The Forestry Bureau on Tuesday announced that it is revising regulations concerning wildlife conservation so that a ban on ivory trade can be put in place in 2020.
The sole exception would apply to people who own ivory and produce documentation showing that the items had been acquired legally, the bureau said in a statement.
The legislature in 1994 passed amendments to the Wildlife Conservation Act (野生動物保育法) prohibiting trade and public display of ivory unless under special circumstances, bureau conservation division head Hsia Jung-sheng (夏榮生) said.
However, as many local art dealers and sealmakers still used ivory and had the material in their stock, the government took transitional measures to allow trade in declared ivory with the permission of the supervisory authorities, Hsia said.
Since then, the demand for ivory has greatly decreased and the idea of wildlife conservation has become more widespread in the nation, Hsia added.
After assessing the current situation, the bureau decided to impose a complete ban on ivory trade, Hsia said.
The revision is being made in response to calls in the international community to save African elephants.
A UN report in 2016 said that the number of African elephants living in the wild dropped by about 20 percent from 508,000 in 2006 to 415,000 in 2016, Hsia said.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
WEATHER Typhoon forming: CWA A tropical depression is expected to form into a typhoon as early as today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, adding that the storm’s path remains uncertain. Before the weekend, it would move toward the Philippines, the agency said. Some time around Monday next week, it might reach a turning point, either veering north toward waters east of Taiwan or continuing westward across the Philippines, the CWA said. Meanwhile, the eye of Typhoon Kalmaegi was 1,310km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, as of 2am yesterday, it said. The storm is forecast to move through central
The age requirement for commercial pilots and airline transport pilots is to be lowered by two years, to 18 and 21 years respectively, to expand the pool of pilots in accordance with international standards, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications announced today. The changes are part of amendments to articles 93, 119 and 121 of the Regulations Governing Licenses and Ratings for Airmen (航空人員檢定給證管理規則). The amendments take into account age requirements for aviation personnel certification in the Convention on International Civil Aviation and EU’s aviation safety regulations, as well as the practical needs of managing aviation personnel licensing, the ministry said. The ministry
RSS