Every year, March 21 marks the International Day of Forests. To thank forest rangers for their hard work and to remind the nation of the importance of forest protection, the Forestry Bureau selected one Outstanding Forest Ranger and 15 Excellent Forest Rangers from among more than 1,000 forest rangers in Taiwan. On this meaningful day, the Forestry Bureau and Rotary International District 3523 joined hands to present the awards to these heroes of the mountains and forests, and also took this opportunity to advocate the importance of forest conservation, forest care, and forest protection to the public. The awards ceremony also honored the outstanding national forest volunteers who assisted in patrolling the national forests, and invited forest rangers and forest guardians to take the stage to tell the wonderful stories of mountain forest work. Forest rangers are the frontline warriors when it comes to protecting the mountains and forests. Their operations cover a wide range of mountain and forest affairs, including detecting illegal logging, fighting forest fires, rescuing injured wildlife, monitoring biological resources, investigating forest habitats, and assisting in the search and rescue of hikers. They have to face all kinds of man-made and natural challenges at work, and even have to directly face the threat of poachers, but their passion to protect the mountains and forests remains undiminished. And so they devote themselves to Taiwan's natural environment. The Forestry Bureau said that regardless of whether or not they are the top-performing rangers receiving awards this year, the Forestry Bureau is very grateful and recognizes the dedication of each and every ranger. Rotary International District 3523 Takes the Initiative to Adopt Forest Plantations and Recognizes Forest Rangers Rotary International District 3523 has long been committed to major social, ecological, and humanistic issues, and has promoted many community, social, and internationally meaningful service projects. In recent years, it has also turned its focus to the forests of Taiwan. To raise the public's awareness on the importance of forest ecosystem, Rotary International District 3523 has sponsored the annual award prize money to the top-performing forest rangers for five consecutive years (2018-2022). It is hoped that this will boost the morale of these guardians serving in the mountains and allow these unsung heroes who protect Taiwan's mountains to be seen by society. In addition, Rotary International District 3523 made a donation to the Forestry Bureau's Luodong Forest District Office this year (2022) to adopt a forest plantation, calling on the public to cherish and protect Taiwan's precious mountains and forest resources together. The Forestry Bureau would like to thank Rotary International District 3523 for their long-standing support of forest rangers and the forest ecosystem. The Forestry Bureau hopes that the good deeds of Rotary International District 3523 can serve as an example to inspire the public to care about and understand the importance of the forest ecosystem and environment. It is also hoped that more organizations will take practical actions to contribute to the forest, environment, and ecosystem in the future. Thank You for Working Side by Side with Us - Investigation and Monitoring Volunteers who Protect the Forests Director General Lin Hwa-Ching of the Forestry Bureau said that forest rangers are indispensable in guarding Taiwan's forests and are also an important force in protecting forest resources. But the vast area of Taiwan's forests is patrolled by only just over a thousand forest rangers, and inevitably the manpower falls short at times. For this reason, the Forestry Bureau recruits people for the National Forest Investigation and Monitoring Volunteer Service Team, invites tribes and communities around national forests to join the ranks of forest protection, and works with the private sector to build a comprehensive forest protection network. By involving the community, it can make the forest protection force stronger and more diversified. Therefore, in addition to recognizing the top-performing forest rangers of the year, the Outstanding National Forest Volunteers of the year were also given special recognition today (21st) to thank them for their contributions to Taiwan's forest environment. Outstanding Forest Ranger Chung Wen-Chieh, Implementing Technology-boosted Patrols to Reduce Forest Disasters Selected as the Outstanding Forest Ranger of 2021, Chung Wen-Chieh serves at the Puli Workstation, Nantou Forest District Office. For 30 years, he has actively taken on various onerous responsibilities, including disaster relief and illegal logging investigation. He was also selected as a Model Worker in 2019 and Excellent Forest Ranger of the Nantou Forest District Office in 2013. To prevent the occurrence of disasters in the mountains and forests, and to curb the poaching of forest resources by criminals, Chung Wen-Chieh has combined his valuable experience gained across three decades with the application of technological equipment, such as remote monitoring systems and vehicle identification systems, to reduce the number of illegal logging cases and forest disasters and safeguard forest resources. This has made him an indispensable member in the protection of the mountains and forests. Female Ranger Jao Yi-Chen, Embodying the Spirit of Overcoming Hardness with Softness Jao Yi-Chen, who was selected as an Excellent Forest Ranger, is one of the few female forest rangers in Taiwan. She is in charge of a patrol area of over 1,000 hectares at the Chiayi Forest District Office's Fenchihu Workstation. She always takes great efforts to explain regulations and administrative rules to ensure that the lessees of forest land under her jurisdiction can live and work with peace-of-mind and in compliance with the law. She also makes sure to keep the lessees up to date with relevant information, and to provide gentle flexible guidance to those who accidentally violate the law. Although dealing with land leasing is not as thrilling as investigating illegal logging or fighting forest fires, it requires more care and patience, and it is a job that requires professionalism and enthusiasm. The rest of the Excellent Forest Rangers and Outstanding National Forest Volunteers all have their own remarkable stories. Whether rangers have experienced a deep understanding of nature, the pulse-racing battle of wits against poachers, the thrilling moments of deep mountain missions, or touching moments while rescuing and monitoring wildlife, they are all working together on the front line for the safety of Taiwan's mountains, forests, and people. Because of them, Taiwan has a sound forest environment, which deserves the highest respect from everyone.
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