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Post-Election 2008: Groups urge Ma to think green

Environmentalists yesterday voiced concern that policies proposed by president-elect Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) may be friendly to the economy, but bad for the environment.

"The fact that Ma's `i-Taiwan 12 Projects' attracted supporters shows that people yearn for economic prosperity -- however the projects may negatively affect the environment," former Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) environmental review committee member Li Ken-cheng (李根政) said.

The construction projects include the renovation and expansion of Taichung Airport, construction of road segments to connect the transportation network throughout the nation and deep sea developments.

"Construction work brings carbon emissions and damage to the environment in two waves -- first during the construction stage and then when the projects begin operation," Taiwan Environmental Protection Union (TEPU) founding president Shih Shin-min (施信民) told the Taipei Times by telephone.

For example, while the construction of a transportation network damages the environment, the project further increases traffic flow upon completion, he said.

"I have doubts about the 12 projects and worry that the KMT `pro-economy, anti-environment' nightmare will start again," Li said.

"The projects are themed on expansion and investment in construction," he said. "Though Ma has plans to build a 60,000 hectare forest, that may only be enough to cancel out a 10th of the carbon emissions the Formosa Plastic Group's proposed steel plant -- a proposal he has been ambiguous about."

"Environment groups may have to get mentally prepared to go back to the streets [for protests]," he said.

Shih was also concerned about the environmental impact more tourists, including those from China, would have upon Taiwan's environment.

"The environment is delicate and requires careful maintenance so that its quality will not deteriorate," Shih said.

"What we need is quality tourism that has minimal impact on the environment -- scenic gems like Sun Moon Lake and Alishan should only accept a limited number of tourists so that their environments can be preserved," he said.

"Low quality tourism -- such as building more cheap hotels and planting agricultural souvenirs to accommodate the tourist flow -- is not what Taiwan needs at this stage," he said.

Liao Pen-chuan (廖本全) of the Taiwan Academy of Ecology urged the Ma government to make the EPA environmental review process more transparent to the public.
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