EPA Executive Secretary Liu Jui-hsiang (fourth left) is joined by academics, experts, officials and business representatives during the second edition of the Taiwan-Thailand Soil and Groundwater Environmental Protection Technical Forum Dec. 20 in Taipei City. (Courtesy of EPA)
 

Taiwan and Thailand held the second edition of an environmental protection forum on soil and groundwater management Dec. 20 in Taipei City, spotlighting the two sides’ commitment to fostering collaboration on addressing and preventing pollution.

Co-organized by the Cabinet-level Environmental Protection Administration and Thailand’s Pollution Control Department under its Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the daylong event involved discussions on industrial needs and technological developments. Over 200 academics, experts, officials and business representatives from the two countries took part online or in person.

During the opening remarks, Liu Jui-hsiang, director-general of the EPA's Soil and Groundwater Pollution Remediation Fund Management Board, said the administration has successfully investigated and remediated several cases of soil and groundwater pollution over the past two decades. Taiwan is willing and able to share its experiences with Thailand while boosting related partnership in the academic, public and private sectors, he added.

Pornsak Phu-lm, deputy head of Thailand’s PCD, said the event is expected to help the country formulate solutions to pollution caused by chemical mismanagement and gas station and mineral field accidents, as well as draft legislation on contamination control.

Following their remarks, Lin Tsair-fuh, chair of the incumbent committee of the Working Group on Remediation for Soil and Groundwater Pollution of Asian and Pacific Region (ReSAG), said Taiwan and Thailand both attach great importance to sustainability and have been working together for a long time. The two like-minded partners held the forum for the first time last year and anticipate that it will pave the way for further exchanges going forward, he added.

Established in 2010 by Taiwan, Thailand and 10 other countries in the Asia-Pacific, ReSAG aims to promote research, policy development, and management strategies on implementing innovative remediation techniques at sites with contaminated soil and groundwater. (YCH-E)