Features

Green Island, Xiaoliuqiu designated eco-tourism spots

• Publication Date：05/17/2010
• Source： China Times

The Ministry of Transportation and Communications plans to spend more than NT$860 million (US$27 million) over the next four years on transforming Pingtung County-administered Xiaoliuqiu and Taitung County’s Green Island into eco-tourism spots.

The plan, which includes gradually replacing gas-powered motorcycles with electric scooters, establishing energy-saving electric bus services and promoting eco-tours, is anticipated to help achieve the goal of cutting carbon emissions on the two islands by 2,000 metric tons by the year 2012.

Chang Shi-chung, director of the technical division of the Tourism Bureau under the MOTC, said phasing out gas-powered motorcycles is the primary task under the program. The bureau’s preliminary plan is to offer subsidies on a per-vehicle basis for the replacement of old scooters with electric ones gradually over a period of three years, he noted.

According to tallies compiled by the Tourism Bureau, there are currently some 14,000 gas-powered motorcycles registered on the two islands. Green Island, with a population of nearly 3,200, has about 3,600 registered motorcycles, while Xiaoliuqiu Island, with roughly 6,500 residents, has more than 11,000 motorcycles on record.

Chang explained that the high ratio of registered motorcycles to residents could mainly be attributed to the large number of motorcycles available for rent on the two islands, as well as the fact that many residents may not have canceled the registrations of their old, unused vehicles.

The Tourism Bureau will formulate policies based on the motorcycle replacement principle, including establishing thresholds on vehicle age for replacing scooters, he said.

According to Chang, four development strategies will be adopted under the plan to transform the two islands into eco-tourism spots. First of all, guidance and assistance will be provided for use of energy-saving facilities and creating a low carbon emission living environment. This will include, for example, providing subsidies for installing solar-powered water heating systems and solar-electricity systems, as well as promoting low-carbon transportation and eco-tourism, as well as environmental education, he said.

Chang stated that the main difficulty of the eco-tourism island plan is changing people’s concepts, noting that no consensus on a green tourism model has been arrived at among local residents and tourism businesses. In addition, difficulties exist on the technical front, he continued, pointing out that electric vehicle and battery technologies have yet to fully mature and that there are limits on these technologies’ ability to meet the needs of tourism transportation. (SB)