The Hualien Forest District Office of the Forestry Bureau announced the official launch of the "National Ecology Green Network Construction Project" at the Danongdafu Forest Park during the central tree planting event on March 12, 2018. On June 29 of the same year, the Hualien Green Network Platform was launched and 44 units, including government departments, academic units and NGOs, were invited to participate and strengthen the exchange of views from the three sectors through the platform meeting, as well as build consensus on public-private cooperation. The goal was to build a long-term planning project for the land use of Hualien. One of the topics was to explore how to improve the ecological damage caused by the division of wildlife habitats in today's man-made infrastructure (such as Provincial Highway 9 and railways). Therefore, through the method of ecological afforestation at the Danongdafu Forest Park, the Hualien Forest District Office attempted to connect the large-scale ecological corridors of the central mountain ranges and the coastal mountain ranges. After nearly one year of image monitoring, the records show that wildlife can indeed use the habitat corridors created by the Danongdafu Forest Park. For the first time ever, the Taiwan serow that were only seen in the mountains in the past, was recorded. This was a very promising result.
The Hualien Forest District Office said that it has long cooperated with the Taiwan Forestry Research Institute, and sorted out the distribution hotspots of wildlife within the Danongdafu Forest Park based on the results of wildlife monitoring for more than 10 years in the Danongdafu Forest Park. The Taiwan Forestry Research Institute recommended that by connecting the County Highway 193 and the Provincial Highway 9, as well as the railway (which is blocking the Central Mountain Range and the Coastal Mountain Range), the wild animals living in the coastal mountain ranges and central mountain ranges will be able to move freely between the two mountain ranges and happily settle down. Therefore, using the platform established through the "National Ecology Green Network Construction Project", the Hualien Forest District Office coordinated with the 9th River Management Office, WRA, MOEA, and the Directorate General of Highways, MOTC. Wildlife crossings were improved and constructed by methods such as using the space under the New Dafu Bridge of the Provincial Highway 9, and at the same time improving the old Provincial Highway 9 approach road building volume, as well as utilizing the car lanes and box culvert passages beneath the railway. In addition, large-scale land and water ecological corridors that connect the Central Mountain Range and the Coastal Mountain Range were created through the ecological afforestation carried out by the Hualien Forest District Office, as well as the promotion for the joining of the blue (water) green (forest) belts, together with the 9th River Management Office.
In order to understand the specific impact of the ecological corridor construction on wildlife, the Hualien Forest District Office has set up 15 automatic infrared cameras around the Danongdafu Forest Park. After nearly one year of monitoring, 3,417 effective images were obtained, and 13 species of mammals from 11 genera were photographed. These included the first-time records of the protected species Formosan yellow-throated marten and the Taiwan serow. There were also footages of Reeves' muntjac using the box culvert passages to cross the railway, wild boar using the covers on top of the drainage ditch, as well as civets and the Formosan yellow-throated martens using the riverfront forests to move around. These images not only captured the delightful and interesting animal behaviors and enriched the promotional content of the Hualien Forest District Office ecological tour, but more importantly, it has confirmed that the construction of ecological corridors at Danongdafu Forest Park promoted by the Hualien Forest District Office has indeed been effective.
The Hualien Forest District Office edited the captured footages into a three minute video and played it at the Hualien Green Network Platform meeting for all the public and private partners of the platform on February 12. This result has given all the partners who participated in the platform even more confidence in eco-friendly planning for the future. The Hualien Forest District Office said that the monitoring footage will be produced into a 30-minute film. At that time, it will cooperate with the Green Network Platform's training and promotion plan to let more people to learn about the specific content and benefits of Hualien's national green network promotion. The Forest District Office also said that in the future, through the public-private partnership, it will continue to promote this vast venture of the century that is the Hualien National Green Network Project.
Home
Taiwan High Speed Rail