In Zhiben, Taitung County, a community of Indigenous people of the Pinuyumayan (also known as Puyuma or Beinan) tribe has been protesting the county government’s plans to allow a solar energy company to develop a large solar farm on a 161-hectare piece of land that they see as their ancestral territory.
The Katatipul community’s indigenous people say they were not adequately consulted on the project, which was proposed in 2018, and charged that a vote in which the community supported the solar farm by a narrow margin in 2019 was improperly conducted. They said people from outside their community voted on behalf of elderly people.
Groups such as the Environmental Rights Foundation also argue the land is part of the Zhiben Wetlands and should be protected, and that no environmental impact assessment has been done.
The county government, which manages the land, insists it has followed proper procedures, including holding meetings to inform the community, and said the land has been unused for decades and should be put to good use.
The company handling the project, Sheng Li Solar Energy Ltd., whose parent company is Singapore-based Vena Energy, said it followed all necessary procedures required by government agencies and did not pull any tricks during the voting process. It has also pledged to work with the local community to promote the tribe's culture, preserve some of the wetlands, and grow plants native to the area at the site.
The case is now is being fought in court.
CNA recently had the opportunity to speak with one of the tribal community’s leaders on why this land is important to the Indigenous people and why they are opposed to this project.
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