Tideland Reclamation: Establishing a Permitting System for Taiwan

Tideland reclamation represents one of the most serious challenges facing coastal zone management in Taiwan. Due to limited living space on the island and the difficulty in obtaining land, many projects for development in the tidal lands have been proposed during the past several years. Although reclamation of tidelands has economic benefits for Taiwan, the tidelands also are important to the coastal ecosystem. Such rapid and large-scale development in sensitive areas has raised wide concern in Taiwan. By examining the existing problems of coastal management in Taiwan, this paper proposes a framework that would permit responsible tideland reclamation in the country. In addition, several related institutions and supporting mechanisms essential to Taiwan will be discussed.