ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to draw the public attention to environmental impact of resource use activities on coastal zone in Taiwan. The problems mentioned above result from long-term mistreating coastal area. Due to long-term negligence of ecological data collection and ignorance of valuable functions of coastal areas, Taiwan has never drawn up a comprehensive management and development project to preserve and use environmental resources in coastal area. The major pollutant brought down from rivers to coastal areas, include industrial, domestic and livestock waste water. Because of misuse of coastal land for mass aquaculture and over-extracting ground water in coastal areas whose elevations are from 3 to 5 meters above sea level, land subsidence occurs and then sea water flows backwards and floods coastal areas. The coastal construction plan incongruous with topography causes erosion of coast and loss of land. Coastal area is located at the downstream of ecological system.
