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Title: Soil and water Conservation Act CH
Category: Ministry of Agriculture(農業部)
Chapter III Special Soil and Water Conservation Treatment and Maintenance
Article 16
(Types of Designated soil and conservation areas)
The following areas shall be delimited as designated soil and conservation areas:
1.Reservoir Watershed
2.River Watershed that are subject to special protection
3.Coasts, the riparian zones of lakes and reservoirs, or banks of waterways that are subject to special protection
4.Sand dunes, sand beaches etc. that are under serious wind erosion
5.Steep slopeland that is likely to jeopardize public safety
6.Other areas with a grave impact on soil and water conservation
The designated soil and conservation area under the preceding paragraph shall be established by the central or special municipality regulatory authority or managed by the designated management authority.
Article 17
(Delimitation of Designated soil and conservation areas)
Designated soil and conservation areas will be delimited and publicly announced by the central level responsible authority if located in a country/city administrative region or in an administrative region straddling across two or more special municipalities and counties/cities; if located in a special municipal administrative region, such areas will be delimited by the special municipality regulatory authority and, upon the request of the special municipality regulatory authority, publicly announced by the central level responsible authority.
The guidelines for delimiting the designated soil and conservation areas under the preceding paragraph and the cancellation of such delimitation will be determined by the central level responsible authority.
Article 18
(Approval and Modification of Long-Term Soil and Water Conservation Plan)
The management authority shall draft a long-term soil and water conservation plan with respect to a designated soil and water conservation area, and submit the same to the central level responsible authority directly or through the special municipality regulatory authority, for approval and implementation.
The long-term soil and water conservation plan under the preceding paragraph shall be subject to thorough review once every five years and may be modified subject to practical need. Where specially necessary, an application may be made at any time to the central level responsible authority directly or through the special municipality regulatory authority for modification.
Article 19
(Focus of Conservation and Measures of Control of a Designated soil and Conservation Area)
The long-term soil and water conservation plan with respect to any type of area delimited as a designated soil and water conservation area shall focus on the following:
1.Reservoir Watershed: conservation of water resources; control of erosion, landslide, debris flow; purification of water quality; maintenance of the natural ecological environment.
2.Watershed: protection of soil and water resources; control of erosion and landslide; prevention of flooding; maintenance of the natural ecological environment.
3.Coasts, the riparian zones of lakes and reservoirs, or banks of waterways: prevention of landslide and erosion; maintenance of the natural ecological environment; protection of neighboring land.
4.Sand dunes, sand beaches: checking of winds; control of sand.
5.Other areas: as specified by the regulatory authority subject to practical need.
No development activities are allowed in any type of area delimited as a designated soil and water conservation area, except, subject to the approval of the central level responsible authority, major infrastructure associated with water sources that involves neither a change in terrain features of a specific scale or above nor a natural pleasure ground approved upon review and environmental impact assessment.
The change in terrain features of a specific scale or above, as mentioned in the preceding paragraph, will be identified by the central competent authority in conjunction with the relevant authorities.
Article 20
(Establishment of Protection Belts)
With respect to the reservoir watershed that is delimited as a designated soil and water conservation area, the management authority shall establish a protection belt from the top of the water line of the reservoir to 30m or 50m from the water level. The protection belts of other designated soil and water conservation areas will be established subject to the approval of the central level responsible authority upon the request of the management authority based on practical need.
Any private land and public land within a protection belt as mentioned in the preceding paragraph may be subject to condemnation and appropriation respectively; in the event of land already leased, the lease shall be terminated and the land re-claimed.
Any forest above the protection belt of the reservoir watershed as mentioned in the first paragraph shall be designated as protection forest and governed by the applicable provisions of Forest Act.
Article 21
(Restrictions on the Use of Land Within a Protection Belt and Compensation)
The management authority may restrict or ban the gainful use of land within a protection belt mentioned in the preceding article that has not been condemned or re-claimed, or may designate the method of operation and protection of such land.The protection belt mentioned in the preceding paragraph being a forest shall be designated as protection forest and governed by the applicable provisions of the Forest Act.
The owner or holder of the superficies over the private land under the first paragraph may claim compensation for any loss suffered. The compensation shall be based on a fair, reasonable price.
Regulations for the claim and payment of compensation under the third paragraph will be determined by the central level responsible authority and submitted to the Legislative Yuan for approval and the files.