For nearly four decades, filmmaker Ke Chin-yuan (柯金源) has been documenting how industrialization has affected the environment and now he wishes to pass on his experience to the younger generation.
“The only thing I have been doing over the past 40 years or so is recording environmental changes associated with human action, and the only thing I am good at is interpreting the changes and communicating with the public,” Ke, 56, said at the launch of a book of his photography.
Taiwan, Our Island (我們的島) is a collection of more than 700 pictures, which were selected from the 40,000 images that Ke has uploaded to Flickr since 2007.
The pictures showcase his field research on a wide range of environmental issues facing Taiwan and the world.
Ke said he hopes the book could spark discussions on the nature and magnitude of environmental destruction and its effects on the ecosystem.
The main method Ke uses to measure pollution is to observe the presence, numbers and behavioral patterns of indicator species.
“The bioindicators signal threats to their living environments. They are just like old friends of mine. I visit them time and again,” he said.
Born and raised in a coastal village in Changhua County, which has Taiwan’s largest area of mudflats, Ke chose the destruction of natural coastlines as his first subject to pinpoint the causes of the disappearance of coastlines and to educate the public on the priceless value the wetlands have provided for local residents and the environment.
At first, Ke documented marine and coastal ecosystems in 12 coastal regions designated for protection before expanding the scope to include more than 100 sites nationwide, including at least 16 islands surrounding Taiwan proper, when he discovered the extent of the degradation of their ecosystems has happened much more rapidly that he had thought.
Through the images he has captured from the same viewpoint at different times, the younger generation can reflect on the relationship between people and nature, the central theme that runs through much of Ke’s work.
He said the more photographs he took that encapsulate the harm being done to the environment, the more frequently he asked himself how to use his skills for a bigger cause rather than just fulfilling his own goals.
“Whenever an environmental problem occurs, it is always the disadvantaged in rural areas who are the first to be adversely affected, but their voices are rarely heard,” he said.
The motivation — giving a voice to the voiceless — behind Ke’s passion has also driven him to record environmental damage across national boundaries.
His documentary Song of the Forest, about Taiwan’s role in deforestation in Southeast Asia, is one of these works.
Ke said he wished to encourage viewers to think about the loss of traditional Aboriginal land in those countries before they make a decision to purchase hardwood furniture.
Over the course of his career, Ke said he has seen a much higher level of environmental awareness develop among the Taiwanese public, with various development plans scrapped as a result of public protest.
“How far away are we from having a country with a civil society strong enough to press the government and mega-corporations not to place environmental concerns below economic growth? This is the question I have been thinking about,” Ke said. “We need to empower civil society.”
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