Hunter's Declaration on Autonomous Hunting Management and Hunting Permit Authorization Ceremony" of the Tungpu Daigaz Tribe of the Bunun People

With the support of the Nantou Forest District Office, the Tungpu Daigaz Tribe held the Hunter's Declaration on Autonomous Hunting Management and Hunting Permit Authorization Ceremony at the Dong-Pu Taiwan Presbyterian Church square today (12th), becoming the first Bunun tribe in Taiwan to issue hunting permits through the autonomous hunting management mechanism. Hunting groups include tribal members of the Dongguang, Laoshan, Ilaoshan, Takulan, Falana, Lalu, and Ixixiu communities.
The Council of Indigenous Peoples and the Forestry Bureau officially met and issued a ruling on Article 21-1 of the Wildlife Conservation Act in June 2017, which for the first time included "non-profit self-consumption" hunting as part of traditional culture, opening the way for indigenous peoples to manage hunting autonomously. In order to preserve the spirit of autonomy of the indigenous peoples and pass on the Bunun traditional culture of the Dongpu area, the Tungpu Daigaz Tribe applied to the Council of Agriculture of the Executive Yuan for a one-year "Tribal Hunting" Permit of the Indigenous Peoples in October of this year (2020), with the assistance of National Taipei University, in accordance with Article 18 of the Wildlife Conservation Act. A total of 82 Tungpu Daigaz tribal hunters were awarded the first batch of the one-year hunting permits. The hunter groups will abide by the Tungpu Daigaz Self-Governance and Self-Discipline Convention of Tribal Hunting to ensure that they have accurate information about the people entering the mountain and provide feedback of the hunting situation.
The tribal members expressed their gratitude to the Nantou Forest District Office and the team of Assistant Professor Chang Huei-Tung of the Department of Law, National Taipei University, for their assistance in completing this activity. The purpose of establishing the hunter groups and promoting autonomous management is to protect the hunters, preserve the dignity of the tribal members, and establish the indigenous peoples' right to natural resource management. Furthermore, it will maintain the hunting order according to the traditional wisdom of the tribal members and to respect the hunting scope and hunting behavior of others. In addition, hunting virtues such as modesty, cherishing one's prey, and protecting the ecosystem of the hunting grounds should always be maintained with respect to natural resources, which are taught by the tribal elders and passed down to the young hunters, so that the Bunun culture and the land can live and prosper together sustainably.
Lee Cheng-Hsien, director of the Nantou Forest District Office, said that in addition to the need for a wildlife resource monitoring mechanism as a basis for adaptive management, the promotion of an autonomous hunting management system requires the simultaneous establishment of tribal autonomous management mechanisms and capabilities. This includes self-governance and self-discipline management and tribal feedback, and preparations for the gradual future joint management of natural resources between tribes and administrative agencies. It is hoped that under the premise of sustainable use of natural resources, tribes and the government will jointly manage and protect natural ecological resources, demonstrate the ability of tribal autonomy through this activity, and establish a partnership of mutual trust and assistance.