The marine ecosystem is looking over the abyss. In the seas surrounding Taiwan, the decline of the fish catch has become a serious concern.
We are a matter of weeks away from local elections, yet it seems that ocean conservation is almost entirely absent from the policy agenda of candidates: No ocean conservation policy has been presented.
While local governments have been waiting for the central government to pass legislation on this issue, they have been sitting on their hands, taking precious little action to safeguard the ocean. It is becoming increasingly apparent that to save the ocean and the marine ecosystems around Taiwan, local governments have to play a much more active role.
For more than 30 years, Taiwan’s fishing industry has been dealing with a raft of serious problems, including marine ecology destruction, decline in fish biodiversity and overfishing. The excessive consumption and overexploitation of the ocean have caused serious damage.
Local governments, responsible for designated areas of water surrounding Taiwan, could make an impact on the deteriorating situation, but to do so they have to put in much more effort.
First, local governments need to facilitate communication with the local community, and raise awareness about how it should view its relationship with the ocean.
It should bridge the gap between decisionmakers and local communities, providing environmental guidance to improve conditions in the industry and introducing forward-thinking initiatives inside the Marine Protected Area (MPA).
Local communities need to learn how to improve their relationship with the ocean, how to use its resources properly and responsibly, and to deepen their understanding of how the ocean can give back.
The main purpose is to create a win-win situation in which the ocean and communities can coexist, to guarantee that local economies and ocean conservation can thrive.
Second, the capacity to patrol the MPA must be enhanced. For the MPA to work, strict enforcement is key.
However, not enough law enforcement officers can be sent from the central government to local areas. Local governments should play a bigger role in patrolling and monitoring the area.
Local patrol teams should be organized to find people who contravene the regulations, and report on them.
These teams should also be responsible for the safekeeping of signs in the MPA, ensuring they are not vandalized or concealed. Patrol teams should also educate and inform tourists and residents of the value of the MPA.
Third, local governments should invest more in scientific monitoring. As all problem-solving strategies are based on experimental fact, it is crucial to obtain scientific data to analyze the root and nature of the problems facing Taiwan’s ocean environment.
The data would also be useful in maintaining the livelihoods of fishers and people in the hospitality sector.
The central government should pass an ocean conservation bill as soon as possible.
However, to recover our ocean’s biodiversity, local governments are essential. Local governments should consider these propositions and put them into practice effectively.
Since last year, Greenpeace has advocated for the passage of an ocean conservation bill with 10 demands. The central and local governments should act on this concretely and substantively.
Greenpeace has visited villages and towns along the coast and in outlying islands to discuss the issue with local communities, and it has won the support of more than 20 environmental organizations. More than 280 stores and thousands of people have also responded to its call for the ocean conservation bill. It is apparent that the public support this issue.
The elections are around the corner. Local governments and candidates should highlight ocean conservation in their political agendas.
Taiwan needs to commit itself to protecting the ocean, take action to save the ocean and make the most of the next four years.
Tommy Chung is director of the Greenpeace Taiwan “Project Ocean.”
Translated by Liu Yi-hung
In an article published on this page on Tuesday, Kaohsiung-based journalist Julien Oeuillet wrote that “legions of people worldwide would care if a disaster occurred in South Korea or Japan, but the same people would not bat an eyelid if Taiwan disappeared.” That is quite a statement. We are constantly reading about the importance of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), hailed in Taiwan as the nation’s “silicon shield” protecting it from hostile foreign forces such as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and so crucial to the global supply chain for semiconductors that its loss would cost the global economy US$1
Concerns that the US might abandon Taiwan are often overstated. While US President Donald Trump’s handling of Ukraine raised unease in Taiwan, it is crucial to recognize that Taiwan is not Ukraine. Under Trump, the US views Ukraine largely as a European problem, whereas the Indo-Pacific region remains its primary geopolitical focus. Taipei holds immense strategic value for Washington and is unlikely to be treated as a bargaining chip in US-China relations. Trump’s vision of “making America great again” would be directly undermined by any move to abandon Taiwan. Despite the rhetoric of “America First,” the Trump administration understands the necessity of
US President Donald Trump’s challenge to domestic American economic-political priorities, and abroad to the global balance of power, are not a threat to the security of Taiwan. Trump’s success can go far to contain the real threat — the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) surge to hegemony — while offering expanded defensive opportunities for Taiwan. In a stunning affirmation of the CCP policy of “forceful reunification,” an obscene euphemism for the invasion of Taiwan and the destruction of its democracy, on March 13, 2024, the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) used Chinese social media platforms to show the first-time linkage of three new
Sasha B. Chhabra’s column (“Michelle Yeoh should no longer be welcome,” March 26, page 8) lamented an Instagram post by renowned actress Michelle Yeoh (楊紫瓊) about her recent visit to “Taipei, China.” It is Chhabra’s opinion that, in response to parroting Beijing’s propaganda about the status of Taiwan, Yeoh should be banned from entering this nation and her films cut off from funding by government-backed agencies, as well as disqualified from competing in the Golden Horse Awards. She and other celebrities, he wrote, must be made to understand “that there are consequences for their actions if they become political pawns of
RSS