Taipei begins tree census

To raise public awareness of the city's natural resources, Taipei's Bureau of Cultural Affairs (文化局) yesterday kicked off a census of the city's trees and began recruiting volunteers to inspect, document and research them.

Visiting the former residence of late president Yen Chia-kan (嚴家淦) on Chungching South Road yesterday to inspect trees on the property, Lung Ying-tai (龍應台), director of the culture bureau, said it is important to protect the city's trees.

"They're part of our childhood and culture memory and deserve our respect and protection," she said. "They're the genuine indigenous inhabitants of the city and we don't have the right to deprive them of their existence."

The 90-year-old home, which was designated a municipal heritage site in April this year, is a Japanese-style building with a front yard full of tall, century-old trees.

The demography project, which officially began yesterday, is part of the bureau's campaign to prepare for passage of the Taipei City Tree Protection Autonomy Regulation (台北市樹木保護自治條例), which received approval at the city affairs meeting in June this year and currently awaits approval at the City Council.

"We're very serious about the protection of the city's trees, regardless of whether the City Council will approve it," Lung said.

The regulation specifies that trees higher than 15m and larger than 2.5m in diameter are protected, while those who cut protected trees without first obtaining approval from the bureau will face a fine of up to NT$100,000.

The project will start off with the numeration of trees planted during the Japanese colonial era and will expand to include those trees on school campuses, sidewalks, boulevards and in lanes and alleys.

Hsu Jung-hui (許榮輝), secretary-general of the Taiwan Association of Parks and Open Spaces (台灣公園綠地協會), said there is legitimate reason to start with those trees planted during the Japanese colonial period. "They're usually old and strong, and because of that, they often face an immediate danger of being chopped down to make way for urban development," Hsu said.

Yen Chuan-tai (嚴雋泰), fourth son of the late president, was born in the house in 1948. Sitting under a banyan tree, he recounted his childhood years of climbing trees in the garden. "That tree over there was my favorite one because its height was just right for me when I was little; that one over there bent a little bit during a typhoon; and that one there was dry and decayed three times but has surprisingly survived," he said.

Chen Chung (陳中), professor of horticulture at National Taiwan University (台灣大學), said preservation of trees should precede urban development. "It's almost extravagant amid this urban sprawl to wish for a tree under which to read," Chen said. "It's good to see the city dedicated to growing more trees, but obviously it's not enough because it's equally important to protect the trees which have been around for a long time."