education is the cornerstone of environmental protection. In order to promote environmental protection in daily life, Chang said, the EPA will focus on the establishment of an environmental education law (環境教育法) to embed environmental values, concepts, knowledge and skills into school education and social education.

With a doctorate in civil engineering from Tohoku University in Japan, Chang, 52, has been in the field of environmental engineering for nearly three decades.

In April 2001, when Chang was associate dean of the College of Engineering at National Cheng Kung University, he was invited by former EPA chief Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) to serve as his deputy. Chang has taught at the university since 1982. He has also received his bachelor's and master's degrees from the university.

Hau resigned early last month after Premier Yu Shyi-kun rejected his proposal to disallow referendums on projects if an environmental impact assessment had already been conducted.

The subsequent confrontation between public opinion and environmental professionalism was attributed to Hau's resignation.

Meanwhile, facing nationwide demonstrations against waste incineration, Chang said the policy would be slightly adjusted and the principle of having one incinerator in each jurisdiction could be overturned.

"Regional cooperation on waste management will be promoted in order to cancel the establishment of one or two incinerators," Chang said.

In addition, he said incentives would be adopted for the industrial sector to prevent environmental pollution and promote pollution-control technologies.

"Taiwan might be not only an R&D base for environmental technologies but also an exporter, further contributing to global sustainable development," Chang said.