ABSTRACT
Land is precious in Taiwan. Thus, competition for use of land can be intense and lead to serious environmental problems, as was introduced in the preceding chapters. This intense land use competition raises challenging questions about who exactly owns the land in Taiwan and who has the right to dictate how land should be used. Is it the government? The aborigines? Private individuals or businesses? Society as a whole? The issues facing land use are the primary focus of this chapter, which is divided into two main parts. The first part looks at land use in the mountain areas and slopelands that account for nearly three-quarters of Taiwan, and does so through a detailed examination of the seminal project that opened up the interior to settlement and development, the first cross-island highway, and its impact. The second part looks at land use in the lowlands of Taiwan, the main agricultural area, and the critical issues facing that region, especially from an environmental viewpoint, since Taiwan joined the WTO.
