A new law to ensure the conservation of the nation’s wetlands went into effect yesterday, the result of years of effort by environmental groups and government agencies.
Minister of the Interior Chen Wei-zen (陳威仁) said the newly enacted Wetlands Conservation Act (溼地保育法) was designed to protect wetlands and to establish regulations to manage economic activities within designated areas.
The law marked a break with traditional methods of wilderness conservation, as it allowed for certified local industries to continue through a system of certification and compensation measures, Chen said.
Photo: Yang Chin-cheng, Taipei Times
Local businesses in the agriculture, tourism and education sectors are to be encouraged to apply for certification through the ministry’s Wetland Mark system, Chen said.
The ministry currently lists 85 wetlands in the nation as designated protected areas, classified by three levels — local, national and international.
In accordance with principles adopted from the Ramsar Convention, a global convention on the protection of wetlands developed in Iran in 1971, the act is to encourage the “wise use” of wetland resources — seeking sustainability without excluding local human activities.
The act establishes mechanisms that allow for economic development in wetlands by requiring developers who pursue business activities to contribute to an environmental protection fund.
In line with the convention’s principle of “no net loss,” developers in wetlands can also partake in off-site restoration efforts of wetlands in other locations.
National Parks Division Deputy Director Ou Cheng-hsing (歐正興) said that the act would involve joint efforts between national land-use planning agencies, adding that over 10 supporting laws have been established since the passage of the act in 2013.
He added that increased awareness of the importance of wetlands — often described as “nature’s kidneys” due to their cleansing functions in ecosystems — have led to an increase in public participation at community events related to wetland conservation.
Efforts to initiate the landmark act of legislation were boosted in 2011 following two successful environmental movements against large-scale development projects — a proposed biotech research center in Taipei’s Nangang District (南港) wetlands and plans for a petrochemical complex in Changhua County’s Dacheng Wetlands (大城溼地).
The act received bipartisan support in the legislature, with lawmakers from both the pan-green and pan-blue camps enjoying a tour of Guandu Nature Park in Taipei yesterday to commemorate its enactment.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
More than half of the bamboo vipers captured in Tainan in the past few years were found in the city’s Sinhua District (新化), while other districts had smaller catches or none at all. Every year, Tainan captures about 6,000 snakes which have made their way into people’s homes. Of the six major venomous snakes in Taiwan, the cobra, the many-banded krait, the brown-spotted pit viper and the bamboo viper are the most frequently captured. The high concentration of bamboo vipers captured in Sinhua District is puzzling. Tainan Agriculture Bureau Forestry and Nature Conservation Division head Chu Chien-ming (朱健明) earlier this week said that the
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
RSS