VZCZCXRO8477
PP RUEHCN RUEHDH RUEHGH RUEHHM RUEHPB RUEHSL RUEHTM RUEHTRO RUEHVC
DE RUEHIN #0854/01 1962359
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 152359Z JUL 09
FM AIT TAIPEI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1947
INFO RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE
RUEHZN/ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COLLECTIVE
RUEHBK/AMEMBASSY BANGKOK 4648

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 TAIPEI 000854 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR USAID/OFDA, EAP/EP, BANGKOK PASS USAID/OFDA 
REGIONAL ADVISOR ROB FRIEDMAN, DHS FOR FEMA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/14/2019 
TAGS: AEMR ECON ETRD SENV TPHY TSPL APEC TW XE
SUBJECT: TAIWAN DISASTER REDUCTION CENTER EXPECTS MORE 
CROSS-STRAIT COOPERATION, WORRIES ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE 
 
REF: 08 TAIPEI 00236 
 
Classified By: Economic Chief Hanscom Smith for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
¶1. (SBU) This message contains an action request.  Please see 
paragraph 9. 
 
¶2.  (C) SUMMARY: Taiwan's National Science and Technology 
Center for Disaster Reduction (NCDR) expects to broaden an 
already solid base of international cooperation in the 
future, including with its counterpart agency in the PRC. 
Interaction with the mainland in the field of disaster 
prevention and reduction has already included sharing 
satellite imagery and data, as well as frequent academic 
exchanges.  Separately, NCDR hopes to reinvigorate 
cooperation with FEMA and worries that the weather-related 
effects of climate change may overburden Taiwan's urban 
infrastructure.  END SUMMARY. 
 
------------------------------- 
NCDR IS A "BLACK ORGANIZATION" 
------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) The NCDR is one of 11 agencies under the National 
Applied Research Laboratories of Taiwan's National Science 
Council (NSC).  It is staffed by 60 research scientists and 
20 administrative staff, as well as a network of 20 advisors 
in universities island-wide.  These advisors are the NCDR's 
"eyes and ears" in the field, assigned with responding to 
disaster sites and relaying information back to NCDR 
headquarters in Taipei.  Although the NCDR is funded through 
the NSC, its legal authority to exist comes through the 
Executive Yuan's National Disaster Prevention and Protection 
Commission.  NCDR Deputy Executive Secretary Li Wei-Sen 
refers to the NCDR as a "black organization" because its 
funding and lines of authority are unclear even to many in 
the Executive and Legislative Yuans.  Li notes that this 
sometimes leads to confusion when deciding who can assign the 
NCDR with its various missions.  He expects a planned 
restructuring of Taiwan's executive agencies will both 
clarify the NCDR's location in the policy structure and 
double the NCDR's scientific staff. 
 
------------------------------- 
FOREIGN COOPERATION IS GROWING 
------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) In a recent meeting with ESTH officer, NCDR Director 
Chen Liang-Chun and Deputy Executive Secretary Li separately 
pointed with pride to the growing number of international 
cooperative agreements and memorandums of understanding the 
NCDR has signed in recent years.  These include MOUs with the 
University of Hawaii's Pacific Disaster Center (2008), with 
Japan's National Research Institute for Earth Science and 
Disaster Prevention (2007) and Real-Time Earthquake 
Consortium (2007), and with Korea's National Institute for 
Disaster Prevention (2007).  The Government of Vietnam 
recently approached the NCDR to sign an MOU for cooperation 
in disaster preparedness.  Deputy Executive Secretary Li 
notes that Vietnam would benefit from Taiwan's expertise and 
advanced technical know-how in this field, while Taiwan would 
earn "friendship" and another avenue for foreign cooperation. 
 Li added that Vietnam hopes the NCDR can fund capacity 
building programs under the proposed MOU, but Li explained 
that the NCDR is not a funding agency.  In addition to MOUs, 
NCDR has cooperative research relationships with universities 
in the U.S. and elsewhere, and hosts international 
conferences, such as the December 2007 2nd International 
Conference on Urban Disaster Reduction and the September 2008 
APEC Workshop on Large-Scale Disaster Recovery.  A conference 
this September will commemorate the 10th anniversary of the 
devastating 1999 Chi-Chi earthquake, which killed 2,455 
people and caused nearly USD 10 billion in damage.  NCDR 
Director Chen forecasts expanding international linkages for 
his agency, and added that because the NCDR is staffed by 
scientists, it has increased flexibility and space to work 
internationally. 
 
