Can We Manage Coastal Area? Will We?—The Institutional Change of the Coastal Area Management of Taiwan

The Coastal Zone Management Act was finally promulgated in 2015, while Ministry of the Interior was asked to draft a coastal management act in 1991 by Executive Yuan. It was until the government’s lifting of martial law in 1987, vigorous activities started prevailing on coastal areas. And relevant legal documents were on sea reclamation for development in the 1980’s by Council of Agriculture. The approval of “Taiwan Coastal Area Natural Environment Protection Plan” showed an era of environmental protection in 1980s. However, it was surely not market driven, similar to land development, but some efforts by the administration systems. Through all the years, the efforts were put on drafting plans and these efforts were not quite sounding. The coastal disasters and further climate change caught the attention of relevant NGOs, scholars, politicians, and the society. At the critical juncture the government was made to react to outside demands. And then the Coastal Zone Management Act was passed by Legislative Yuan, establishing an integrated coastal management system in Taiwan. As such, it is proposed to look into this long process of the attempt with the concept of institutional change in order to understand this coastal environmental preservation and protection issue in a broader scope.