Evacuations: Tuvalu vs. Taiwan

Evacuations: Tuvalu vs. Taiwan
China Times editorial (Taipei, Taiwan, ROC)
A Translation
August 28, 2009

Typhoon Morakot brought untold disaster to Taiwan. Yesterday, Tuvalu, a diplomatic ally in the South Pacific, resolved to donate one percent of its gross domestic product, about 20 million US (6.9 million NT) to Taiwan for disaster relief. This was the largest donation Tuvalu has ever made to another country. The public on Taiwan deeply appreciated this warm gesture from an allied nation. But few people realize that Tuvalu's plight is not much better than Taiwan's.

Global warming has brought Taiwan abnormal weather and tropical rainstorms. But it has brought Tuvalu a crisis of survival. This tiny nation in the South Pacific has a population of only 12,000 people, and an area of only 26 square kilometers. In recent years, many low-lying areas have been inundated by the sea, Experts predict that Tuvalu may become the first nation on earth to disappear beneath the waves.

The sea-level is rising much too fast. As the coconut palms along the shore topple one by one, tourists no longer dare to come. The residents of Tuvalu have become "climate refugees." The Tuvalu Government has announced an evacuation plan. Each year it is allowing a fixed number of its citizens to emigrate to nearby New Zealand and Fiji. This is not merely the evacuation of a village. It is the evacuation of an entire Island.

Typhoon Morakot brought with it torrential rains not seen in a century. It was an ecological disaster caused by global warming. Taiwan is much larger than Tuvalu. It has a vast Central Mountain Range. But its residents have cut down too much of its forests. They have extracted too much of its groundwater. As a result, a medium typhoon completely altered the face of mountains and rivers in southern Taiwan. Lingbian Township has become "Waterworld." Hsiaoling Village has been buried beneath a mountain of mud. Disaster victims have lost lives and property. Compared to the residents of Tuvalu, it can only be described as worse and not better.

According to experts, the sea level on Taiwan's southwest coast has risen at a rate 1.4 times the global average. If residents continue over-extraction of groundwater, the sea-level will rise by a meter. Nearly half the land in Chiayi and Tainan's coastal areas will be submerged. So many past reports have issued so many warnings. But few take them seriously.

Subsidence on Taiwan's west coast is serious. The residents' long-term extraction of groundwater is a major factor. The 8/8 Flood was most severe in Lingbian Township. Many villages sank to three meters below sea level. Three weeks after the typhoon, the silt has yet to be cleared. Disease is beginning to spread. To expedite the clearing of sludge from underground drainage pipes, the Executive Yuan is considering temporary evacuation. But many villagers say "We will die before we evacuate."

Following the storm, many people have been unable to return home. Many people don't have homes to return to. The disaster victims are suffering. We feel their pain. We don't have the heart to blame the victims for their emotional reactions. But if one calms down and thinks about it, if long-term groundwater pumping continues, the next typhoon that strikes will flood their homes once more. Once more they will have to clean the silt from from their homes. When will the vicious cycle of misery end?

Actually, what the victims need to think about is not temporary evacuation. but industrial upgrading. Only this will stop the excessive extraction of groundwater. If these fundamental issues can not be resolved, the land will subside even faster in the future, by which time they will have no other choice.

To help disaster victims rebuild their homes, the Legislative Yuan recently passed an emergency post-disaster reconstruction bill. But it ruled out the most important element, an environmental impact assessment. This approach provoked solemn protests by many environmental groups. Hasty post-disaster reconstruction will merely sow the seeds of the next disaster.

By the same token, Premier Liu Chao-shiuan and top government officials have stationed themselves in their southern Taiwan reconstruction office. These high officials of the central government met behind closed doors in an air-conditioned room. They invited neither local leaders nor Aboriginal leaders. What difference does it make whether a meeting like this is held in Taipei or the south? It cannot possibly respond to the needs of the victims. It cannot possibly honor the special lifestyles and cultural traditions of the Aboriginal population.

In the aftermath of the storm, reconstruction is a must for both the ruling and opposition parties. But if one looks farther ahead, nature's backlash was so powerful, it provided us with some valuable insights. Can we continue to wantonly destroy the beauty of our mountains, forests, and lands just to develop our economy? Shouldn't we do more to combat global warming and reduce greenhouse gases?

Tuvalu has recently announced the development of solar and wind power. It intends to reach comprehensive renewable energy targets by 2020. Ten countries, including Sweden, Iceland, and New Zealand, have announced the comprehensive adoption of renewable energy forms and zero carbon emission targets within the coming decade. Tuvalu, as one of global warming's first victims, is making an effort to fight it.

Typhoon Morakot has put the Ma administration to a severe test. But it has also brought with it the impetus for reform. Hopefully, the natural and man-made disasters brought about by Typhoon Morakot will make people do some serious soul-searching about global warming, carbon reduction and energy conservation. Land planning and reconstruction projects require low-carbon, green energy, and environmental sustainability perspectives. Take a look at Tuvalu, and think about Taiwan. The Day After Tomorrow, Taiwan must not become another Tuvalu.

