| 英文摘要 |
A public participation program is being conducted to involve people in the pollution cleanup projects of Erhjen and Chiangchun rivers, which were declared as the two of the nine Priority Rivers by the Taiwan Environmental Protection Administration this year. The objectives of this program are: (1) to form a partnership among various groups of people for river restoration; (2) to establish a river volunteer monitoring and patrolling mechanism; (3) to promote communications among stakeholders through various meetings and volunteer training courses; (4) to raise a general awareness on watershed environmental protection.
Prior to the program, we held stakeholder meetings and forums to gather public opinions on the watershed management. Several designated environmental NGOs and communities, who had been taken a leading role in environmental protection issues, were invited to these activities. Their suggestions and comments were thoughtfully responded and documented to serve as a foundation of the entire program. An office named “River Restoration Center” was established under the joined project between Taiwan Environmental Protection Administration (TEPA) and Chang Jung Christian University. The center functions as promotion, communication, volunteer training, and progress evaluation for the program. Four other universities, seven environmental NGOs, one community, and one radio station were then signed on as the volunteer groups for water quality monitoring, river patrolling, and/or program broadcasting.
The program has established a framework for public involvement in the river pollution cleanup projects. We suggested the basic network should be further expanded upon bringing in elementary schools and more communities within the watersheds, in the next phase of the program.
|