To adhere to the principles of safety, co-habitation and environmental sustainability, no new mountain roads should be constructed, and permission to expand existing roads may not be granted, Premier Jiang Yi-huah declared today.
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) was also instructed to rescind plans to build future provincial roads to prevent further harm to the environment.
The construction of mountain roads impacts natural resource conservation and increases the risk of disasters in environmentally sensitive areas, pointed out the premier, adding that the environmental effect on the roads must be considered as well.
"Nevertheless, mountain roads are now inextricably linked with the livelihoods of the indigenous peoples, so to safeguard them the MOTC and related agencies should maintain normal services on existing highways and alternate routes," he clarified.
Land and water conservation management and maintenance must be stepped up during road repairs in order to minimize disasters and ensure the safety of national land, Jiang ordered. For instance, access to the Guguan-to-Techi section of Provincial Highway No. 8 is temporarily being restricted due to geological instability.
The premier made the aforementioned remarks after being briefed by several agencies on issues concerning mountain road construction at the ad hoc land protection task force meeting. The MOTC addressed the topic from a road construction perspective; the Council of Agriculture (COA) reported on slope, soil and water conservation; and the Council of Indigenous Peoples (CIP) spoke about indigenous peoples' needs.
The MOTC stated that in consideration of safety, co-habitation and environmental sustainability, it has no plans to build any new mountain roads.
Construction of mountain roads should adhere to the Soil and Water Conservation Act and other regulations, the COA insisted. The agency also remarked that it has neither developed any new roads nor expanded existing ones since the domestic logging business ended in the 1970s.
The CIP noted that while the indigenous peoples realize the effects mountain roads have on the environment and ecology, their construction has its own historical background, and they are now closely tied to the daily lives of indigenous citizens. Therefore, it is necessary to maintain existent provincial road systems to serve the highland aborigines and safeguard their livelihoods, the council insisted.
The land protection task force was established by the Executive Yuan soon after Premier Jiang Yi-huah watched the documentary Beyond Beauty: Taiwan from Above on November 13, 2013 and vowed that the government would deal with the environmental damage the film displayed, such as industrial pollution of beaches and destruction of land. Officials from relevant ministries have been invited to collaborate in resolving these issues through the taskforce, which has convened five conferences since its inception as well as five onsite inspections spanning 16 locations.