ABSTRACT
Disasters trigger reflections on human–environment relations. Taiwan’s Typhoon Morakot dropped copious rain during a short period, causing diverse people to reflect on the factors that had aggravated the disaster. These included climate change, the impact of larger storms, soil erosion, landslides, inappropriate large-scale developments and construction projects in environmentally inappropriate areas. In the Typhoon’s aftermath, greater attention was placed on environmental protection and environmentally friendly projects. However, the question remained: have such reflections produced actions and changes in the field? After the disaster, survivors were offered generous government resources. After funding ran out, some sponsored programmes were sustained; others were suspended. Many factors yielded these outcomes. This chapter analyses four post-Morakot environmentally friendly reconstruction cases to consider the contextual requirements for sustainable, local, long-term community reconstruction programmes. Then, it will reflect upon local green social work practices in Taiwan.
