Taitung could use more urban green space: MOENV

• By Esme Yeh / Staff reporter

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Taitung County has the highest forest coverage nationwide, but has insufficient urban green cover, Minister of Environment Peng Chi-ming (彭?明) said yesterday, adding that urban forests could mitigate heat from foehn winds.

Peng made the remarks during a briefing hosted by the Ministry of Environment (MOENV) in Taitung on the government’s national green cover initiative.

Peng said the plan was launched by President William Lai (賴清德) last year, promoting urban green cover as resilience infrastructure alongside things such as water and power supply.

An aerial view of Taitung County is pictured in an undated photograph.

Photo: Screen grab from Taitung County Government’s Web site

The ministry on April 30 launched the urban forest expansion plan, he said, adding it would put forward an urban forest special act by the end of this year.

Taitung County’s green cover is limited to mountainous areas, Peng said.

Green cover remains insufficient in the county’s low-lying urban areas, where heat issues are usually compounded by foehn winds, he said.

Local foehns often reached 40°C, while urban streets without green cover could be heated to higher than 40°C under direct sunlight, Peng said.

The ministry is planning to create a national evaluation mechanism based on the EU’s experience with the European Green Capital Award, Peng said, adding that the county could become Taiwan’s “green capital.”

The ministry would coordinate resources from public and private sectors to assist local governments in implementing urban forest planning, he said.

Climate Change Administration Deputy Director-General Chang Ken-mu (張根穆) said trees not only help cool down urban temperatures, but can mitigate flooding by absorbing rainfall.

The ministry has found that the county’s Jinfeng Township (金峰) had the highest average noon temperature this summer, followed by Taitung City, Taimali Township (太麻里) and Dawu Township (大武), he said.

Trees should first be planted in sites where heat-vulnerable groups such as children, older people or those with disabilities gather, Chang said.

The goal is to plant the right tree species and encourage long lives with cultivation, he said.

Trimmed branches or fallen trees would be recycled as wood resources to reduce the burden on incinerators, Chang said.

National Taitung University vice president for administration Hu Cho-chun (胡焯淳) supported Peng’s idea of introducing a “green capital” evaluation mechanism to encourage local government’s urban forest development.

The Society of Wilderness’ Taitung branch spokeswoman Su Ya-ting (蘇雅婷) called for incorporating the national green cover climate adaptation scheme into the nation’s spatial planning.