The Environmental Protection Administration of the Executive Yuan held the 2022 annual “Air Quality Purification Area (AQPA) Excellent Adopters Selection” award ceremony at the Parkview Hotel Hualien yesterday (22). Taoyuan City won five major awards and earned the distinction of being the only city among six direct municipalities of Taiwan to receive the award for five consecutive years. Chi-Liang Yen, Deputy Director General of the Taoyuan City Department of Environmental Protection (TYDEP), led the adoption units to receive the commendation. In addition to the five consecutive years that the TYDEP has been awarded the “Outstanding Unit in Promoting Adoption,” there are also four other accredited units in the city that have received awards for outstanding performance and exemplary service, namely, the Puchiang Borough Office in Zhongli District (Outstanding Performance Award - Special Merit), the Jinxing Borough Water Environment Patrol Squad in Luzhu District (Outstanding Performance Award - Special Merit), the Taoyuan Plant of YFY Packaging Inc. (Outstanding Performance Award - Special Merit), Longgang Borough Office of Zhongli District (Exemplary Service Award) and Taoyuan Private Zhongli Industrial Park Joint Kindergarten (Exemplary Service Award), etc.
With rapid economic development, Taoyuan City has become the first among the six direct municipalities in terms of population growth rate and industrial output value. In order to effectively improve air quality, the TYDEP continues to promote various air quality control and pollution reduction measures. In 2022, the percentage of days with good air quality (AQI≦50) reached 70.6%, which is the highest among the six direct municipalities. In addition to reducing pollution from fixed and mobile sources, air quality purification zones also play a pivotal role in improving air quality. The TYDEP is committed to promoting initiatives related to the Air Quality Purification Zone and has been effective in enhancing the functions of leisure and environmental education for the public through the cooperation of private organizations and corporate adoption.
The TYDEP stated that the Juguang Eco Park was adopted by the Puchiang Borough Office in Zhongli District and won the first place in the Special Merit Award this year. With the ingenious idea of volunteer conservation, the Borough Office used composted leaves of more than 200 cherry trees in the park, which has become a popular cherry blossom viewing spot in northern Taiwan in recent years. the Nankan River Artificial Wetland Green Park is jointly adopted by the Luzhu District Jinxing Borough Water Environment Patrol Squad and the Taoyuan Plant of Taoyuan Plant of YFY Packaging Inc. This year, it won the second place in the Outstanding Performance Award - Special Merit, and the adoption unit has achieved water purification through artificial wetlands, which also attracts rare birds and fireflies in the summer. The Zhongyuan Road Eco Park, adopted by the Taoyuan Private Zhongli Industrial Park Joint Kindergarten, won the Exemplary Service Award this year. Through simple environmental maintenance, plant cultivation and leaf composting courses, the kindergarten inspires children's awareness of environmental protection and achieves the purpose of environmental education and volunteer participation. Longgang Forest Eco Park is adopted by the Longgang Borough Office in Zhongli District. Through the volunteers' dedication to maintaining the endemic trees and large areas of turf, the park has created a hidden gem in an urban area, becoming an ideal place for people to relax and have a picnic.
Over the years, the Taoyuan City Government has spared no effort in guiding AQPA adopters to create various AQPAs with different characteristics. This time, the four awarded APQAs stood out from the 73 APQAs from around the nation, which is a remarkable achievement. The TYDEP will continue to reduce the emission of various air pollutants through various public-private partnership mechanisms to improve the air quality in Taoyuan.