In order to detect and curb the frequent illegal dumping of garbage and waste in the coastal protection forests, the Taitung Forest District Office has been setting up real-time surveillance cameras in the coastal protection forests under its jurisdiction, starting from March this year. The district office is also cooperating with the Taitung Branch of the 7th Special Police Corps' 9th Division (hereafter referred to as the Forest Police). By cross referencing the surveillance footage of the entrances and exits of the coastal protection forests with real-time image monitoring, four cases of illegal garbage dumping in the coastal protection forests were caught in just over a month. The Taitung Forest District Office has 31 coastal protection forests under its jurisdiction, with 18 of the protection forests located along Taiwan's East Coast. They serve as the first-line coastal green wall protecting the coastal communities and residents from the wind and sand. Coastal protection forests are often subject to high-volume dumping of general waste (e.g. household garbage) or commercial waste (e.g. construction waste soil, waste materials) due to easy access by vehicles and having very few people around. Despite the installation of "No Dumping" signs and the community watch patrols strengthening the policing, there are still some people who are willing to take a chance by dumping large household waste items and commercial waste in the coastal protection forests. These illegal acts affect the ecology of the coastal protection forests and their public safety functions, such as serving as wind breaks and sand breaks. To protect the environment of the coastal protection forests, the Forest District Office has strengthened its patrol capacity and also incorporated high-tech real-time monitoring equipment to carry out 24-hour real-time surveillance of the dumping hotspots. With the assistance of the Forest Police to monitor the road intersections, the suspect vehicles have been effectively targeted. So far four dumping cases have been detected, of which one is still under investigation by the Forest Police, two have been handed over to the District Prosecutor's Office for investigation, while a case of household waste dumping will be penalized in accordance with the Forestry Act. According to Articles 41 and 46 of the Waste Disposal Act, dumping of commercial waste in the protection forest land is punishable by one to five years' imprisonment and a fine of up to NT$15 million; general waste will be subject to a fine of NT$60,000 to NT$300,000 according to Article 56-1 of the Forestry Act. The Taitung Forest District Office urges the public not to dump garbage and waste into the protection forests as the punishment will be severe, and will also cause damage to the coastal forest ecosystem.
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