On Arbor Day yesterday, civic group Citizens of the Earth, Taiwan (CET) urged the government not to subsidize planting new forests, as it would encourage landowners to cut down big trees to plant small tree saplings, but rather allow forests to grow naturally to protect the environment and prevent mudslides.
While the government has promoted its effort in planting trees to create forested area each year, there is a difference between forestry for economic purposes and natural forest conservation, the group said.
The forestation policies enforced by the government in previous years have always led to a repeated cycle of landowners “cutting down big trees to sell for profit, and earning government subsidies for growing small trees,” it said, adding that misguided policies are causing the destruction of the nation’s forests.
The group cited the case of a farmer, Tsao Hsu-rong (曹榮旭), who successfully restored his 8-hectare land at the now Lujiaopi (鹿角埤) Ecology Park in Chiayi County, from betel nut plantation to natural forestland with increased biodiversity.
After inheriting a betel nut farm on the hillside from his father, Tsao said that about 20 years ago, he decided to he wanted to create a better environment for his children.
He allowed the land to grow on its own without weeding or using pesticide, and found the land recovered in a short period.
“I wanted it to become like the natural forest behind my home when I was young, with many birds and animals,” he said. “We have discovered that there are 34 species of birds in the area and many more amphibians, as well as reptiles.”
“Natural forests have their mechanism of succession, by spreading seeds through wind and animals — beginning with the growth of herbal plants, then photophilous and fast-growing secondary forests,” said Yang Kuoh-cheng (楊國禎), an associate professor at Providence University’s ecology department and chairperson of the Taiwan Academy of Ecology.
CET executive director Lee Ken-cheng (李根政) said growing trees on hillsides and mountainous areas should be carefully planned as the species of trees and planting methods would affect land conservation efforts.
Lee said the government should revise its forest policies and national forestland classification system to clarify the purpose of forestation.
Artificial forest plantations should be limited to forestland for economic purposes and government policies should aim at allowing conservation forests to grow naturally and subsidize the forestlands that are unlogged, Lee said.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
Taiwan will now have four additional national holidays after the Legislative Yuan passed an amendment today, which also made Labor Day a national holiday for all sectors. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) used their majority in the Legislative Yuan to pass the amendment to the Act on Implementing Memorial Days and State Holidays (紀念日及節日實施辦法), which the parties jointly proposed, in its third and final reading today. The legislature passed the bill to amend the act, which is currently enforced administratively, raising it to the legal level. The new legislation recognizes Confucius’ birthday on Sept. 28, the
MORE NEEDED: Recall drives against legislators in Miaoli’s two districts and Hsinchu’s second district were still a few thousand signatures short of the second-stage threshold Campaigners aiming to recall Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators yesterday said they expect success in 30 out of 35 districts where drives have passed the second-stage threshold, which would mark a record number of recall votes held at once. Hsinchu County recall campaigners yesterday announced that they reached the second-stage threshold in the recall effort against Legislator Lin Szu-ming (林思銘). A total of 26,414 signatures have been gathered over the past two months, surpassing the 10 percent threshold of 23,287 in Hsinchu County’s second electoral district, chief campaigner Hsieh Ting-ting (謝婷婷) said. “Our target is to gather an additional 1,500 signatures to reach
RSS