The purpose of environmental impact assessments (EIAs) is to analyze and predict the effects of construction projects and to evaluate their pros and cons in light of other alternatives. Apart from environmental protection, EIA systems can also be applied to resource management and environmental planning.
For many countries that take an official interest in monitoring limited resources and environmental issues, the EIA system plays vital roles in planning the sustainable use of resources, creating preventive measures against environmental damage and waste, and overall planning and evaluation.
In evaluating investment projects, the function and credibility of EIAs will come under tremendous challenge if short-term benefits and technical feasibility are given priority over long-term hazards and realistic assessment of environmental capacities.
For example, as part of the five-year, NT$500 billion New Ten Major Infrastructure Projects, the Gi-yang artificial reservoir is the only one among the four artificial lakes that passed the initial EIA. The planning of the other three artificial lakes -- Taoyung, Yunling and Tainan lakes -- are still under way. While the Gi-yang artificial reservoir is designed to cover over 1000 hectares and to swallow more than NT$30 billion in the course of its budgeted development, it will provide only 340,000 tons of water daily for Kaohsiung and Pingtung residents.
Yet the 65 million cubic meters of dredged silt from its construction will make tens of billions of dollars in profits for the contractors, absolving them of responsibility to backfill as the Gravel Quarry Law (
Such a huge project sparks doubts that it is the public that benefits from all this.
The Gi-yang project would have multiple negative impacts on the environment. Possible pollution of Pingtung's groundwater reservoir aside, the Gi-yang project might also cause salination of groundwater and coastal erosion by damming the Kaoping River. A multitude of other disputes and alternatives awaits further assessments.
For instance, if we switch 1 percent of water currently used for irrigation to industrial and civil use, this amount will nearly match the volume the Gi-yang reservoir would be able to store. Or, to reduce spending, the government can recycle water from industrial parks and commercial areas and encourage people to conserve water, adjusting water prices when necessary and allowing water prices to reflect costs.
By doing so, the government can save about 70 liters per capita per day and spare all the resources involved in building another artificial reservoir. However, we do not know whether such a non-structural, low-cost and lost-risk project of sustained development has even been considered by government agencies.
Despite the ruling and opposition parties in the Legislative Yuan agreeing to launch EIAs on the four artificial lakes and the Hualien Superhighway projects, we still hope the second-stage EIA to remedy previous mistakes will not simply be a tool to legitimatize and endorse the pro-construction policy.
We expect both the government and the opposition parties to review the controversial projects of the four artificial lakes and Hualien Super-highway in a way that reflects their love for Taiwan and for the land we live on. Taking a more far-sighted perspective, they should reconsider whether the nature of these projects meets the standard of ecological and environmental sustainability.
The questions the government and opposition party should reflect on include: Are such projects addressing a pressing public need, or merely the contractors' interests? Is there other, more reasonable alternatives that allow sustainable resource development? Do the projects' risk and cost analyses also include their environmental and social costs? Is there adequate financing for the project?
If they are not concerned with these matters, the government and the opposition parties will not only rashly endorse the still-unclear effects of the New Ten Major Infrastructure Projects, but also bear the blame for violating the principles of sustainable development and equity between generations. They will win notoriety for depriving children of their share of the nation's resources, and for leaving these debts for the next generation to pay.
For the past four years, the ruling party has proclaimed its intention to develop a "green island of technology," chanting slogans about "loving Taiwan" and "sustainable development." Yet we are let down again and dare not place high hopes on this government.
We only expect the officials responsible to be honest and objective in reviewing the controversial projects of the four artificial lakes and the Hualien Superhighway, to craft policies for sustainable development with determination and vision, and to leave a scenic landscape for our children.
Actions speak louder than words. "Loving Taiwan" should not be an empty slogan in an election campaign but the goal of policies that cherish the land, the people and the sustainable development of Taiwan.
Sue Lin is an environmental engineering professor at National Chengkung University.
TRANSLATED BY WANG HSIAO-WEN
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