Nationwide Hunter Conference on Indigenous Tribal Autonomous Hunting Management—A New Milestone in Hunting Self-Management!

To promote the autonomous hunting management of indigenous peoples across Taiwan, the Chiayi Forest District Office of the Forestry Bureau and the Chiayi County Tsou Hunter Association held the Hunter Conference on Indigenous Tribal Autonomous Hunting Management in Saviki Village from November 2nd – 4th, 2020. Tribal communities across Taiwan that promote autonomous hunting management were invited to participate in the experience exchange and topic discussion, with the aim of realizing the public welfare benefits of ecological conservation and sustainable management of resources, and implementing autonomous hunting management of the indigenous peoples. The tribal communities that participated in the conference also jointly signed the Hunter’s Declaration on Autonomous Hunting Management, which is a declaration of the government and the indigenous people to formally share rights, jointly fulfill responsibilities, and jointly guard the mountains and forests. It is an important milestone of the indigenous people on the management of natural resources.
Tsou Tribe and the Chiayi Forest District Office Working Together to Promote Autonomous Hunting Management
In recent years, the Forestry Bureau has been promoting the conservation and utilization of natural resources through the Indigenous Peoples Autonomous Hunting Management Program, with the various Forest District Offices handling related affairs. With cooperation between professional academic teams and indigenous tribal communities, the important tasks for the autonomous hunting management of the indigenous peoples have been successively completed, with favorable implementation results. These tasks included the monitoring and data analysis of wildlife populations, advocating that hunters report on the game hunted, guidance and training for the establishment of tribal hunter organizations, providing hunter education and training courses, and setting up official websites for hunter organizations.
In the process, discussions, dialogs, and exchanges among the government, academic institutions, and indigenous tribal community members have gradually taken shape, with everyone looking forward to finding a new consensus on mountain and forest preservation, a new direction of work, and a new mode of cooperation. Therefore, the Hunter Conference on Indigenous Tribal Autonomous Hunting Management held by the Chiayi Forest District Office and the Chiayi County Tsou Hunter Association aims to bring together the government, scholars, and tribal communities for experience sharing and topic discussion. In addition to sharing of experiences for mutual benefit and improvement, it is also hoped that a better vision for ecological conservation, resource sustainability, and autonomous hunting management by the indigenous peoples can be proposed.
Research and Discussions to Reach Consensus, Proposing the Hunter’s Declaration on Autonomous Hunting Management
The conference invited Director General Lin Hwa-Ching of the Forestry Bureau to give a speech on the relevant policies on the sustainable use of Taiwan’s natural resources and the promotion of autonomous hunting management of the indigenous peoples. Scholars and experts gave lectures on the relevance of the indigenous peoples’ hunting culture, the legal aspects of hunting self-management, wildlife population monitoring, game reporting methods, and tribal visits. Arrangements were also made for the hunter organizations of the various tribal communities to share their experiences in promoting autonomous hunting management.
In addition, tribal community representatives from all over Taiwan discussed the future direction of autonomous hunting management, and presented the Hunter’s Declaration on Autonomous Hunting Management, with the main goal of preserving the indigenous hunting culture and jointly protecting the mountains and forests to ensure the sustainable development of their resources.
Partnership for Sustainable Forests
The Chiayi Forest District Office said that indigenous people are familiar with every plant and tree in the mountains and have been promoting autonomous hunting management for many years; the office also expressed its hopes that the indigenous communities would become partners with the Forest District Offices in protecting the mountains and forests. In addition to sharing experiences, the future path of autonomous hunting management will be proposed through this conference. This conference is only a small step in the whole process, and in the future we will expand the cooperation with indigenous community partners in the mountains and forests in order to realize the vision of sustainable forests.