202506/06
The United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (UNCBD) requires 30% of each country’s land area to be effectively conserved and managed by 2030. The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency (FANCA) announced today (06/06) that the Human-Biodiversity Coexistence Areas (a direct Chinese translation for Taiwan’s terrestrial OECMs) Certification Programme has officially been launched. This program was developed in response to the Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures (OECMs) proposed by the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. The Programme will invite Satoyama communities, enterprises, civic organizations, government agencies, and schools to enter into public-private collaboration partnerships to establish biodiverse spaces that are not officially designated as protected areas in name but where conservation is practiced, as to achieve the goal of conserving 30% of the land area effectively.
At present, protected areas established in accordance with the various nature conservation laws of Taiwan cover nearly one-fifth of the land area, and have formed the Central Mountain Range Conservation Corridor, which effectively protects the mid-altitude to high-altitude forest ecosystems. However, the dense population and long-term human development concentrated in the low-elevation mountains, plains, and coastal regions outside national forests have led to habitat loss and fragmentation, impacting biodiversity and ecosystem service functions.
Director General Lin Hwa-Ching of the FANCA, said that in response to this challenge, the FANCA has been promoting the restoration of major agricultural ecosystems in low-elevation mountain regions since 2009. In 2011, the Satoyama Initiative was introduced. By promoting “community forestry” it has been encouraging local communities to protect natural resources and create sustainable farmland ecosystems with conservation functions, creating spaces not officially listed as protected areas but serving conservation functions. In 2018, the Taiwan Ecological Network (TEN) was launched, which, together with the Payments for Ecosystem Services Program, expanded habitat conservation actions beyond national forest areas. The aim is to form a nationwide ecological network by connecting various Satoyama conservation nodes across the low-elevation mountains, plains, and coasts through blue and green corridors.
The UNCBD Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework adopted at the Biodiversity Conference (COP15) in 2022 requires at least 30% of the land and sea area of each country to be effectively conserved through protected areas and OECMs by 2030. The FANCA said that unlike legally designated protected areas, OECMs do not require additional legal limitations on land use and do not undermine economic, social, and cultural values, but must be able to demonstrate long-term and stable biodiversity conservation outcomes. This coincides with the various habitat conservation policies that the FANCA has promoted outside of national forest areas in recent years. Therefore, the FANCA decided to designate Taiwan’s certified terrestrial OECMs as “Human-Biodiversity Coexistence Areas” to indicate that these are places where human activities, economic production, and ecological conservation coexist harmoniously.
According to the FANCA, the Programme will help guide land owners or managers to establish sites that take into account the conservation of biodiversity resources. It also hopes that public and private land sites located within the Priority biodiversity areas and Conservation corridors of the TEN, as well as those with valuable biodiversity resources, will join the Programme, and work together to broaden conservation coverage outside of the protected areas in Taiwan.
Applications for the first batch of the Human-Biodiversity Coexistence Areas Certification will be accepted from now until August 15, 2025. Any public or private land owner, operator or user can apply as long as their sites have important biodiversity value or have potential for conservation. Enterprises interested in ESG practices can also obtain a certificate of support for the certified site through funding, technology, or other specific means. The FANCA calls on all sectors to join in and contribute to the achievement of the “30x30” conservation target in Taiwan and around the world. For the relevant assessments and certification requirements, please visit the FANCA’s official website - Major Policies - Human-Biodiversity Coexistence Areas Certification Programme.