:::
202504/30
To effectively prevent and control the threats posed by green iguanas (Iguana iguana), an invasive exotic species, to Taiwan’s agriculture and ecosystems, the Ministry of Agriculture and local governments have joined hands to launch a comprehensive high-intensity removal operation starting in 2025. Through this initiative, the “Crop Natural Disaster Instant Reporting System (app)” used by farmers has been revised and upgraded to allow control personnel to report removal information. The system will also enable control personnel to keep up with real-time removal status and receive instant distribution information of green iguanas, thereby improving the efficiency and accuracy of green iguana prevention and control. The removal results will be compiled into the digital dashboard and published on the Nature Conservation website of the FANCA on a monthly basis.
The FANCA pointed out that in order to effectively control the areas with green iguana invasion, the Ministry of Agriculture has established green iguana removal response teams to carry out high-intensity control and removal of green iguanas. It has also upgraded the existing “Crop Natural Disaster Instant Reporting System (app)” and added a “Green Iguana Notification and Removal Section.” All qualified control and removal personnel can upload key information such as front- and back-view photos and snout-vent length of green iguanas after capture, as well as the number of captured iguanas, through mobile devices in real time. The Taiwan Biodiversity Research Institute then integrates the information, conducting thermal zone interpretation and analysis to provide local governments and management units with reference data for adjusting removal strategies. In addition, the Taiwan Agricultural Research Institute has also compiled a “Green Iguana Project Quick Guide,” which includes steps for using capture reports, education and training handouts, and a collection of frequently asked questions (FAQ), for use by local governments and removal teams to ensure consistent system application standards and smooth operations.
The FANCA stated that now is a critical period to suppress the reproduction and population expansion of green iguanas. Priority should be given to removing mature female iguanas and destroying their nesting areas and eggs, in order to suppress their reproductive capacity. The FANCA has formed four indigenous hunter patrol teams to focus on removing iguanas in areas with complex terrain and high capture difficulty, such as river basins. They will be collaborating with the nine removal teams established by local governments to implement zoning and division of labor to expand the scale of implementation. So far this year, a total of 36,543 green iguanas have been removed across Taiwan, three times the number of the same period last year. Furthermore, to increase the removal capacity, local governments have also organized 15 education and training sessions, with a total of 1,635 people completing the training. According to the “Guidelines on Green Iguana Removal (March 2025 Edition),” trained personnel must carry out removal operations at the training locale and record information such as snout-vent length and sex in detail through the disaster reporting system to facilitate subsequent data statistics and reward payment.
The FANCA emphasized that the reporting, removal, and distribution analysis mechanisms for green iguana prevention and control have been fully established, and that high-intensity removal operations are being actively carried out under the framework of “central coordination and local implementation.” In the future, the removal strategy will be adjusted on a rolling basis based on monitoring results, while the integration and collaboration between the central and local governments, professional teams and citizen forces will be strengthened, as to effectively suppress the spread of wild populations and reduce risks to Taiwan’s agriculture and ecosystems.