Taiwan Forest Carbon Sink Policy

The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency (FANCA) is responsible for planning and implementing strategies for increasing forest carbon sinks within the key strategies of natural carbon sinks, including " increasing the forest area," "strengthening forest management," and " enhancing the use of domestic timber."

By strengthening land management, FANCA aims to enhance the carbon storage of forest ecosystems. Through increasing forest areas, the carbon sequestration capacity of the nation’s forests will be improved. In the future, in addition to continuing the existing key initiatives such as reforestation of degraded national forest lands, slope land afforestation with incentives and guidance, lowland reforestation, and afforestation of coastal and island areas, efforts will further focus on marginal agricultural and pastoral lands with low agricultural productivity, such as hillside farmlands and fallow lands.

For areas already covered by forests and bamboo forests, priority will be given to surveying the forest management areas. Through silvicultural methods, FANCA will increase forest biomass and carbon storage while optimizing tree quality and enhancing the value of forest products. FANCA will also incorporate the concept of sustainable forest management, ensuring that forest management is carried out in an environmentally friendly manner.

Compared to other materials such as petrochemical products, steel, and cement, the energy consumption and pollution generated during the production of timber products are relatively low. Timber is a low-energy, low-pollution, and environmentally friendly material. It also stores carbon within forest products, thereby delaying its release into the atmosphere and contributing to carbon preservation. In 2017, FANCA set the year as the "Year of Domestic Timber" and has been actively promoting the use of domestically produced wood and bamboo materials to reduce reliance on imported timber. Initial surveys have identified artificial forest areas suitable for timber production. In addition to strengthening forest management, FANCA is also enhancing the domestic wood and bamboo supply chain and marketing channels to revitalize the artificial forest industry and promote sustainable forestry development, with the goal of increasing the self-sufficiency rate of domestic wood and bamboo materials and enhancing carbon preservation functions.

Performance goal

• Taiwan 2050 Net-Zero Transition Carbon sinks  (Source: National Development Council)