Environmental Protection Administration
From ClimateWiki
Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) is a Cabinet level executive agency responsible for protecting and conserving the environment in the Taiwan Area.
This also includes, air quality, noise control, monitoring and inspection of environment, solid waste, recycling, sustainable development and international cooperation.
It is led by the Minister for Environment. He is supported by two deputy ministers.
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Vision
Vision: Blue skies and green earth, verdant mountains and pristine waters, and health and sustainability.
Five main strategies:
(1) Building a sound structure to promote sustainability
(2) Saving energy and reducing carbon emissions to cool the earth
(3) Recycling resources to achieve zero waste
(4) Eliminating pollution to protect the ecosystem
(5) Cleaning neighborhoods and promoting lifestyles of health and sustainability
Important Policy Performance
(1) Performance in Amended Regulations:
We stipulated, amended, and abolished 16 regulations, including Basic Environment Act and other relevant regulations
(2) Measures to Reduce Greenhouse Gases:
We established the Office of Greenhouse Gases Reduction Management, promoted legislation of "Greenhouse Gases Reduction Act" and relevant measures, and stipulated "Action Program of No-Regret Measures for Energy Saving and Carbon Reduction by All Citizens" to actively promote national movement of energy saving and carbon reduction. We launched "National Greenhouse Gases Registration Platform." Since January in 2009, there have been 139 companies voluntarily reporting their inventory information. We started "Eco-Life Website - energy saving and carbon reduction network" to let citizens sign carbon declaration and register the actual performance. To January in 2009, there have been over 370 thousand people to sign the carbon declaration.
(3) Citizen Movement for Cleaning neighborhoods:
We executed "National Movement Program for Purifying Home," dealt with evaluation to counties and cities, and organized on-site inspection done by central administration. We also executed "Program to elevate environmental health quality responding to Chinese tourists visiting Taiwan." We supervised the improvement or rebuilding of the public toilets in important scenic areas and routes along these areas. We executed "Emergent Clearance Project to Eliminate Dengue Fever Mosquito Breeding Sources in Five Cities and Counties in the South" to reduce the density index of dengue fever mosquito. We promoted and executed "Project for Elevating the Quality of Taiwan's Public Restrooms" to improve sanitation and maintenance. We drafted the "Project to Build a Sustainable and Good Environmental sanitation" to promote and establish double-mobilization system, to elevate the quality of environmental sanitation in cities and countries, to establish a demonstrative community with good environmental quality, and to restore coastal zones to cleanliness.
(4) Continuous Improvement of Air Quality:
The rate of poor air quality has been decreased from 6.6% in 1996 to 2.97% in 2008. In general, the rate of poor air quality has a trend of decrease year by year. It shows that the efforts to improve air quality work effectively. We actively promote the policy of vapor recovery in gas stations. 2,627 gas stations nationwide have all equipped with vapor recovery facilities.
(5) Obvious Improvement on Water Quality in Rivers:
The rate of seriously polluted rivers has decreased from 15.8% in 2003 to 4.2% in the end of 2008. Among these rivers, the rate of the seriously polluted rivers belonging to Tamshui River system has decreased to 5% in the end of 2008. The polluted water quality in the Erren River has decreased to 21.9%. The water quality is the best than before. We established artificial wetland to facilitate biological diversity and constructed "On-site Facilities for River's Water Quality Treatment." Over these years, we completed facilities for improving water quality in 79 places. The water quantity processed everyday is over 0.5 million tons.
(6) Excellent Achievement in Recycling:
The rate of national waste recycling in November in 2008 went to 41.76%. Refuse amount collected per capita per day has decreased from 1.143 kg which is the highest of the year to 0.523 kg which exceeds advanced countries. We completed 4 technological parks of environmental protection . By December in 2008, 71 companies are approved to move in the parks. It is estimated that nearly 14.6 billion dollars from non-governmental capital will be invested, and 33.3 billion dollars of production value will be made every year.
(7) Promotion on People's Green Consumption:
We set up 109 dimension standards. Taiwan is ranked the third worldwide. 4,475 products' applications are approved. It is ranked the fifth in the world. The total used labels are over 5.2 billion pieces. We set Greenliving Information Platform for application for environmental labels and relevant information. We assisted 1,055 companies and organizations to carry out the green purchasing. In 2008, the amount of green purchasing from administrations and non-governmental organizations achieved 7.8 billion dollars. We also established marketing channels for eco-friendly products and assisted 820 stores including Taiwan Sugar Corporation shopping malls to transform into "green stores" in order to give convenient accesses for people to buy eco-friendly products.
(8) Quality Elevation of Environmental Assessment:
We will amend relevant regulations for the preliminary reviewing in order to further specify the preliminary reviewing and to keep the quality of both reviewing and efficiency. We will reinforce the work to provide information of environmental influence assessment process in public. All related information will be announced in our website.
(9) Supervision on Environmental Pollution:
We inspect and supervise important sources of pollution and projects. From January to December in 2008, we inspected 145,580 cases and reported 3,291 cases. We also reinforce the inspection to criminal cases of environmental protection. From January to December in 2008, we referred 76 cases and 184 persons to judiciary administration. We found and impounded 33 criminal facilities and effectively stop illegal matters.
(10) Establishment of Incinerators and Soil Pollution Remediation:
We have established and operated 24 incinerators and deal with refuse problem appropriately. By the end of December in 2008, 53 soil pollution remediation sites for non-agricultural lands have completed the remediation and are deregulated. The average improvement rate of the soil pollution remediation sites for agricultural lands reaches 72%. The average improvement rate of pollution sites in gas stations reaches 60%. The average improvement rate of pollution sites in factories reaches 54%.
(11) Promotion on the Online Application for Approval of Environmental Protection:
To cooperate with e-trade and clearance procedures proposed by the Executive Yuan, we have completer the matches between poisoned chemical substances and environment medicine list, and our system has connected with the system of Directorate General of Customs. It has been carried out since January 22 in 2008. 2008 environment medicine permits and permits for environment medicine selling, and pest control industry can be applied online.
