202305/12
The Forestry Bureau held a press conference today (12th) to announce the launch of Taiwan Ecological Network Mapping platform. The mapping discloses 45 conservation corridors, 44 biodiversity priority areas and multiple ecological landscape mapping. Chi-Chung, Chen, Minister of Council of Agriculture, relevant agencies, and representatives of academia and corporations came together to witness the launch. In the future, the Taiwan Ecological Network Mapping will serve as an important blue print for the national spatial governance of biodiversity conservation. Robust information contained in the mapping platform will underpin the conservation promotion activities for land use and operational planning adopted by the government and civil organizations. The platform will be helpful in co-creating sustainable living for people to live harmoniously with nature, ranging from forests to coastlines.
Chen said that following the Council of Agriculture being reorganized to form the Ministry of Agriculture, the Forestry Bureau will be adjusted to form the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency, where its focus lies on elevating the conservation capacity. Apart from forest conservation, conservation work includes habitats other than national forests. For the purpose of national spatial sustainable development, the biodiversity and habitat statuses of different regions must be carefully monitored. Since the launch of the Taiwan Ecological Network in 2018, the spatial mapping, which had been in preparation for an extended period, is finally announced today. This not only will concretely implement the spatial development of habitats and nature conservation at the national level, conservation work can also be effectively promoted based on the spatial strategies devised.
Hwa-Ching Lin, Director General of the Forestry Bureau also said that many foothills, plains and coastal wetlands are very close to densely populated urban environments. In view of habitat fragmentation caused by construction development, change of farmland use, since 2018, the Forestry Bureau has been engaging in cross-departmental collaboration under the support of the Executive Yuan, to promote the Taiwan Ecological Network. The first priority of the project is to establish a spatial strategy blue print, covering the mapping required for practical work and conservation strategies. It can also assist different actors to accelerate and enhance habitat restoration, connection and management via spatial focus.
In Taiwan, approximately 60% of protected species of flora and fauna exist outside state-owned forests. As such, the Taiwan Ecological Network focuses on low-elevation mountains, plains and coastlines outside the national forest working circles. The purpose is to connect and patch up various habitats, so that the ecosystem of densely populated areas can be conserved or restored. With the assistance extended by the Endemic Species Research Institute (ESRI), Taiwan Forestry Research Institute, experts and scholars, by consolidating years of ecological investigations, conditions of habitats, landscape information, issues of concern in different regions and expert opinions, the Forestry Bureau completed the analyses of national biodiversity hotspots, key Satoyama landscapes of concern, and key waters, as well as identifying 44 biodiversity priority areas of concern in Taiwan. Considering its priority in habitat restoration and connection, the bureau further designated 45 conservation corridors, which are divided based on five habitat types, namely hill, creek, plain, coastline and offshore island. This can guide the directions of habitat restoration and landscape spatial connection.
The Forestry Bureau indicated that the biodiversity priority areas of concern and conservation corridors announced come with spatial mapping for overlay-drawing, as well as information on purposes identified for various regions, habitat conservation strategies, and habitat types and species in need of conservation attention. Apart from catering to the application for cross-departmental consolidation on national spatial restoration and planning, infrastructure construction, agriculture and biodiversity conservation, comprehensive and open ecological information can provide guidance to development units of both the public and private sectors in terms of the selection of project locations and ecological adaptation. It can also prevent disputes pertaining to the environment due to information inadequacy. Meanwhile, Satoyama and Sato-umi communities are important nodes for ecological restoration and habitat connection. When communities come to understand the importance of local ecological resource sustainability, they will take actions and acquire resources. This way, eco-friendly farming, environmental education or green industry will be adopted to facilitate the preservation and sustainability of Satoyama communities, ecosystems and production landscapes.
The Forestry Bureau also added that the spatial strategies, as furnished by the mapping, can even contribute to the promotion of ESG and spatial planning for biodiversity to be undertaken by corporations. Today, China Airlines, Chunghwa Telecom, E.SUN FHC, LITEON Technology, LEOTEK Electronics, Ørsted Taiwan, Carrefour, Taiwan Institute for Sustainable Energy Research (TAISE) and Tse-Xin Organic Agriculture Foundation sent representatives to attend the event to show support. Of which, Hai-Tao Jin, President of LEOTEK Electronics (subsidiary of LITEON Technology) shared how they apply the mapping. He said that this year, LEOTEK Electronics will set land crab conservation in the Hengchun Peninsula as its priority. It will make good use of the ecological networks of conservation corridors, and engage in cross-disciplinary integration of industry-academic resources, so as to realize the visions of biodiversity and smart sustainable cities and communities.
The Taiwan Ecological Network Mapping is now available on Taiwan Geospatial One Stop (TGOS) of the Ministry of the Interior, and will also serve as one of the national base maps. Meanwhile, the Forestry Bureau has also established a section for the Taiwan Ecological Network Blue Print on the Nature Conservation website (URL: https://conservation.forest.gov.tw/0002174), which can be downloaded free of charge. The Forestry Bureau welcomes any feedback after using the application so that the mapping can be reviewed on a regular basis to provide abundant ecological information. By undertaking concrete actions like this, the bureau works to collaborate with various sectors to protect the ecosystem and connect the Taiwan Ecological Network.