Water conservation should be better promoted in Taiwan in order to manage the country's limited water resources more wisely, according to water resources officials, experts and legislators.
A report on Taiwan's Water Poverty Index (WPI) ranking released yesterday by the Taipei-based Environmental Quality Protection Foundation (EQPF) suggests that Taiwan consumes water unwisely.
Designed by UK scientists in 2002 to express the link between water availability and household welfare, WPI also indicates the degree to which water scarcity impacts on human populations.
PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES
To show where the best and worst water situations exist, the measure grades 147 countries according to five different measures, including resources, access, capacity, use and environmental impact.
After collecting related raw data, Yeh Shin-cheng (
Yeh's conclusion, that Taiwan ranked the 40th out of the 148 nations, has been confirmed by Jeremy Meigh, one of the key designers of the WPI.
"The result might not be too bad, but it hints that we consume water unwisely," Yeh said.
According to Yeh, the water use component of the WPI measures how efficiently a country uses water for domestic, agricultural and industrial purpose. The lowest ranking country is the US, while Taiwan is the 8th lowest.
Statistically, each Taipei City resident consumes 356 liters of water daily, while each person in the rest of Taiwan, 239 liters. Both figures are relatively higher than Britain's 108 liters, The Netherlands' 126 liters, Denmark's 190 liters, and Spain's 126 liters.
Yeh said a high water-loss rate -- the amount of water lost between the reservoir and the tap -- is partly responsible for Taiwan's heavy consumption of fresh water. The national water-loss rate is about 30 percent.
Kuo Jan-tai (郭振泰), a professor of Water Resources Engineering at National Taiwan University, attributed the high water usage to poor promotion of sustainable development and conservation.
Kuo stressed the importance of recycling and reusing waste water discharged from both the industrial and residential sectors.
"Singapore vows to get 20 percent of its water supply from recycled waste water, in order to reduce its reliance on neighboring Malaysia," Kuo said.
Kuo said Singapore is also using high water prices -- about two to three times those of Taiwan -- to promote water conservation.
DPP Legislator Eugene Jao (
But according to local media, the government has no plans to raise water prices before the 2004 presidential election. Jao said that is a mistake.
"The government should not manage the water resources politically," Jao said.
He believes a mechanism for setting water prices -- involving community groups, water experts, academics, and the government -- should be established.
Chen Shen-hsien (陳伸賢), deputy director of the Water Resources Agency, said it is inevitable that water prices will be adjusted.
Chen said that by the end of 2004, old leaky facilities at governmental organizations and public schools would be replaced by new ones that use less water.
"By revising related laws, we might be able to further promote water conservation in the private sector," Chen said.
EQPF Secretary-General Eric Liou (劉銘龍) said that by looking at how Taiwan rates on the WPI, the government could find efficient ways to manage water resources.
Related water issues pertaining to the WPI will be discussed at the Third World Water Forum that starts today in Japan.
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