In response to the complex environmental challenges of ecological conservation in Taiwan, the Forestry Bureau, Council of Agriculture (COA), has promoted the “Taiwan Ecological Network” since 2018, which aims to enhance the function and resilience of ecosystem services through linking habitats together. Substantial results have been achieved after years of hard work by all parties. The Forestry Bureau held the “Results and Exchange Conference on the Taiwan Ecological Network” from October 28 to 29, inviting public and private organizations participating in the Taiwan Ecological Network project to share their strategies and practical results on the ecological network construction. In addition, the Railway Bureau of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) and the Forestry Bureau signed the “National Ecology Green Network Cooperation Agreement.” The government departments responsible for watershed management and linkages, animal-friendly road networks, and ecological data integration also came together again to declare their consensus and action goals for promoting the ecological health and sustainable development of Taiwan. The conference was opened in the morning of the 28th with the signing of the “National Ecology Green Network Cooperation Agreement” by Wu Sheng-Yuan, Director General of the Railway Bureau, MOTC, and Lin Hwa-Ching, Director General of the Forestry Bureau, COA, with the presence of Deputy Minister Huang Chin-Cheng of the COA. In addition, inter-ministerial agencies, including the Railway Bureau, the Directorate General of Highways, and the Freeway Bureau under the MOTC; the Water Resources Agency, Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA); the Endemic Species Research Institute (ESRI), the Irrigation Agency, and the Soil and Water Conservation Bureau under the COA; and the Taiwan Biodiversity Information Alliance (TBIA) joined together to declare their consensus to cooperate and promote the mending of the wildlife habitats under the Green Network. Chang Ching-Sen, Minister without Portfolio, said that the ecosystem services provided by nature are the basis for mankind’s sustainable development. He hoped that each ministry would take up their respective responsibilities for the Taiwan Ecological Network and work closely together to protect the health of the environment and build a resilient nation. The main theme of the conference was “From Forest to Coast, Implementing National Spatial Linkages.” A total of 25 lectures were planned under four major topics, including “Spatial Strategy Planning for the Green Network Blueprint,” “Linking Ecological Corridors, Animal Crossings, and Animal Pathways,” “Promoting Biodiversity Hotspots and Environmentally-Friendly Production,” and “Public and Community Involvement Based on the Satoyama Initiative.” The central and local governments, scholars, experts, and private organizations and enterprises involved in the implementation explained to the public the current achievements and future visions in the establishment of the Taiwan Ecological Network from the various aspects of the Green Network. From Forest to Coast, Establishing National Spatial Linkages The Forestry Bureau pointed out that the Taiwan Ecological Network originated from the basis of the Satoyama Initiative. It was recognized that the foothills, plains, and coastal areas extending outward from Taiwan’s central mountain conservation corridor and the national forest working circles are the environment where most people live and are also inhabited by nearly 60% of the protected wildlife. The land has been subjected to various development pressures, resulting in the fragmentation of the habitats of many endangered Satoyama animals, such as leopard cats and grass owls. Not only does this prevent wildlife from spreading out for their survival, it also diminishes the service function of the ecosystem to human beings. For this reason, the Forestry Bureau proposed the policy direction for the mending of fragmented habitats. With the support of the Executive Yuan and the National Development Council, it was approved in 2018 that the Forestry Bureau would invite the departments and agencies related to water resources, transportation, and agriculture to establish a cross-departmental platform. Starting from the national forest working circles, they will work together to connect the green belts to the eastbound and westbound rivers and create “forest, river, plain, sea corridors” to form a national biosafety network. Currently, the Taiwan Ecological Network project has completed the identification of 44 green network areas and 45 conservation belts throughout Taiwan, including the spatial blueprint of important ecosystems such as hills, streams, plains, coasts and outlying islands. Under this blueprint, various agencies have continued to take actions based on local conditions adopting a spatial focus. These actions include: promoting environmentally-friendly production and payments for ecosystem services in key agricultural areas to ensure animal foraging safety and habitat quality, maintaining the environment use for animals in the vicinity and fish and shrimp migration corridors through river/stream-friendly construction projects and the creation of green zones along the rivers, and strengthening the construction of eco-friendly corridors for existing railroad and highway traffic facilities based on wildlife studies and analysis of the surrounding landscape. It is hoped that the effectiveness of cross-regional governance can come fully into play to build ecological corridors that allow biodiversity to exist safely and move around unimpeded. Linking Railroad Construction and the Taiwan Ecological Network to Establish an Inter-Departmental Cooperation Agreement Lin Hwa-Ching, Director General of the Forestry Bureau, pointed out that land-based ecological corridors are crucial to the establishment of the Taiwan Ecological Network. In addition, conservation and construction authorities are faced with the shared problem of how to protect the habitats connected to the ecological network while taking into consideration the public’s transportation and convenience needs brought by national roads, highways, and railways. To speed up the integration of the ecological network, the Forestry Bureau and the Railway Bureau signed a cooperation agreement today (28th). Together with the cooperation mechanism already established with the Directorate General of Highways and the Freeway Bureau, the construction of highways and railways can now be more integrated with the establishment of the Taiwan Ecological Network. Wu Sheng-Yuan, Director General of the Railway Bureau, said that by signing the cooperation agreement with the Forestry Bureau, it is hoped that relevant ecological issues and actions can be more completely inventoried and smoothly promoted through professional cooperation measures, including the joint establishment of the ecological network cooperation platform, the sharing of information on the use of railways and ecological resources surveys, and the promotion of ecological corridor network linkages. In practical terms, the Hualien Forest District Office of the Forestry Bureau and the Eastern Region Engineering Office of the Railway Bureau are taking the Hualien-Taitung Dual-Rail Electrification Project as a starting point. They will be cooperating to improve the accessibility of the corridors by adjusting the design of the railroad bridge and expanding the ecological corridor of Danongdafu to reduce the obstruction of animal movement. The project is currently in the stage of environmental impact assessment (EIA) review and detailed engineering design (DED). In the future, after the signing of the cooperation agreement, the Forestry Bureau and the Railway Bureau will promote more eco-friendly measures in the regional network through closer professional integration of railways and ecosystems. The Forestry Bureau said it hoped that this event would bring together all sectors of society to understand and reach a consensus on the Taiwan Ecological Network, and promote the mending of a sustainable environment where people and nature can live together in harmony. The two-day conference was broadcast live on the Forestry Bureau’s Facebook page “Forestry Bureau - TW Forest.” Members of the public who could not attend the event were able to participate online in this special experience.
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