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As Taiwan's economic structure shifted from agricultural to industrial production in earlier years, policies were rapidly implemented to accelerate development, but the relevant land regulations failed to keep pace with these changes. Consequently, many agricultural lands were used for non-agricultural purposes or were subject to substantial illegal use. The once-idyllic rural landscapes are now described as "violation of illegal farmlands in northern Taiwan, illegal structures in central Taiwan, and illegal power plants in southern Taiwan." To ensure food security, Taiwan needs to retain at least 740,000 to 810,000 hectares of agricultural land, yet the loss of agricultural land continues. In addition to the policy-driven, legally questionable but unreasonable, conversion of agricultural land for other uses, there is also a significant amount of illegal use, such as turning farmland into factories, illegally mining sand and gravel, and dumping waste, resulting in extensive damage and pollution of agricultural land. The issue of agricultural land survival has been a long-standing concern in Taiwanese society and a topic of much debate in the implementation of Taiwan's Spatial Planning Act.
This study constructed a framework of critical factors influencing the illegal use of agricultural areas in Taiwan based on the sustainable development trilogy (production environment, living environment, and ecological environment), and employed the modified Delphi method to conduct expert questionnaires among government, industry, and academia experts. The results show that the highest level of consensus was reached on indicators such as industrial waste issues in the ecological environment dimension, water and soil pollution issues, farmland supply issues in the production environment dimension, and air quality and resident health issues in the living environment dimension. Based on these findings, this study proposed suggestions aimed at improving environmental management in agricultural areas, achieving sustainable development, reducing concerns about national food security, and enhancing the country's resilience to climate change.
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