The WRA launched a series of promotional and educational activities in June designed to raise public awareness of the value of Taiwan's waterways and to promote water conservation. According to a WRA press release, the seminar was intended to provide a forum for environmentalists and government officials to exchange views on river protection and restoration.
Angelo, a special guest at the event, gave the keynote speech in which he explained how he came up with the idea for holding a Rivers Day. He recalled how the cleaning up of a stretch of the Thompson River that runs through the interior of British Columbia, Canada, had led to the creation of B.C. Rivers Day in 1980. The federal government adopted the idea nationwide, and in 2003 it became Canadian Rivers Day, with the aim of promoting community efforts to care for local waterways. The United Nations picked up on it and in 2005 declared that the last Sunday in September would be known as World Rivers Day.
Earlier this year, the ROC government got on board and decided to mark June 6 as Taiwan Rivers Day. It had already been designated as a day for water conservation in commemoration of Da Yu, a figure from ancient Chinese mythology who is said to have found a clever way to control the flooding of the Yellow River. Even today, he is revered in Chinese societies as the god of flood control.
According to WRA Spokesman Wu Yueh-hsi, since typhoons usually threaten the island between May and October and cause damage to the island's already fragile stream ecology, the care for rivers should be a year-round effort.
In his speech, Angelo called the care of Taiwan's rivers a great accomplishment that combined recreational values with elements of local native culture. He had visited the Dongshan River and the Wulaokeng River, both of which run through Yilan County, and said he was impressed with the multi-tiered protected area system that Taiwan had established, which includes national parks, wildlife conservation zones and forest reserves covering more than 19 percent of Taiwan's total land area. There is a "more balanced view" behind these projects, he said, that puts an emphasis on environmental protection as an important element in the quality of life.
Angelo urged Taiwanese people and NGOs to get active and help bring more waterways back to life. "The protection of our rivers will require a greater commitment from all quarters or sectors," he said, suggesting that the government establish a clear channel of communication between community groups to better conserve and restore the nation's waterways.
This call was reiterated by the host of the seminar, Tan Yih-chi. Tan, a National Taiwan University professor specializing in land-subsidence prevention and groundwater monitoring, planned the day's activities. Although the WRA does its best for the waterways that fall under its jurisdiction, Tan admitted in an interview after the event that the bureau has no authority to punish the polluters that are the main cause of the deterioration of Taiwan's river environment.
While he believes closer cross-agency cooperation is needed to combat the problems with Taiwan's rivers, Tan said the Environmental Protection Administration, which has the powers to punish companies that break the nation's anti-pollution laws, has been improving its enforcement of environmental codes in recent years.