TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The catastrophic earthquakes in Turkey and Syria have brought to the fore the importance of geological survey in Taiwan, which is also prone to seismic events.

New Power Party (NPP) Legislator Chen Jiau-hua (陳椒華) on Tuesday (Feb. 14) questioned the wisdom of combining the country’s Central Geological Survey (CGS) and Bureau of Mines in a cabinet restructuring set out last year, per the Environmental Information Center.

This could weaken the role of geological survey, which is essential to disaster prevention, she said in a press conference, adding the new agency appears to be more mining-oriented. A mining official explained that prospecting involves investigation of the geology and the two agencies’ combination makes work more streamlined.

Sharing the same concern was Chen Wen-shan (陳文山), a professor at National Taiwan University’s Department of Geosciences. While not opposing the integration of the two institutions, he said geological research must take a more prominent place.

According to Chen, mining in Taiwan is already a sunset industry centered on cement and gravel businesses. Geological survey, on the other hand, is vital to the country, in particular the effort to monitor and investigate the risks of quakes and landslides.

Other core tasks of a geological survey authority should also include the exploration of sites for nuclear waste and carbon sequestration, as well as green energy development, for better land planning and disaster mitigation, he stressed.

Addressing the concerns, Chi Chia-ling (紀佳伶) from the Ministry of Economic Affairs said the role of the CGS will not be diminished, nor will it be downgraded. The restructuring was intended to avoid overlapping of work, she added.