The Taitung County Government plans to turn the Zhiben coastal land, disputed for more than 30 years, into carbon-sink forest and a resort area. The plan is good news for county finances, but Indigenous communities and environmental groups still have objections.

• More than 280 hectares of land will be developed under a BOT arrangement, with a lease running as long as 54 years and a minimum investment of NT$2 billion.
• Plans call for a 102-hectare natural carbon-sink zone and a 132-hectare carbon-sink recreation zone, where resorts, campgrounds and a golf course could be built.
• The county government estimates the project could bring in NT$3 billion in investment and more than 100 local jobs, while easing NT$15 billion in local fiscal burden.
• The Katratripulr community says the location of the 30-hectare Indigenous cultural zone does not match earlier resolutions, and has asked the county government to review it again.
• Environmental groups argue the ecological surveys are not thorough enough, contend that revitalising the land need not mean turning a profit, and hold that the 58 hectares of low-lying land near the sea should in principle be left undeveloped.

Outlook: The county government expects to carry out Indigenous community consultation and consent procedures from October to December this year, solicit investors early next year and complete contract signing in April, but community consensus remains the biggest variable.