2024-04-02

Building Urban Resilience in Taiwan: ICLEI Cities Exchanging Insights with Experts from 22 Countries

Taiwan is located in a geographically vulnerable and sensitive area, constantly facing various risks and disasters. However, with the impacts and uncertainties brought about by climate change, Taiwan, where the population is highly concentrated in cities and towns, requires proactive and forward-thinking actions. Taiwan's local authorities are enhancing disaster prevention, mitigation, response, management, citizen and community involvement, and post-disaster recovery by implementing digital applications, integrating information, and deploying intelligent solutions.

This year, ICLEI KCC continued working with the TaiwanICDF to organize an international thematic workshop. With 25 international participants from 22 countries, representatives from ICLEI Taiwan member cities—Tainan City and Kaohsiung City’s relevant disaster prevention offices, water resources bureaus, and transportation departments were invited to share Taiwan's experiences in building urban resilience.

Smart Disaster Prevention and Community-based Adaptation

Mr. Wang, Ya-he, Executive Secretary of the Disaster Prevention and Rescue Office of Tainan City Government, pointed out that Tainan City accounts for one-third of the nation's flood-prone areas and hosts seven active fault lines, presenting unique challenges. Consequently, the city has accumulated distinctive experiences in disaster mitigation, prevention, response, and recovery for complex natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes, soil liquefaction, landslides, and droughts.

Tainan City further shared its experiences and achievements in its disaster prevention for floods and landslides, as well as community-based adaptation. Examples such as the "Tainan Water Situation Real-time Notification" and the "Road Excavation Management System" were showcased to demonstrate the support of information integration and public platforms for government decision-making, planning, management, and public communication. Participants also raised specific questions regarding the execution of disaster preparedness funds, information integration and user interaction at the end, the effectiveness of apps, insurance, and various supporting regulations in Tainan City, fostering a shared learning exchange.

Deputy Director Liang, Jin-Yuan of the Water Resources Bureau of the Kaohsiung City Government started from the key issues of Taiwan's water disasters and the characteristics of flooding in Kaohsiung. He pointed out that the extreme rainfall patterns caused by climate change pose new challenges to urban flood prevention and disaster response. In response to the increased frequency and intensity of disasters and the evolution of governance thinking, various intelligent technologies and digital systems have been introduced into flood prevention and water resource management.

This includes the integration of real-time and accurate information to further promote smart and effective flood prevention management. Initiatives such as IoT-based water monitoring, dynamic analysis of flood risks, and smart flood management platforms have been implemented to strengthen prediction, simulation, early warning, smart operation of flood control facilities, and response efforts. Participants engaged in in-depth discussions with the Kaohsiung City Water Resources Bureau on issues such as monitoring deployment costs, infrastructure renewable, public participation, and smart governance.

  

MCR2030-Making Cities Resilient Workshop

In 2015, the United Nations introduced the "Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030," emphasizing the importance of cities and local communities. In the face of today's climate emergencies, pandemics, and other negative impacts, building urban resilience is no longer a standalone issue but must consider the complexity of social, economic, and disaster interactions.

The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), in collaboration with core partners (including ICLEI), initiated the "Making Cities Resilient" (MCR2030) project and launched various knowledge tools. ICLEI KCC, using its primary tool, the "Disaster Resilience Scorecard for Cities," connected partner units such as ICDI and CFA, guiding international participants through self-assessment to identify urban gaps and opportunities and take corresponding disaster reduction or adaptation actions, as well as prioritize financial investment plans. Participants practiced with the scorecard and proposed priority resilience action strategies for cities facing different types of disasters, such as drought (Somaliland, Africa), volcanoes (Quito, Ecuador), and compound disasters (Ankara, Turkey).

  

Smart and Sustainable Urban Transportation

Smart and sustainable transportation is a key pathway for Taiwan's cities to transition towards net-zero and people-centered fairness, albeit with different development focuses. Taking Kaohsiung City as an example, approximately 65% of transportation vehicles in Kaohsiung are motorcycles, 20% are cars, and the average travel time is 16 minutes. Kaohsiung City also has the highest number of large vehicles (such as trucks) in the country. Therefore, in promoting public transportation and traffic management, there are unique strategic considerations, with a particular emphasis on multi-modal integration and composite transportation services.

Dr. Chien-Pang Liu, Deputy Director-General the Kaohsiung City Government's Transportation Bureau shared the recent emphasis and achievements in public transportation in Kaohsiung, including being the first city in Asia to introduce Mobility as a Service (MaaS) through MenGo, demand-responsive public transportation in rural areas (DRTS), the growth of electric buses (E-Bus), and the promotion of MRT/light rail usage.

Participants also visited the Kaohsiung Intelligent Transportation Center, where Director Hsu, Nai-wen introduced the service framework, transportation information integration, smart traffic monitoring, and management. The participants engaged in interesting discussions on types of APIs, implementation costs, and how smart transportation can be practically applied in traffic management, predictive capabilities, and potential future expansion. They also explored possibilities for intercity collaboration.

Assistant Professor Cheng, Tsu-Jui, formerly in charge of the Sustainable Transportation Department at ICLEI, and currently with the Department of Transportation and Communication Management Science at National Cheng Kung University, presented an integrated perspective on Taiwan's overall transportation sector, including carbon emissions, energy consumption, modal split, and the strategies and pathways for transportation under Taiwan's net-zero transition goals. He offered insights into system-wide observations and perspectives and shared international methodologies for transportation sector transformation (Avoid-Shift-Improve), practices in governing net-zero transportation, and the implications for people-centered equity and social practice in the transportation sector. This sparked active discussion and participation among participants.

  

Photos courtesy of 臺南市政府災害防救辦公室 and International Cooperation and Development Fund