An assault on a bird-watcher has shone an international spotlight on the struggle of Taiwan conservationists to save a rare species from the ravages of gravel extractors.
The assault took place in Huben village (
An irritated villager slapped Yin Lin-in (
PHOTO: THE WILD BIRD FEDERATION OF TAIWAN
Terrified, Yin went to her parents' home in eastern Taiwan in order, briefly, to distance herself from what Chinese-language newspapers have described as complex, local factional rivalries. She returned to Huben, however, where she has lived with her husband since 1980.
"I had to come back to fight, not only for the innocent villagers of Huben but for several rare birds for whom the locale is their habitat," Yin told the Taipei Times.
Rare birds at
Pillow Hill
Yin, a bird conservationist, first found herself in the midst of controversy last August when Yunlin County Government, in order to meet demand created by continuing road development, approved an application for gravel exploitation at Pillow Hill (
Since then, the sleepy agricultural village covering 300 hectares of land has been swarming with activity.
Local conservationists started to obstruct the development work, and claimed that they had discovered 97 species of bird there, including several rare varieties.
Of all of these, the fairy pitta, known in Chinese as the "eight-color bird" (
Lin Ruey-shing (林瑞興), a researcher at the Council of Agriculture's (COA) Taiwan Endemic Species Research Institute (TESRI台灣特有生物中心), has found 40 such birds during a preliminary survey -- underway since April -- of 70 hectares of land at Pillow Hill.
Conservationists at the Chinese Wild Bird Federation (Taiwan) (
According to the federation, the fairy pitta ranges further north than any other member of its genus, breeding in Japan, South Korea, China and Taiwan, and migrating to Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia. Sightings of migrating fairy pittas have also been recorded in North Korea and Vietnam.
Conservationists soon joined forces with Yin in Huben village to fight developers from neighboring cities. According to protesters, some developers even set off firecrackers to scare the rare birds away.
Conservationists argued that the natural environment in Huben would be destroyed completely if the Yunlin County Government followed precedent and kept approving applications for gravel exploitation.
Some questioned the approved application itself, saying that no environmental impact assessment had been carried out and that the application had been badly reviewed.
Local birds but an international issue
Soon, aligned with 73 foreign groups in 20 countries, the federation launched an international petition on the Internet to save the home of the Taiwanese eight-color birds. The petition caught the attention of BirdLife International (
Marco Lambertini, who is in charge of international affairs for the organization, visited the COA on July 1, to urge chairman Chen Hsi-huang (
Lambertini said at the time that Birdlife International was itself trying to have the site at Pillow Hill designated an Important Bird Area (IBA).
Conservationists said that IBAs were recognized by the international community and regarded as important points of reference in policy-making in many countries.
BirdLife International's quarterly magazine, which features global conservation news, had sent editors to Huben to produce an article revealing to some 5 million readers worldwide the deterioration of habitats for fairy pittas in Taiwan. The negative international publicity prompted swift governmental action.
Under pressure from legislators and President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), on June 20, Yunlin County Commissioner Chang Jung-wei (張榮味) halted the construction of the first gravel extraction facility and stopped the review of six later applications.
In response, the developers pressed the government to buy back the Pillow Hill land from them for 140 percent of the government assessed price (invariably lower than the accepted market value).
"We hope that developers will appreciate that the protection of birds does not conflict with people's interests," said Simon Liao (
TESRI's preliminary survey will be completed by October, when fairy pittas leave Taiwan for their winter migration.
Yin, the village warden who was assaulted, has received an invitation from BirdLife International to give a presentation on the efforts to save Taiwan's eight-color birds, next month in London.
"At the presentation, I shall stress what we did to save the bird rather than the violence I suffered," Yin told the Taipei Times.
Yin said that 1000 simple village folk, mostly farmers planting bamboo sprouts and longan trees, should not be expected to resign themselves to becoming victims of gravel extractors.
"We just want to continue our peaceful life. So do these rare birds," she added.
Tropical Storm Gaemi strengthened into a typhoon at 2pm yesterday, and could make landfall in Yilan County tomorrow, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The agency was scheduled to issue a sea warning at 11:30pm yesterday, and could issue a land warning later today. Gaemi was moving north-northwest at 4kph, carrying maximum sustained winds near its center of up to 118.8kph and gusts of 154.8kph. The circumference is forecast to reach eastern Taiwan tomorrow morning, with the center making landfall in Yilan County later that night before departing from the north coast, CWA weather forecaster Kuan Shin-ping (官欣平) said yesterday. Uncertainty remains and
SEA WARNING LIKELY: The storm, named Gaemi, could become a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, with the Taipei City Government preparing for flooding A tropical depression east of the Philippines developed into a tropical storm named Gaemi at 2pm yesterday, and was moving toward eastern Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Gaemi could begin to affect Taiwan proper on Tuesday, lasting until Friday, and could develop into a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, it said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued as early as Tuesday morning, it added. Gaemi, the third tropical storm in the Pacific Ocean this typhoon season, is projected to begin moving northwest today, and be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday, the agency said. Today, there would likely
DISRUPTIONS: The high-speed rail is to operate as normal, while several airlines either canceled flights or announced early departures or late arrivals Schools and offices in 15 cities and counties are to be closed today due to Typhoon Gaemi, local governments announced last night. The 15 are: Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Tainan, Keelung, Hsinchu and Kaohsiung, as well as Yilan, Hualien, Hsinchu, Miaoli, Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Lienchiang counties. People should brace for torrential rainfall brought by the storm, with its center forecast to make landfall on the east coast between tonight and tomorrow morning, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The agency issued a sea warning for the typhoon at 11:30pm on Monday, followed by a land warning at 11:30am yesterday. As of
CASUALTY: A 70-year-old woman was killed by a falling tree in Kaohsiung as the premier warned all government agencies to remain on high alert for the next 24 hours Schools and offices nationwide are to be closed for a second day today as Typhoon Gaemi crosses over the nation, bringing torrential rain and whipping winds. Gaemi was forecast to make landfall late last night. From Tuesday night, its outer band brought substantial rainfall and strong winds to the nation. As of 6:15pm last night, the typhoon’s center was 20km southeast of Hualien County, Central Weather Administration (CWA) data showed. It was moving at 19kph and had a radius of 250km. As of 3pm yesterday, one woman had died, while 58 people were injured, the Central Emergency Operation Center said. The 70-year-old