Typhoon displacement threatens Bunun Indigenous heritage in Taiwan

Around 150 Bunun Indigenous residents of Tengjhih, Taiwan, were permanently resettled after Typhoon Morakot in 2009 destroyed their village’s access road. Efforts to rebuild have been hampered by climate change-amplified rainfall and landslides, with a recent typhoon in 2025 further devastating the area.

The closure of the local recreation area has eliminated the ecotourism and agricultural economy, leaving residents like tea and coffee farmer Bi’ Ismahasan reliant on government assistance and facing crop losses. Displacement has weakened the transmission of cultural practices and language to younger generations, as there is no village or work to return to.

Source: Mongabay

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