Committed to promoting co-management of forest resources with the Indigenous Peoples, thereby creating a triple-win situation for the indigenous tribes, the environment, and government agencies, the Forestry Bureau won the fifth Government Service Award, Social Welfare Services Category. Dr. Lin Hwa-Ching, Director General of the Forestry Bureau received this honor from Premier Su Tseng-Chang of the Executive Yuan today (19th). Dr. Lin said that the Forestry Bureau is in charge of the management of national forests, which is the traditional tribal domain of the Indigenous Peoples. In the past, many of the national laws contravened the inherent rights of the Indigenous Peoples to natural resources, resulting in the alienation of the Indigenous population from the mountains and forests, and robbing them of their ability to rely on natural resources for livelihoods. This led to conflicts and mutual misunderstandings between the Indigenous Peoples and the Forestry Bureau. In recent years, the Forestry Bureau has gradually adapted and amended the laws, promoting policies such as co-management of forests. On the premise of respecting the traditional culture of the Indigenous Peoples and the sustainable management of forest resources, the traditional rights of the Indigenous Peoples to use natural resources have been gradually restored, while the intimate relationship between tribal communities and forests has been mended. These are efforts aiming for the cooperation and co-management with the Saisiyat residents in Nanzhuang, Miaoli to serve as an exemplification for other regions and tribal communities. Dr. Lin pointed out that based on such a concept, the Forestry Bureau began to think about how to extend the relevant policies to the tribal communities in practice. In 2018, a reconciliation ceremony was held with the Saisiyat people to establish a partnership. The Forestry Bureau took this opportunity to start planning for the actual promotion of sharing the benefits of forest resources with the Indigenous Peoples. After discussions with the Forestry Bureau, the tribal elders decided to lead their communities to start beekeeping in the forest, considering that the Saisiyat people has a tradition of beekeeping. This was followed by the development of various economic activities, such as growing shiitake mushrooms on logs and eco-tourism. They are also involved in forest management activities, such as patrolling and logging of man-made forests. These activities have increased the average monthly income of the tribal members from less than NT$5,000 to nearly NT$10,000, thereby creating employment opportunities with stable income. These endeavors have not only attracted tribal youth to return to their hometowns, but also given poachers and illegal loggers, who were once forced to take risks for their livelihood, an opportunity to become “forest guardians” of their traditional homeland. In addition, by cataloging tribal cultural resources, their traditional culture can be revived, and children can be reintroduced to their own homeland and culture. The collaboration between the Forestry Bureau and the Saisiyat Tribe of Nanzhuang not only improves the economic situation of the mountain villages, but has also recovered cultural traditions so that the tribespeople can return home. The Forestry Bureau further indicated that the successful experience of cooperation between the Saisiyat community from Nanzhuang and the Forestry Bureau in co-managing forest resources has attracted nearly 100 organizations of 14 ethnic groups from all over Taiwan to visit Nanzhuang. In the future, they hope to attract more tribal communities to use the Nanzhuang Saisiyat people as a reference to develop their own Satoyama economy with the local Forest District Offices, thereby realizing the spirit of people-orientation, cooperation, coprosperity in public services.
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