Forest protection

Illegal logging investigation, land exploitation, and wild fire rescue are the agency’s concentrations. We not only see protecting and managing forests as our responsibilities, but also reinforce forest land patrol to prevent law-breaking incidents and disasters from taking place. We implement relevant measures to keep forests intact and minimize harm.

（1）Forest protection and management

The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency divides the nation’s forest land into eight district offices and 35 stations to facilitate forest patrol and management. More than a one thousand officers take shifts to protect the forests. In 2003, the Forest Conservation Information System was launched. Satellite positioning was applied to position and track patrol. During the first half of 2014, the Forest Management Online Information System was developed. The systemintegrate global satellite positioning, the agency’s digital radio system and geographic information system to distribute manpower and allocate patrol work, in the hope of facilitating emergency aid and cracking down illegal logging and land exploitation.

On January 1, 2014, the Seventh Special Police Corps, National Police Agency of the Ministry of the Interior was established. Other than helping forestry officers investigate cases of illegal logging, the special corps formed a team with them to carry out patrol from time to time. Since 2006, to effectively prevent illegal harvesting of “antrodia cinnamomea” and “antrodia salmonea” mushrooms, the following measures have been taken:

Set up a collaboration model across Branchss with municipal and county police offices and the Coast Guard Administration. Hold regular meetings, exchange information, and investigate cases with them.

Examine aerial photos of selected areas regularly to see whether anything suspicious appears in them. Conduct follow-up ground checks immediately if needed. Set up electronic monitors along important forest roads to enhance crack-down work.

Urge forest protection and management officers to collect suspicious phone calls about “antrodia cinnamomea” mushroom trade, and request further investigation from the Seventh Special Police Corps, National Police Agency of the Ministry of the Interior.
Establish the Forest Patrol and Protection Squad to carry out intense patrol which lasts for 5 to 7 days in high-risk and high-mountain areas.
To strengthen forest patrol and to effectively keep illegal logging away, on February 1, 2012, the Community-based Forest Protection Reinforcement Plan was launched. Since 2018, based on the forest-protection chapter in the aforementioned plan, the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency has worked with the communities near national forests and college and university hiking groups to carry out forest protection and reporting of illegal logging, since they are also familiar with the geography and terrain features of mountain areas. The main concepts are: loving forests, protecting forests, and preserving forests. In this way, the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency hopes to include public participation in forest management and ensure the safety of national land.

（2） Wild fire work

A wild fire command center has been established at the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency, with subordinate command departments at district offices. There are a total of 43 emergency firefighting teams and 78 general firefighting teams. Based on the Disaster Prevention and Protection Act, the Forest Fire Prevention and Rescue Plan was made to strengthen Taiwan’s wild fire prevention system and relevant measures, effectively implement forest firefighting and post-disaster work, and carry out more relevant training and advocacy. The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency aims to improve the rescue work of the responsible teams, respond to forest fire quickly, and recover fire-affected forests professionally, so as to lessen harm and loss. The agency’s forest fire prevention measures include:

Maintain firebreaks and forest roads regularly and remove inflammables along highways.

Purchase all necessary fire equipment and set up/maintain an island-wide fire radio system.

Introduce the Incident Command System (ICS) and establish an ICS elite team, in order to enhance, improve, and coordinate forest fire work.

Set up 35 fire-risk observation stations throughout Taiwan and calculate the risks daily. The data are released on the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency website, forest recreation area bulletins, and entrances of important forest roads to warn people of such possibilities.

Carry out intensive patrol for fire-prone areas and reinforce roadside inspections, so as to catch arsonists early.

“Adopt” trees with indigenous locals and hire fire specialists to patrol mountain areas to avoid wild fire.

Use online media and TV walls to advocate fire prevention, and let station officers speak to people about fire prevention during patrols. The highlights of such advocacy are: a cash award (up to a million Taiwan dollars) will be given to any reporter of forest fire; violators will face punishment listed in Article 53 of the Forestry Act.

Strengthen collaborations between National Airborne Service Corps under the Ministry of th Interior and the Aviation and Special Forces Command under the ROC Army to conduct helicopter landing site inspection and maintenance and airforce-army drills, so as to set up an aerial firefighting mechanism.