------------------------------------- 
SHARING WITH PRC PROCEEDING SMOOTHLY 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (C) Deputy Executive Secretary Li told ESTH officer that 
the relative lack of political considerations in the NCDR's 
work allows it to cooperate successfully across the Taiwan 
Strait.  He noted that during the May 2008 Sichuan 
earthquake, NCDR provided satellite imagery on a continual 24 
 
TAIPEI 00000854  002 OF 003 
 
 
hour basis to the PRC's National Disaster Reduction Center of 
China (NDRCC).  This was done through a file-sharing protocol 
on the NCDR website and was initiated with a phone call from 
the Taiwan side.  Li claims that his PRC contacts accepted 
Taiwan's assistance very quickly and with no apparent 
bureaucratic interference.  The imagery came from Taiwan's 
FORMOSAT-2 satellite, which Li states has a resolution of 2x2 
meters in black and white.  Li added that Taiwan's Central 
Weather Bureau routinely provides satellite imagery and data 
on approaching typhoons to the PRC.  An end-of-year "official 
visit" from the NCDR to the NRDCC is planned, which 
accompanies an already high volume of cross-Strait academic 
cooperation on disaster issues. 
 
¶6. (C) Deputy Executive Secretary Li added that his PRC 
contacts are particularly interested in learning about the 
recovery phase of disaster planning, and opined that the 
PRC's disaster preparedness system is weakest in the area in 
pre-disaster evacuation.  While praising the ease of recent 
cooperation with the PRC in his field, Li lamented the high 
rate of staff turnover at the NRDCC and said he cannot get a 
straight answer from his NRDCC contacts explaining this 
phenomenon. 
 
-------------------------------------- 
NCDR WANTS MORE COOPERATION WITH FEMA 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) Looking forward to the September Chi-Chi earthquake 
conference, NCDR principles are enthused that FEMA NPD Deputy 
Administrator Timothy Manning is slated to attend the 
conference.  Director Chen noted that much of the NCDR's 
success is attributable to FEMA, which served as the source 
for NCDR's disaster reduction system.  However, according to 
Chen, after FEMA was folded into DHS in 2003, the previous 
close FEMA-NCDR cooperation was reduced.  Chen would like to 
reinvigorate cooperation with FEMA, particularly through 
cross-training and study opportunities.  This request echoes 
the sentiments of Chen's predecessor (reftel).  Deputy 
Executive Secretary Li added that the NCDR's biggest weakness 
is its incident command system and critical infrastructure 
protection program, and NCDR would like U.S. assistance in 
addressing these areas.  The NCDR is also in the process of 
developing models to quantify costs/benefits of disaster 
prevention in Taiwan in order to make the value of NCDR's 
work more readily apparent to the public and policymakers. 
Li believes discussions in this area with U.S. counterparts 
would also be useful. 
 
--------------------------------------------- 
CLIMATE CHANGE TAKING TOLL ON INFRASTRUCTURE 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶8.  (SBU)  NCDR International Affairs Research Fellow Sophia 
Lee explained to ESTH officer that climate change is driving 
weather-related phenomena that negatively affect Taiwan.  She 
and Deputy Executive Director Li argue that models clearly 
show climate change is behind intensifying typhoon activity 
over the last twenty years and is also increasing rain 
intensity in general.  Li says that most urban sewer systems 
in Taiwan were not designed to handle the intense bouts of 
rain that are more frequently striking Taiwan, and he 
predicts increased urban flooding if current rainfall trends 
continue.  Li adds that reservoirs are more likely to flood, 
as well, drinking water may be negatively affected, and 
mudslide activity may increase.  The Water Resources Bureau 
is working on a draft plan that would pay individuals to move 
out of low-lying areas particularly prone to flooding.  Li 
says that flooding and earthquakes are the disasters that 
keep him awake at night.  He adds that following disasters, 
the NCDR has been asked by members of the Executive and 
Legislative Yuans to explain why it was not able to predict, 
for instance, that a given bridge would collapse.  Li 
responds that the NCDR must cooperate more closely with other 
Taiwan agencies and local authorities to ascertain the 
stability and resiliency of infrastructure.  He adds that due 
to bureaucratic difficulties and unclear lines of control, 
effective cooperation with local authorities is the most 
difficult challenge the NCDR faces. 
 
¶9. (C) COMMENT AND ACTION REQUEST:  AIT appreciates the 
planned visit of FEMA Deputy Administrator Manning to Taiwan 
this fall.  Apart from attending the conference, we would 
recommend an expanded program that could include new areas of 
bilateral cooperation in this field.  If there is interest, 
we would be glad to explore with Taiwan NCDR officials 
possible subjects for study and exchange.  END COMMENT AND 
 
TAIPEI 00000854  003 OF 003 
 
 
ACTION REQUEST. 
WANG