The ecological conservation collaboration platform for the Shalun Science Park development project aims to promote communication, the Ministry of Environment said yesterday.
The National Science and Technology Council has proposed building a science park in Tainan’s Shalun Township (沙崙), and the project has passed the first stage of its environmental impact assessment (EIA) review on Wednesday.
However, some environmentalists have raised concerns, as the 500 hectare site is home to major habitats for eastern grass owls and other endangered birds, such as black-winged kites and oriental pratincoles.
Photo: CNA
Minister of Environment Peng Chi-ming (彭?明) after the review meeting said the ministry had suggested that the developer set up a platform to collect opinions on conservation.
That is the first time such a platform has been established along with a development project, he said, adding that it was because the project involves multiple ecological issues and such pressure cannot be borne solely by the developer.
Peng’s remarks sparked criticism that the ministry should not have downgraded itself to a “subordinate agency.”
The ministry said Peng has been fair and objective as chair of the EIA committee, adding that he did not mention the platform during the review and made the remark in response to media queries.
Peng said the platform is not subordinate to the developer, but should be considered an interagency interface aimed at promoting communication.
The project involves not only the developer’s execution, but also how to balance the nation’s ecological and economic commitments, he said.
For example, the site’s area between Expressway No. 86 and the Erren River (二仁溪) encompasses ecological corridors that require governance at a higher administrative level, Peng said.
The project is relevant to the development of advanced semiconductor processes, as well as conservation of threatened species, he added.
The second stage of the EIA review should be considered a starting point for dialogue, rather than a conclusion, he said.
Some critics have called the project a “large-scale ecological devastation disguised as conservation.”
Society of Wilderness vice chairman Chen Hsien-cheng (陳憲政) said sites selected for science parks should avoid, rather than “invade,” eco-sensitive areas.
Although the project has planned conservation areas, they would become “isolated ecological islands,” and their food chains and biodiversity networks would be disrupted once they are surrounded by concrete buildings, he said.
Wild at Heart Legal Defense Association researcher Hong Shuo-cheng (洪碩辰) said the project’s environmental impact report has multiple flaws, including a lack of conservation strategies for endangered species such as eastern grass owls and ring-necked pheasants.
It also failed to predict its environmental impact based on scientific analysis, Hong said.
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