In regards to the Formosa case, ERF has collaborated with the Justice for Formosa Victims (JFFV)- a Vietnamese-American based organization- to coordinate efforts in seeking redress to affected communities.
Drawn from website,community engagement activities undertaken by ERF in Taiwan includes:
At Reservoir Planning Areas: ERF has organized the International Day of Action for Rivers events on March 14 for two consecutive years in 2018 and 2019. The events aim at drawing the society’s attention on reservoir issues through local concerts or speed-walking events.
At Solar Power Planning Areas: ERF has organized with local indigenous people the Tribe Land and Sunshine Workshop so that the local communities know more about solar energy and the practicing of indigenous peoples’ right of consultation and consent and the right of benefit sharing.
At So-to-Be-Eliminated Fishing Villages Whose Land is Acquired by the Tourism Industry and Hotels: ERF organizes courses on urban planning procedures and more.
Near Factories of the High Technology Industry: ERF organizes courses on communities’ right to know, health risk reports, and more.
The organization has also established the following:
Citizen Monitoring the Sixth Naphtha Cracker Environmental Rights Promotion Action Platform (Citizen Monitoring the Sixth Naphtha Cracker Platform): The Sixth Naphtha Cracker of Formosa Plastics is the largest petrochemical industrial park in central Taiwan, impacting the local environment and the health of residents greatly. Research has shown that the incidence of cancer is significantly higher in residents living near the petrochemical industrial park. Taixi Village of Changhua even has the name “cancer village”. The platform was co-established by civic organizations and local residents, aiming at urging the government to enhance its capability of environmental governance and conduct adequate environmental monitoring to realize the public’s right to know.
Legalization of Unregistered Factories on Agricultural Land: At present, there are over 134,500 unregistered factories on agricultural land in Taiwan, occupying an area of 13,859 hectares. ERF has been working with civic organizations since 2017, organizing legal policy lobbying, urging the government to amend laws and regulations, and publicizing data and information for better policy tracking and judgement.
Judicial Remedies for Transnational Corporation Pollution (Ocean Pollution of Formosa Ha-Tinh Steel Corporation): ERF organized a lawyer group to assist the 7,875 Vietnamese victims. We filed for a civil lawsuit for compensation against the shareholders and board of directors of Formosa Ha-Tinh Steel Corporation, hoping that transnational corporations bear responsibilities of pollution.
ERF members include lawyers and environmental experts. The board of directors of the ERF are nominated by governmental authorities, local farmers, lawyers, and environmental experts. Of special note to this case is Hsin-Hsuan Sun, a researcher at ERF. She maintains an active online presence to educate others on the progress of the Formosa case in Vietnam and raise awareness on international policy developments with direct relevance to environmental justice cases. For example, her recent tweets call for greater involvement of underprivileged and indigenous communities in renewables development.
The Environmental Rights Foundation (ERF) is a non-profit based in Taiwan, Asia, that aims to support environmental grassroots movements, strengthen civic participation, promote information disclosure, and defend the communities for the right to live with a better environment.
The organization relies in part on private donations from concerned citizens. However, the founding of the organization relied on donors organized by Taiwan’s Ministry of Science and Technology.
Born out of reconciliation between citizen movements and governmental actors, the organization’s mission continues to focus on holding the government accountable in implementing and promoting the protection of environmental protection and environmental rights stipulated in the Constitution, as well as Basic Environmental Law and other environmental regulations in accordance with the articles of association.
This was developed in 1988 by personnel from the Center for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED) within the Université catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain) with funding from the Belgi
There are missing data points within the dataset (attributed to non-reported information). This dataset has also been acknowledged to be limited in its prioritization of government data, which could have political limitations that may skew the degree of severity for disasters reported.
This dataset can be used to demonstrate the geographic distribution of disasters in Vietnam over time. This database recognizes multiple dimensions of disaster, including natural (typhoons, hurricanes), technological (a chemical spill, a factory explosion), and more
This dataset includes information at the country and regional level. Reports of disasters, both natural and human-related, are recorded at the country and province, region, or city level.
This resource has been used in a publication written by Hoang et al., 2018 on the economic cost of the Formosa Toxic Waste Disaster in Central Vietnam. It is specifically used within the journal article to highlight the forms in which disasters can take place within a nation, and the rising cases of industrial disasters that have afflicted vulnerable communities within the last decade. This characterization sets the stage and context for the Formosa disaster, and integrates it within a wider conversation about the effects of intensified industrialization on the environment.