For many years, the management of under-forest by-products has been restricted by laws and regulations, and even caused bloody conflicts between officials and forest owners in the mountain communities. Today (April 29), the Forestry Bureau of the Council of Agriculture held a press conference to officially announce the completion of the relevant system's reform. The policy of "developing the optimal under-forest economy based on forest land type" was officially launched. From now on, forest owners can apply for high-value sideline industries such as beekeeping and mushroom farming on forest land in moderation, to boost the green economy of the mountain village and strengthen the incentives for forest land management, as well as provide high-quality forest products for the market. In order to share the forest ecosystem service values, the Forestry Bureau proposed a policy of "developing the optimal under-forest economy based on forest land type" to revitalize the green economy of the mountain villages. Under the premise of not destroying the forest environment, the Forestry Bureau will officially accept applications for forest by-products such as "log-cultivated shiitake mushrooms and wood ear mushrooms", "Taiwan jewel orchid", and "forest honey". Furthermore, with the support of a professional guidance team, introduce other supporting measures such as forestry sustainable multi-guidance incentive programs, environmentally-friendly farming, and organic certification to build the capacity for sustainable forestry management in Taiwan. According to the results of the 2015 survey of agriculture, forestry, fishery and animal husbandry industries, the average annual income of forest owners is only NT$115,000, reflecting that the general profit margin is too low for the traditional management model where the main harvest is forest products (timber). It has also resulted in some forest owners taking on the risk of violating the law and damaging the forest environment to plant unsuitable short-term crops such as fruit trees or tea. Such illegal land use or over-utilization of hillsides is difficult to eliminate. Therefore, the Forestry Bureau established the "Under-Forest Economy Promotion Team" in 2016. After three years of cross-departmental review and regulatory adjustments, the Ministry of the Interior has recently officially incorporated the "Under-Forest Economic Operation and Use" into the use of the forestry. The Council of Agriculture then announced the regulations for "Operational Directions Governing Operating Minor Forest Products Under-Forest on Forest Land" on April 18, 2019. Effective from today, anyone who owns forest land or its legal users may apply for the operation with the nearest township (town, city, district) office, Experimental Forest Office, or the various Forest District Offices of the Forestry Bureau holding jurisdiction. The benefits of forests are widely used in daily life, including people going hiking in the mountains, using water from the forest soil, and breathing fresh air, all of which are the service values of the forests. Lin Hwa-ching, Director General of the Forestry Bureau, said that the development of the compound management model for under-forest by-products is about sharing the multi-service values of the forest ecosystem, with the core indicators of not destroying the forest, sustainable management, and harmony between men and nature. Only those under the condition of not damaging the natural growth of forest trees and forest vegetation, while still have economic benefits when operating forest by-products, can be classified as projects under the under-forest economic technical guidelines. At present, "log-cultivated shiitake mushrooms and wood ear mushrooms", "Taiwan jewel orchid", and "forest honey" are the first batch open to technical specifications. The Forestry Bureau and the Taiwan Forestry Research Institute will continue to evaluate different products, suggestions from the indigenous communities are also welcome. Recommendations, including traditional tribal crops, will be included in the inventory for assessment to review the suitability. The Forestry Bureau pointed out that the moderate introduction of bee pollination in forests has positive benefits for the improvement of plantation rate and natural regeneration of forest gaps, while the impact on forest ecosystems still needs further study. The Forestry Bureau is currently collaborating with the Taiwan Forestry Research Institute to conduct the relevant ecological survey to monitor the ecological effects of beekeeping in the under-forest. In addition, in order to create a honey-sourcing forest and promote the round-season production of honey, the Forestry Bureau will continue to investigate honey source tree species with different flowering periods, and aim to build 50 hectares of honey source forest in plantations every year. It is expected that at least 150 hectares afforestation will take place by the end of 2019. The Forestry Bureau encourages forest owners, indigenous communities, and agricultural groups to apply for operation with the nearest township (town, city, district) office, Experimental Forest Office, or the various Forest District Offices of the Forestry Bureau, and create forestry added-values together. Not only will it improve income, but it will also bring positive development of public and private forests towards sustainable development in the long run, and promote Taiwan's forestry industry reform. This phrasing is highly awkward: using the word "forest" three time in the phrase, as well as two variations on "operate" within four words, is highly redundant. It is also difficult to parse what "Operating Minor Forest Products Under-Forest" means. Unless this phrasing is set in stone (e.g., by being published somewhere and therefore needing consistency with extant materials), we recommend changing the phrasing to "Directions Governing Minor Under-Forest Product Operations on Forest Land".
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