In an effort to raise awareness about soil-erosion prevention and reforestation programs, more than 1,000 trees were planted in Tunghshih township (東勢鎮) yesterday.
Taichung County Commissioner Liao Yung-lai (廖永來), business leaders and officials from the Council of Agriculture were present at yesterday's event.
Tungshih -- hit hard by the 921 earthquake -- is one of many towns in Taichung County that are vulnerable to mudslides.
The reforestation efforts follow the destruction wrought by Typhoon Toraji, which last month triggered deadly mudslides in Hualien, Nantou and Taichung Counties and left more than 200 dead.
Environmentalists have said the mudslides were a result of soil erosion due to illegal betel-nut plantations.
In addition, the government was slow to carry out reforestation efforts on mountainous areas after the 921 quake, they said.
At yesterday's event, participants planted Taiwan incense cedar (
The numbers of these trees have been on the decline ever since furniture-makers found their wood to be desirable for making high-end products.
Officials from the Council of Agriculture said yesterday's reforestation activity was meant to prevent soil erosion and mudslides.
The Taiwan Agriculture Strategy Alliance Development Association, one of the sponsors of yesterday's tree-planting activity, encouraged private businesses and individuals to continue the reforestation efforts by raising trees of their own.
Chien Hsiao-feng (
The Tungshih Forest Center also hopes that the reforestation efforts will attract eco-tourists to the area.
"The center hopes that the forest will attract more visitors, as eco-tourism could be the only way out for central Taiwan, which was hit by the devastating 921 earthquake and recent tragic mudslides," said one official, who declined to be identified.
The forest center, originally called the Shihchiao Forest, is about 8km from Tungshih township. The center had started by supplying logs during the Japanese occupation and continued to do so through the 1970s.
Beginning in the 1980s, the center was gradually transformed into a forest recreation center.
Since 1984, when it was officially opened, the center has become one of the most successful forest recreation centers in Taiwan.
The forest center, dubbed the "Yangmingshan of central Taiwan," attracts more than 600,000 visitors each year.
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