WHO’s Global Conference for the Western Pacific Alliance for Healthy Cities is held every other year. More than 20 West Pacific countries, 160 scholars, and 2000 participants join the conference virtually. The Taitung County Government applied with the topic “Beinan River Fugitive Dust Management” and received positive feedback from the judges. In addition, Taitung County Government wins the “AFHC Creative Development Award” and gaining international visibility for the county.
April Yao, the County Magistrate appreciated the AFHC committee for the encouragement and affirmation of Taitung’s hard work on river dust management. Since Yao has taken office, much emphasis has been placed on Taitung’s “fast and slow” brand. Policies for river dust management show the portion of high efficiency “fast” work. The County Government has worked hard together to deliver great results and improvement on air quality control.
Countries from around the world all look up to Sustainable Development Goals as their governance criteria. The Beinan River Fugitive Dust Management Policies fulfill the 13th goal of Health and Climate Action. The Environment Protection Bureau explained that the Beinan River dust is caused by concentrated precipitation with increasing intensity, which causes collapsing pools. The management units are attempting to use water covering methods to slow down the exposure of the Beinan river beds and decrease the chance of river dust and related disasters. The air quality app can show the air quality in real-time and provide warnings for air quality red alerts while educating the public about protective measures. As the climate continues to hold many unknowns in the future, the goal is to raise awareness and the ability to respond to pollution issues to protect the public’s health.
