Editing Geography of Taiwan (section)

=== Environmental issues ===
{{see also|Air pollution in Taiwan}}

[[File:Scooters in taipei.jpg|thumb|[[Motor scooter]]s are a very common means of transportation in Taiwan and contribute to urban air pollution.|left]]

Some areas in Taiwan with high population density and many factories are affected by heavy pollution. The most notable areas are the southern suburbs of Taipei and the western stretch from Tainan to Lin Yuan, south of Kaohsiung. By the late 20th century, Taipei suffered from extensive vehicle and factory [[air pollution]], but after the government required mandatory use of unleaded petrol and established the [[Environmental Protection Administration, Executive Yuan|Environmental Protection Administration]] in 1987 to regulate air quality, the air quality of Taiwan has improved dramatically.<ref>{{cite web |title=Taiwan: Environmental Issues |work=Country Analysis Brief&nbsp;– Taiwan |publisher=[[United States Department of Energy]] |url=http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/taiwanenv.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061007165852/http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/taiwanenv.html |access-date=8 March 2006 |archive-date=7 October 2006 |date=October 2003 |quote=The government credits the APC system with helping to reduce the number of days when the country's pollution standard index score exceeded 100 from 7% of days in 1994 to 3% of days in 2001.}}</ref> [[Motor scooters]], especially older or cheaper [[Two-stroke engine|two-stroke]] versions, which are ubiquitous in Taiwan, contribute disproportionately to urban air pollution.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/taiwan.html#envir |title=Taiwan Country Analysis Brief |publisher=[[United States Department of Energy]] |date=August 2005 |quote=Taipei has the most obvious air pollution, primarily caused by the motorbikes and scooters used by millions of the city's residents. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070202151338/http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/taiwan.html |archive-date=2 February 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=A Viable Niche Market–Fuel Cell Scooters in Taiwan |first=Chunto |last=Tso |journal=International Journal of Hydrogen Energy |date=July 2003 |volume=28 |number=7 |pages=757–762 |doi=10.1016/S0360-3199(02)00245-8 |bibcode=2003IJHE...28..757T |url=http://www.tfci.org.tw/Uploadfile/DownFile/8/1023155544541.pdf |quote=In Taiwan's cities, the main source of air pollution is the waste gas exhausted by scooters, especially by the great number of two-stroke engine scooters. |access-date=26 March 2012 |archive-date=6 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170506003113/http://www.tfci.org.tw/Uploadfile/DownFile/8/1023155544541.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> The Taichung Power Plant also contributes significantly to air pollution, producing more {{CO2}} than the country of Switzerland.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The largest coal-fired power plants in the world |url=https://esfccompany.com/en/articles/thermal-energy/the-largest-coal-fired-power-plants-in-the-world/ |access-date=2022-07-11 |website=esfccompany.com |language=en |archive-date=11 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220711155225/https://esfccompany.com/en/articles/thermal-energy/the-largest-coal-fired-power-plants-in-the-world/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Other environmental issues include [[water pollution]] from industrial emissions and [[raw sewage]], [[contamination of drinking water]] supplies, [[trade in endangered species]], and [[low-level radioactive waste]] disposal.{{refn|name=World Factbook}} Though regulation of sulfate aerosol emissions from petroleum combustion is becoming stringent, [[acid rain]] remains a threat to the health of residents and forests. Atmospheric scientists in Taiwan estimate that more than half of the pollutants causing Taiwan's acid rain are carried from China by monsoon winds.<ref>{{cite news |title=Forests in Taiwan jeopardized by acid rain: EPA |last=Chiu |first=Yu-Tzu |newspaper=Taipei Times |date=26 January 2005 |url=http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2005/01/26/2003220998 |access-date=27 December 2012 |archive-date=24 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210124040611/http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2005/01/26/2003220998 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Taiwan historically had a serious problem with the illegal dumping of household and industrial waste which became so severe that Taiwan was known as "garbage island". This high level of pollution led to civil and government action, by 2022 the recycling rate was one of the highest in the world at 55%. Community activism was key to this change along with innovations such as garbage trucks which play music.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Davidson |first1=Helen |last2=Hui Lin |first2=Chi |title=Classical trash: how Taiwan's musical bin lorries transformed 'garbage island' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/dec/26/classical-trash-how-taiwan-musical-truck-transformed-garbage-island |newspaper=The Guardian |date=26 December 2022 |access-date=26 December 2022 |archive-date=26 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221226161334/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/dec/26/classical-trash-how-taiwan-musical-truck-transformed-garbage-island |url-status=live }}</ref>

Illegal extraction by Chinese [[sand mining|sand dredging]] vessels has caused significant damage to the marine environment of Taiwan's outlying areas. The Taiwan Banks are a particularly hard hit target.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Chen |first1=Kelvin |title=Taiwan's outlying marine ecology severely damaged by Chinese sand dredging |url=https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4434171 |website=taiwannews.com.tw |date=7 February 2022 |publisher=Taiwan News |access-date=7 February 2022 |archive-date=7 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220207073516/https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4434171 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Bottom trawling]] is a controversial practice due to the environmental damage it causes. Bottom trawlers with a tonnage under 50 are restricted from trawling within 5&nbsp;km of shore and those over 50 tons are restricted from trawling within 12&nbsp;km of shore.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Everington |first1=Keoni |title=Record 800 kg goblin shark with 6 pups caught off northeast Taiwan |url=https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4918463 |website=taiwannews.com.tw/ |date=14 June 2023 |publisher=Taiwan News |access-date=17 June 2023}}</ref> In 2023 the maximum penalty for ocean pollution was raised from US$48,820 to US$3.25 million.<ref>{{cite web |last1=I-chia |first1=Lee |title=President touts changes to ocean-related policies |url=https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2023/06/11/2003801351 |website=Taipei Times |date=11 June 2023 |access-date=20 June 2023}}</ref>