Sun, Oct 28, 2001 page2

• New nature reserve draws large crowds

  CONSERVATION Coinciding with the area's annual bird-watching fair, Peitou's Kuantu Nature Reserve opened yesterday with more than 100 hectares of natural bliss

  • By Ko Shu-ling / STAFF REPORTER
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  Taipei's Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and his old rival, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), switched their attention from politics to wild-bird conservation yesterday when they attended the opening ceremony of Taiwan's first nature reserve and the third annual Taipei Bird-watching Fair.

  The Kuantu Nature Reserve (關渡自然公園及保留區), located in Taipei City's Kuantu, Peitou District, was opened to the public yesterday morning to coincide with the two-day bird-watching fair.

  

  A woman and her child look out at the new Kuantu Nature Reserve from an observatory yesterday at the park's grand opening.

  PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES

  The park cost the city NT$15 billion to build and consists of two main areas: the 57-hectare nature park area, including a nature center and a waterfowl conservation zone; and the 55-hectare conservation area, most of which is covered with mangroves.

  The park will be managed by the Wild Bird Society of Taipei (台北市野鳥學會), which won a seven-year contract to do so on Oct. 17. Since the society will not officially take over the park until Dec. 1, it is open free of charge until then.

  The bird-watching fair, which was organized by the Taipei City Government, the Wild Bird Society, and Toyota Motors, has attracted 15 international wild-bird associations from 12 foreign countries and 14 local wild-bird associations.

  Addressing the media and public, Chen said that he was proud of the new park.

  "This is Taiwan's first wetland park and one of the world's few wetland parks located in a metropolis," he said. "Its opening not only shows our determination to conserve our wild birds but also proves our respect for the natural environment."

  Chen added that although he encountered many difficulties while budgeting NT$15 billion to acquire the 57 hectares of land during his tenure as mayor, he was glad that he had made the right decision.

  "It took a lot of guts to bring the idea to fruition because the earmarked budget accounted for one-tenth of the city's annual budget," he said.

  Ma said that the event ushered in a new chapter of Taiwan's conservation efforts.

  "It took the city exactly 20 years and seven mayors to make the Kuantu nature reserve park possible. We're glad that it eventually came to realization today," Ma said.

  The city started to consider the idea in 1981 when a city resident made the proposal to the then-city mayor Lee Teng-hui (李登輝).

  Lee's successor, Yang Chin-tsung, began planning work for the park. His successor, Hsu Shui-teh (徐水德), rezoned the agricultural area into a conservation zone.

  When Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄) was the city mayor, he began to build roads leading to the park, and more planning was done during Huang Ta-chou's (黃大洲) stint as the mayor.

  Richard Grimmett, head of Bird Life International's Asia division, said that there was a desperate need for public support to protect endangered wild birds from extinction.

  "Over 320 species of birds in Asia are threatened with extinction. That means one in every eight species of bird in Asia," he said. "However, the extinction crisis could be prevented if there was sufficient support from both the government and the public."

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