Taiwan's Mountains Face an Uphill Battle Against Climate Change
By some estimates, Taiwan is the most mountain-dense island in the world. The country boasts 268 peaks higher than 3,000 meters above sea level. But like many mountains around the world, they are under threat from overdevelopment and climate change.
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00:00 Studded with summits, Taiwan is a mountainous country.
00:06 Some estimates have listed it as the most mountain-dense island in the world.
00:11 Mountains protect Taiwan from typhoons and it's a huge tourist draw.
00:16 Think about mountaineering, think about geologic life forms and just sort of casual tourists
00:21 who like going to the mountains.
00:23 The small country boasts 268 peaks over 3,000 metres above sea level, making it a real destination
00:31 for foreign and Taiwanese climbers alike.
00:34 For many pleasure hikers, the first stop is here on Yangmingshan for its proximity to
00:39 downtown Taipei and its geothermal hot springs.
00:43 But like many of Taiwan's mountains, it also plays an important ecological role, regulating
00:49 the capital's climate.
00:52 Yangmingshan buttresses the Taipei Basin from winds and rains coming from the northeast.
00:58 Its grassy terrain is also home to numerous wild animal species like macaques and even
01:04 pangolins.
01:06 Taiwan's highest peaks lie in the central mountain range, the area where the island's
01:11 three major river systems originate.
01:15 Just last week, the first snow of the year fell on Taiwan's Xue Shan, or Snow Mountain.
01:21 The UN's International Mountain Day celebrates the environmental benefits of mountains like
01:26 these.
01:27 But as immovable as they look, Taiwan's peaks are facing challenges.
01:34 Overdevelopment and construction create soil erosion, impacting agriculture and endangering
01:39 people who live there.
01:41 If you build a building, if we do a lot here in this area, you can see the mountains is
01:46 gradually sliding.
01:47 And the sliding is very smooth, it's quite slowly, but after the heavy rainfall, the
01:53 slide is a surge.
01:55 These landslides are becoming a bigger threat during extreme weather like typhoons, which
02:00 are turbocharged by climate change.
02:04 Home to many of Taiwan's indigenous peoples, the mountains here are both a lifeline and
02:09 an increasing danger.
02:11 The indigenous people still live in the mountains, so the mountains in Taiwan are still developing
02:18 and there are many changes in climate.
02:22 So many of the conditions are worse than in the past.
02:33 Like others around the world, Taiwan's mountains are under threat from climate change,
02:37 over-exploitation and pollution, making it ever more urgent to preserve these crown jewels
02:44 of Taiwan's landscape.
02:46 Justin Wu and Sally Yenson for Taiwan Plus.
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