wild places | wild happenings | wild news
make a difference for our wild places

home | links | search the site
  all articles latest | past | articles by topics | search wildnews
wild news on wildsingapore
  Straits Times 26 Jun 07
Summer comes too early
Rural Taiwanese feel the heat of global warming, with higher temperatures ruining their crops
By Ong Hwee Hwee

MOUNT DAGUAN (TAIWAN) - SUMMER is here, but you can hardly tell from the bare branches at Mr Chen Wen-cheng's peach orchard in northern Taoyuan county.

In the 'good old days', said Mr Chen, the branches would be hanging low with fruit during the summer months.

His plantation - the size of three football fields - is located near the mid-way point of the 1,900m Mount Daguan, famous for its juicy and plump peaches. 'There were so many fruit growing on one branch that I would have to trim off some so that the nutrients would not be spread too thinly,' Mr Chen, 47, told The Straits Times.

'But this year, some of the trees did not bear even a single fruit.'

Unusually warm and erratic weather in recent years has affected the harvest of peaches, which require a cool climate of about 7 deg C to grow well.

'In the past, I could easily harvest about 20,000 to 30,000 peaches. This year, I would count myself lucky if I can maintain one-third of the past output,' he said.

Like a growing number of farmers in the area - better known as Mount Lala - he has started planting other crops such as cabbages, which are better suited to warmer temperatures.

Over in central Yunlin county, cabbage farmers are grappling with weather-related woes of their own: A glut that has sent prices plummeting. Output has shot up by some 30 per cent because of the unusually warm weather and lack of rain during the early summer months.

As a result, prices plunged to NT$4.60 (about 20 Singapore cents) per kilogramme early last month from NT$21 during the same period last year. Because of the rock-bottom prices, cabbages are now left to rot in the fields.

For Taiwan's urban population, global warming may mean nothing more than cranking up the air-conditioning to counter the rising mercury level.

However, the phenomenon is posing a real threat to the livelihood of Taiwanese farmers such as Mr Chen.

'Global warming has affected not only the fruit trees. Flowers such as azalea have also started blooming in winter because of the warmer weather. The plants are behaving as though spring has come,' said Professor Yang Cuoh-cheng, head of the ecology department at the Providence University in central Taiwan.

'Climate change is sending all the wrong signals to nature.'

'Warming' signs

BUT the issue of climate change has caught the attention of Taiwanese only lately - or some say, belatedly.

Over the past century, the island's average temperature has gone up by 1.3 deg C - two times higher than the global average increase of 0.6 deg C. The rise in temperature has been especially significant over the past 30 years - it is three times faster than the world average.

'Taiwan is situated in a region which stretches from North-east Asia to the northern parts of the Euro-Asia continent, which is warming at a faster rate,' said Professor Hsu Huang-hsiung of the National Taiwan University's Department of Atmospheric Sciences.

Some observers believe rapid urbanisation has aggravated the situation.

They say that the 'urban heat island effect' causes temperatures in cities to be higher than those in suburban and rural areas, primarily because concrete buildings have replaced vegetation and trees.

However, others argue that the impact is negligible.

Rapid industrialisation - a major source of greenhouse gases - has been singled out as the chief reason for the warmer temperatures in Taiwan.

It is believed that each Taiwanese is responsible for the release of an average of 12 tonnes of carbon dioxide - three times higher than the global average of 4 tonnes.

Despite its modest size, Taiwan was ranked top in Asia - and No.18 in the world - in terms of per capita carbon dioxide emissions, according to the International Energy Agency's (IEA) 2004 figures.

'While countries like Europe are making efforts to cut their carbon dioxide emissions, the reverse is happening in Taiwan,' said Professor Liu Shaw-chen of the Academia Sinica, the island's top think-tank.

'This will tarnish Taiwan's image,' added Prof Liu, who heads the Research Centre for Environmental Changes.

Recognising the problem, the Bureau of Energy has launched a campaign to cut annual greenhouse gas emissions by more than 420,000 tonnes by 2011.

But there are no laws enforcing such a move. A Bill proposing compulsory reduction, submitted by the environmental agency last year, is still pending approval by the legislature.

But the island's carbon dioxide emissions may continue to grow if the government gives the green light for more projects that are heavy polluters, such as power, chemical and steel plants. There are 20 such projects under review.

'The government's focus is still very much on economic growth. It is time to take a longer view and think about sustainable development,' said Prof Hsu.

Pulling the plug

AN URGENT task for Taiwan, said observers, is to reduce its energy consumption, which has doubled between 1990 and 2003. Energy consumption accounts for 70 per cent of the island's carbon dioxide emissions.

It does not help that the island relies on cheap coal - a major pollutant - for one-third of its energy needs.

The problem of high energy consumption is exacerbated by low electricity rates, which only serve to encourage wastage. The island's electricity rates - about NT$2.4 per kilowatt hour for households - are lower than those of its Asian neighbours such as Japan, Singapore and Malaysia.

But the government has been reluctant to introduce a price increase, which could alienate voters.

But observers warned that it is high time for Taiwan to tackle the problem of climate change.

Prof Hsu said: 'Or we can choose to do nothing and pray that global warming would be proven one day as the biggest scientific blunder in the history of mankind.'

Meanwhile, badly hit farmers such as Mr Chen are praying hard. He said: 'What else can I do? I can only pray for better weather next year.'

Climate change sending all the wrong signals to nature

Plants bloom earlier

At Mount Taiping in northern Ilan county, cherry blossoms were in full bloom in January this year - one month earlier than usual. Also, it snowed only once on the 1,900m mountain, which used to receive snowfall three times a year.

Plant species move north

Some plant species have migrated tens of kilometres north in search of cooler temperatures. Sea purslanes, which used to be found only in central and southern Taiwan, are now growing in northern Taoyuan county some 50km away.

Some plants face extinction

Other species, such as the Taiwan spruce, face the threat of extinction. This large coniferous tree is found at altitudes of 2,500m and above.

Threat to public health

Climate change could also pose a threat to Taiwan's public health. 'There is a higher risk of dengue fever infection when the temperature goes up,' said Professor Su Huey-Jen of the National Cheng Kung University.

The mosquito population is expected to multiply by 10 times if the mercury level rises by 1 deg C, said the expert in environmental health sciences.

'It is a whole new threat which calls for unprecedented cooperation between the environmental science and public health sectors,' she told The Straits Times.

ONG HWEE HWEE
links
Related articles on climate change
about the site | email ria
  News articles are reproduced for non-profit educational purposes.
 

website©ria tan 2003 www.wildsingapore.com