BIRDS AFFECTED: CPC has begun work on a terminal, which has affected the habitat of little terns, although it has not yet affected the reefs, environmentalists said
Taipei Times
Date: May 11, 2019
By: Lin Chia-nan / Staff reporter
Algal reefs on the coast in Taoyuan’s Datan Borough (大潭) have been designated a
“hope spot” by Mission Blue, environmentalists told a news conference in Taipei yesterday, urging the government to curb construction on a nearby CPC Corp, Taiwan gas terminal.
The utility plans to build the nation’s third liquefied natural gas terminal at Guantang Industrial Park (觀塘工業區), but environmentalists warn that the project might affect species in intertidal zones.
The algal reef is the first coastal site in East Asia identified by Mission Blue, an international organization that promotes public awareness of protected marine areas, as being “critical to the Earth’s health,” Academia Sinica Biodiversity Research Center research fellow Allen Chen (陳昭倫) said.
He and other collaborators in February submitted an application to Mission Blue, whose approval in March after a careful review by acclaimed scientists proves the landscape’s value, Chen said. [FULL STORY]