The Ministry of Environment yesterday pledged to hold more dialogue on the drafting of a new National Environmental Protection Plan after environmental advocates accused officials of omitting vital issues from the agenda and a lack of discussion.
The latest consultative conference on the national environmental policy — a meeting the government is required by law to convene once every four years — was held yesterday at the ministry in Taipei.
Wild at Heart Legal Defense Association chairman Chen Hsien-cheng (陳憲政) said that the ministry had removed mountain disaster prevention, terrestrial ecological conservation and marine conservation from the conference’s agenda.
Photo: Chen Chia-yi, Taipei Times
The ministry should be in charge of monitoring the nation’s progress on these matters and proactively create solutions, even if other government agencies has since been put in charge of handling them, he said.
Taiwan Healthy Air Action Alliance founder Hsu Hsin-hsin (許心欣) said the ministry did not invite local-based groups to the conference, adding that the decision to hold one discussion panel in Taipei meant voices from other regions were not heard.
Government Watch Alliance spokesperson Chen Jiau-hua (陳椒華) said the government should support measures that reduce waste, rather than investing in refuse-derived fuel, which can cause pollution.
Lin Cheng-han (林政翰), a member of the Tainan University Community Environment Action Group, said that drafting a national environmental policy requires the capability to coordinate and supervise government ministries.
This means the Executive Yuan, and not the Ministry of Environment, should be in charge of drafting the policy, he said.
Department of Comprehensive Planning Director-General Wu Pei-yu (吳珮瑜) defended the decision to remove some items from the agenda, saying that replication of efforts would not serve the ministry or its mission.
The ministry must focus its resources and attention on matters that fall within its legal purview and deal with the challenges posed by climate warming, she said.
More meetings will be planned to ensure groups from the nation’s southern or central regions can fully participate in policy discourse before the ministry decides its next move, she said.
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