Abstract
In this study, we clarified socio-economic background and geographical characteristics of the heavy metal contamination of farmland in Taiwan and identified limits of an existing institution to cope with contaminated farmland. Main cause of heavy metal contamination of farmland is ill-treated wastewater discharged by factories into agricultural canals, which contaminates water quality and sediments. Thus, the contaminated farmland can often be observed in urban and sub-urban areas. Such phenomena are linked to weak-enforceability of land use regulation and factory effluent standard. Also, decontamination method can only reduce contamination level of farmland without eliminating sources of heavy-metal contamination, causing gradual expansion of contaminated farmland. Finally, we proposed that, in order to cope with heavy metal contamination of farmland in Taiwan, 1) decontamination method should be improved so that it can deal with the contaminated sites and surrounding areas as a whole, 2) land use regulation and factory effluent standard should be improved both by tightening the control over illegal activity and by setting more stringent conditions to assure better water quality for agriculture, and 3) location of factories should be spatially, well-coordinated making best use of the opportunity of farmland consolidation projects.
