Problems and Purpose
Nuclear waste site selection is not merely an engineering or technical problem; it is deeply entangled with local memory and social trust. In Taiwan, all nuclear power plants are now decommissioned. The communities hosting these facilities geographically scattered along the North Coast share similar patterns: information gaps, conflicting positions, and eroded trust between residents and officials.
The North Coast Nuclear Waste Site Travel Camp, developed by the Centre for Innovative Democracy and Sustainability (CIDS), addresses this challenge through a participatory pedagogy that combines field-based learning, stakeholder dialogue, and role-play simulation. Rather than treating nuclear governance as an abstract policy issue, the Travel Camp positions participants as active learners who engage directly with affected communities, listen to residents' narratives, and attend to the everyday realities underlying the controversy. These locally grounded experiences enable young participants to recognize that public dialogue begins not with technical solutions, but with acknowledgement of one another's lived experiences.
The Issue: Nuclear Legacy on the North Coast Taiwan
Taiwan's nuclear power plants were once celebrated as part of the nation's "Ten Major Construction Projects," symbolizing economic modernization. Yet beneath this narrative of progress lies a more complex story of environmental impact, and unresolved waste governance.
Nuclear Plant No. 1 and No. 2 were constructed approximately 40 years ago in Shimen (石門) and Wanli (萬里) on the North Coast. Their construction involved land expropriation and forced relocation of the Qianhua community (乾華村). Local ecosystems were also affected when Qianhua Creek was straightened for development. Today, both plants have entered decommissioning stages, but spent fuel pools are at full capacity, creating urgent pressure to transfer fuel to dry storage facilities. The ultimate disposal question remains unresolved.
For local residents, the challenges are multilayered: ongoing impacts from decommissioning work, labor force transitions as nuclear workers leave, and the need to revitalize local industries. Meanwhile, the North Coast is experiencing an energy transition, nuclear power is exiting while new energy sources such as solar, geothermal, small hydro, and biomass are emerging. Local communities are navigating these shifts while contemplating their role in the progress of renewable energy transition.
Methods and Tools Used
The Travel Camp employs a participatory method that blends:
- Field visits to decommissioned nuclear facilities and former waste storage sites
- Dialogues with affected communities, including residents, local activists, cultural workers, government officials, school students, and Taiwan Power Company employees
- Role-play simulations where participants embody both human and non-human perspectives
This approach fosters empathy and multi-perspectival understanding of complex socio-technical issues. By integrating hands-on research, issue breakdown, and shared situated knowledge, participants explore intersections of technological risk, historical memory, institutional trust, and everyday life.
The Travel Camp can be understood as a pre-policy deliberation space: a low-stakes environment where diverse stakeholders build mutual understanding before entering formal consultation or decision-making processes.
(Further information on the Travel Camp “Method” category.)
What Went On: Process, Interaction, and Participation
Participants visited decommissioned nuclear facilities and surrounding communities. They engaged with residents, local activists, experts, and institutional representatives, documenting lived experiences, historical trajectories, and contested narratives.
These materials were subsequently translated into key issue clusters such as risk, intergenerational responsibility, environmental justice, institutional trust, and technological uncertainty through facilitated workshops. These clusters served as the basis for role frameworks and discussion scenarios. In the simulation phase, participants articulated positions, negotiated tensions, and experimented with communication strategies grounded in their field encounters.
Phase 1: Field Research and Stakeholder Engagement
Participants visited decommissioned nuclear facilities and surrounding communities, engaging with a diverse range of voices:
- Cultural Worker, Jinshan: Having experienced decades of anti-nuclear activism, emphasized that energy transition must begin with understanding local context—identifying community problems and needs, bridging gaps, and facilitating social decommissioning through good communication and resource mobilization.
- Chief, Shimen District Chief: Born in the location of Taiwan's first nuclear plant, noted the persistent lack of comprehensive local development measures, waste disposal timelines, and inadequate community communication mechanisms.
- Former Wanli Township Representative: Having witnessed the entire lifecycle from plant construction to decommissioning, stressed the need for better community communication regarding high- and low-level waste still stored on-site, while also working to preserve local fishing village culture through community tours.
- Taiwan Power Company Employees: Through CIDS's "Stakeholder Communication and Management Workshop," frontline staff engaged in social dialogue about waste facility siting mechanisms, confronting this complex issue through both ideal visions and practical implementation.
Through these encounters, participants documented lived experiences, historical trajectories, and contested narratives, gathering the raw material for deeper analysis.
Phase 2: Issue Translation and Framework Building
Field materials were translated into key issue clusters through facilitated workshops:
- Risk perception and uncertainty
- Intergenerational responsibility
- Environmental justice
- Institutional trust and transparency
- Technological governance and public participation
These clusters served as the basis for developing role frameworks and discussion scenarios for the simulation phase.
Phase 3: Role-Play Simulation
Participants were assigned different roles, both human and non-human. They were asked to articulate their positions, dilemmas, and possible pathways based on what they learned and experienced during the field trip.
The non-human roles invited participants to represent entities that cannot speak for themselves but are deeply affected by policy decisions. These roles included spent fuel rods, contaminated land and future generations who will inherit the consequences of today's decisions.
This approach draws from 'more-than-human' perspectives in environmental humanities and Science and Technology Studies(STS). By incorporating these voices, encouraged participants to consider impacts and perspectives beyond immediate human stakeholders.
Influence, Outcomes, and Effects
The Travel Camp served as both a learning environment and a rehearsal space for public communication. Participants came away more attuned to the technical, economic, cultural, and contextual dimensions of the issue, and developed a more grounded understanding of the everyday realities facing local communities. At the institutional level, the program was co-designed with Taiwan Power Company, local governments, community groups, and NGOs. This cross-sector collaboration enriched the learning environment and created rare moments of encounter: local actors were able to witness firsthand how younger generations interpreted and reframed long-standing controversies. For some stakeholders, it was the first time their own positions had been reflected back through the eyes of outsiders who had genuinely listened.
Broader Implications
Nuclear waste governance is only a starting point; the deeper issue is strengthening society's capacity for dialogue on controversial public matters. CIDS's Travel Camp model offers a reusable communication framework where diverse stakeholders:When dialogue becomes a prerequisite and all sides demonstrate willingness to listen, cooperation and workable solutions become possible. Travel camps serve as a crucial starting point that transforms controversy from a zero-sum battle into an opportunity for communication, learning, and collective problem-solving.
See Also
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