"I bet that if I looked after the gardens and ponds really well and created a natural environment similar to that the jacana had in its old natural habitat, the bird would be lured to this new friendly environment for good," Chiu said. So he relegated all the work at his construction company to his family in Kaohsiung and now works full time without pay in this bird paradise in Tainan County. From the year 2000 to March of this year, a total of 1,000 volunteers have worked to establish this man-made conservation site. They go there to help out on building or repairing bamboo fences, planting new trees, spreading fertilizer and so on. Chiu's hard work and devotion paid off quickly.
All work restoring the number of pheasant-tailed jacana in Tainan started in 2000. During the first year, four jacana birds bred at the new site. Last year, 46 new birds hatched and continue to grow to maturity. Through March of this year, the total number of jacana has surged to 150 and another 75 or more new birds are expected by the end of this year. Chiu optimistically expressed his hope that the total number of jacana in Tainan can be increased and maintained to a safer level of over 200 in the year to come.
Meanwhile, Chiu is planning to incorporate another 15-hectare farmland adjacent to the present conservation site. His plans include setting up a multi-story visitor's center and various ecology classrooms for students. He said that his new bird garden could now offer up to 100 or more bird species for bird-watchers to observe during most of the year. Once the conservation site is doubled, its variety of birds, water plants and flowers will outrank those in Kuantu Natural Park (
The story of severe conflict or clash between the conservationists and land developers has seemed never-ending either in Taiwan or other parts of the world. This largely repetitive process of protest and coming to blows among interest groups has become such a cliche that many people do not bother to care about it any more. Yet, this experience can serve as an ingenuous precedent, one which deserves to have people in Taiwan think about conflict resolution from a different perspective.
With a little more sense of responsibility to society and deeper mutual respect for the living creatures around us, a potentially explosive social and environmental issue can be turned into an ecological miracle, settled peacefully and to the satisfaction of all involved.
The construction of the high-speed railway has been the largest capital investment ever by the private sector in Taiwan. It is therefore understandable that Ing and her group are at great risk and under enormous working pressure. Nonetheless, Ing is willing to take time off to pay a personal visit to the concerned conservationists. Having done so, she has won their hearts and friendship, making every future negotiation easier and smoother. As Chiu later confessed: "I am really impressed and touched by Ms Ing's genuine concern about the feelings of others. Everybody seems to feel she is one of us, not the big boss on the other side of the negotiation table."
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