Integrated water management plans towards sustainability: the Taiwan experience

This report summarizes past and current activities in water management in Taiwan based on four major programs: (1) Taiwan 2000: Balancing Economic Growth and Environmental Protection (The 1985–1988), (2) Taiwan Agenda 21: National Sustainable Development (1998–2003), (3) Local Agenda 21: Environmental Action Plan Towards Sustainability (2003–2006), and (4) Sustainable Water Environment. Taiwan 2000 was for the first time in Taiwan the government encouraged industries to seek a balance between economic development and environmental protection. According to the principles and visions of Agenda 21, the Government has implemented visions and strategies for national sustainable development to serve as the basic guidelines for keeping up with the development in the 21st century. Local Agenda 21 was also developed by the local city and county governments from 2003 to 2006. It has an emphasis on sustainable water environment, total emission control, eco-industrial parks, sustainable transportation, and green community promotion. In addition, a fifth program, Water Safety Plan, was developed as the “Green Blue-Print” for the development of strategies and guidelines of national sustainable water environment. It focuses on Source Water Implementation Plan Rule (SWIPR), modernization of water treatment plants, and the implementation of Integrated Performance Evaluation (IPE) Program.