Stop the CTSP Erlin Science Park; Protect Farmers, Fishermen and the Taiwan Humpback Dolphins.

Erlin residents protesting against the CTSP Erlin Science Park.


An appeal to sign a petition against the expansion of the CTSP Erlin Science Park in Changhua County. This pollution generated from this development threaten local farmers and fishers and also the coastal environment which is home to the critically endangered Taiwan Humpback Dolphins. Our colleagues at the Taiwan Environmental Action Network (TEAN) have drafted a petition letter. Please sign it and help us to stop this development.


Dear friends,

On October 5, 2009, the Taiwan Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) will hold the final review of the environmental impact assessment (EIA) on the expansion of the Central Taiwan Science Park (CTSP) project in Erlin. The local farmers, fishermen and dairy farmers will travel 3 hours north to Taipei to express their objection against the expansion so they can protect their farms and lands.

In addition, discharge from the Science Park will worsen the conditions for the critically endangered (CR on IUCN red list) population of Taiwan Humpback dolphins which reside year round in these inshore waters.

We need your support URGENTLY to help the farmers and environmental groups in Taiwan. Please click on the link and sign the petition letter.

Please forward the petition to your family members, friends and colleagues. The more international support we can generate, the more the pressure will be on the Taiwan government. Thank you!

In solidarity,

Echo J. Lin

General-Secretary
Taiwan Environmental Action Network


Stop Taiwan CTSP Erlin Science Park, Protect Farmers, Fishermen and the Environment from High-tech Hazards

The Central Taiwan Science Park (CTSP) has set up three sites in the central Taiwan since September, 2002 and is now proposing the 4th stage of its expansion in Erlin, Changhua County, Taiwan. The CTSP has acquired 1,890 acres of land in the other three sites and is proposing to acquire 1,569 acres (635 hectares) for the Erlin site, which includes 741 acres (300 hectares) to satisfy the need of AU Optronics, a mass production TFT-LCD manufacturer. The health and social impacts associated with the expansion far outweigh any possible benefit and will destroy the livelihood of the local farmers, oyster fishermen and dairy farms.

The Erlin Science Park project will:

-- Demand 160,000 tons of clean water per day from Changhua area, where the underground aquifers in the vicinity are currently the main water supply for drinking and irrigation.

-- Inevitably destroy the oyster farms along the coast because of the 160,000 tons of wastewater discharged from the science park everyday.

-- Significantly and unavoidably increase local air and water pollution;

-- The coastal waters of Changhua County, where the Science Park is to be located, is home to the unique population of fewer than 100 Taiwan Humpback Dolphins (aka Taiwan White/Pink Dolphins). The population's decline is attributed to, inter alia, air and water pollution. This population was designated CR, or critically endangered, by the IUCN in August 2008, yet the developers and supporting government agencies have have been slow to ackhowledge the animals' existence, much less that these science park projects will likely hasten the populations' extinction.

-- Create real potential for contamination from 1,093 tons of volatile organic compounds per year and numerous kinds of hazardous chemicals

-- Seriously violate the rights of the local farmers by confiscating and/or contaminating their land;

-- Seriously violate the right to safe drinking water for the local residents;
Over the years, the high-tech industry in Taiwan has thrived under the protective wings of the government. At the same time, IT corporations have failed to internalize the environmental costs of their production; they have again and again evaded the pollution costs they have imposed onto the local environment and communities. Furthermore, the high-tech industry has cloaked its deception through “compliance” with local environmental regulations, which are already outdated. Existing regulations on the books has been outpaced by rapid technological changes. There is currently no written law that adequately regulates high-tech pollution in Taiwan. As a result, IT corporations have easily slipped under the radar in their questionable environmental practices.

Before the CTSP precedes its ongoing expansion, we call on Taiwan Legislature, National Science Council and EPA to address the following issues:

--to stop the CTSP Erlin Science Park project as it is proposed;

--to revise the Information Disclosure Act to address the issue of governmental and corporate transparency regarding pollution and toxics released into our environment;

--to modify the Regulation on the Management of Hazardous Substances with the spirit of REACH, particularly the emphasis on corporations’ responsibility;

--to amend the standards on wastewater, air pollutants, and waste according to the characteristics of the high-tech industry.


Also see:
Update: Stop the CTSP Erlin Science Park - Protect Farmers, Fishers and the Taiwan Humpback Dolphins.

Leave Taiwan's future a clean Chuoshui River

Taiwan Humpback Dolphin Extinction Guaranteed by Ma and Wu’s Cat in the Hat Economics?

Black Friday for Erlin - The EPA once again strikes a blow against the environment

The saga of the CTSP Erlin Science Park and the Kuokuang Petrochemical Project

All three effluent discharge proposals for Central Taiwan Science Park development will lead to pollution of humpback dolphin habitat

More protests at the EPA against the CTSP Erlin Science Park

Taiwan's Humpback Dolphins face extinction

EPA responds to local fisherman's Erlin criticisms