- Department:Hazard Control Division
Herbicide is commonly used to clean away weeds on earth. Nevertheless, a long-term use thereof can impact soil ecology – not mentioning herbicides that are not applicable to farmland or for farming practices can affect the environment and human health. As environmental protection awareness has increased in recent years, the society started to pay great attention to the use of herbicides. A resolution was made at the 3rd and 4th annual meetings (2017) of “Food Safety Board Meeting, Executive Yuan” hosted by the former Premier Lai on December 14 of 2017, where Council of Agriculture (COA), Executive Yuan was requested to enhance the control of herbicide source and Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) was appointed to assist local government in stipulating management regulations related thereto. It is expected that interdepartmental cooperation will enhance the management of herbicides; and prevent misuse thereof as the environment can be potentially contaminated and human health can be threatened.
To promote environmental weed control works, EPA has not only invited ministerial level governmental bodies of Executive Yuan and local governments to join relevant works since 2018, but also been closely cooperated with environmental protection groups that pay great attention to the use of herbicide to draw up “Guidelines for the Control of Non-Farmland Weeds”, which is offered to governmental bodies at all levels with an expectation that public agencies will become the leader to implement the policy of not using herbicides in non-farmlands. In the meantime, “Reference Version of the Self-Government Ordinance for the Control of Environmental Weeds in Non-Farmland Soils” was also stipulated and offered to local governments for their reference. Up until now, Yilan County, Taipei City and Kaohsiung City already stipulated self-government ordinance related to the use of herbicide; and Taoyuan City, Hualien County, Miaoli County and Pingtung County also started to make relevant planning. In 2018, EPA invited 8 local governments (including Keelung City), Society of Wilderness and Taiwan Environmental Righteousness Association to organize 68 non-farmland weed control related propaganda and seminars, in which 2,713 people have participated. In 2019, 11 local governments (including Taipei City), Society of Wilderness, Taiwan Environmental Righteousness Association and Weed Science Society of Republic of China to organized 111 propaganda and seminars, in which 7,348 people have participated.
EPA expressed that the control of environmental weeds and the avoidance of using herbicides in non-farmlands rely on the cooperation of governmental bodies and environmental protection groups. With EPA’s efforts of proactively inviting relevant units to participate in related works in recent two years, the number of people joining environmental weed control works has obviously increased. In 2020, relevant works will be continued under the cooperation with local governments and environmental protection groups, educating citizens on knowing that “Clean the weeds by yourself can make a perfect result!” to prevent the environment from being contaminated by the misuse of herbicide and return all citizens a safe leisure environment without herbicide.