中時電子報 新聞
中國時報 　2009.08.31
社論－從吐瓦魯撤島 看台灣的撤村爭議
本報訊

莫拉克為台灣帶來慘重災情，南太平洋的友邦吐瓦魯日前決議捐出國內生產毛額的百分之一，約廿一萬美元（折合新台幣六百九十萬元）協助台灣賑災，這筆吐國有史以來最大的捐款，讓國人感受到友邦的溫情。然而，大概很少人知道，吐瓦魯目前所面臨的處境，比台灣好不到那去。

全球暖化給台灣所帶來的，或許只是異常氣候的風災，但帶給吐瓦魯的卻是生存危機，這個位於南太平洋的小國家，人口只有一萬二千人，面積更只有廿六平方公里，近年來許多低窪地已被海水淹沒，專家預估吐瓦魯未來恐將成為歷史上第一個從海平面消失的國家。

由於海平面上升的速度實在太快，海邊的椰子樹一顆顆倒下，觀光客也不敢來了，吐瓦魯的居民成了「氣候難民」。吐國政府因此宣布撤離計畫，每年開放固定的名額移民至鄰近的紐西蘭與斐濟。這項行動，不只是撤村，而是撤島了。

莫拉克帶來百年超大豪雨，正是地球暖化的生態浩劫之一。台灣的面積雖然比吐瓦魯大得多，還有遼闊的中央山脈，不過，居民濫墾山林、濫抽地下水成性，一個中度颱風就使得南台灣山河變色，林邊鄉成澤國，小林村滅頂，災民們受到的生命財產威脅，比起吐瓦魯的居民，有過之而無不及。

根據學者調查，台灣西南沿海地區海平面上升速率是全球平均的一點四倍。如果居民過度抽取地下水的現象依舊，海平面上升一公尺，嘉義、台南沿海地區土地將近一半會被水淹沒。過去許多的調查報告，不知提出多少的警訊，但很少人願意認真面對。

台灣西南沿海地層下陷嚴重，居民長期抽取地下水是重要原因。這次八八水災最嚴重的林邊鄉，許多村落竟然低於海平面三公尺。颱風過後三周了，滿目瘡痍的淤泥還是清不完，疫病已開始蔓延。為了加速清理地下排水幹管的汙泥，行政院考慮暫時撤離鄉民，不過　許多鄉民卻激動地說：「打死不撤」。

風災過後，許多人有家歸不得，許多人更是連家都沒了。對於災民們的苦，我們感同身受；對於災民們的情緒反應，我們不忍苛責。可是，冷靜下來想想，如果長期抽取地下水的行為不改變，下一個颱風又來，照樣把家園淹沒，照樣有大批淤泥等著清理。如此日復一日，何時才能脫離悲慘的惡性循環？

其實，災民們真正要思考的不只是暫時撤離的問題，而是如何進行產業轉型，停止過度抽取地下水；如果這些基本的問題無法改善，將來地層加速下陷，恐怕也沒得選擇了。

為了協助災民重建家園，立法院日前緊急通過災後重建特別條例草案，卻把最重要的環境影響評估排除，這項做法引發許多環保團體的嚴正抗議。因為，急就章式的災後重建，埋下的是另一次災難的種子。

同樣地，行政院長劉兆玄率領部會首長進駐南部重建辦公室。這些中央大官們關起門來在冷氣房內開會，既未邀地方首長，也無原住民代表參與，這樣的會議在台北或在南部召開，結果都一樣，無法滿足災民的需求，也無法兼顧原住民特殊的生活形態與文化傳統。

風災過後，重建是朝野當務之急。不過，如果把眼光放遠一點，這次大自然反撲的力量如此強烈，也帶給我們深刻的啟發，我們還能夠為了發展經濟，繼續肆無忌憚地殘害美麗的山林與土地嗎？我們是否應在對抗暖化、降低溫室氣體方面做更多努力？

吐瓦魯最近宣布將發展太陽能與風力發電，要在二○二○年前達到全面使用再生能源的目標。目前全球已有瑞典、冰島、紐西蘭等十個國家宣布在未來十年內達成全面使用再生能源與零排碳的目標，吐瓦魯由於深受全球暖化之害，也針對抗暖化盡一己之力。

這次莫拉克讓馬政府執政能力受到嚴酷考驗，但也帶來改革的動力。但願，莫拉克所帶來的天災與人禍，讓國人對於全球暖化與節能減碳有新的反省，在國土規畫與重建工作上加入低碳綠能、環境永續的思維。看看吐瓦魯，想想台灣，明天過後，台灣絕對不能變成另一個被水淹沒的吐瓦魯。