The Taipei City Government yesterday broke ground for the second phase of the Yongchunpi Wetland Park (永春陂生態濕地公園) in the city’s Hsinyi District (信義) in a bid to increase biodiversity and improve the Sishou Mountain trail.
The park, the former Yongchunpi military camp owned by the Ministry of National Defense, was transferred to the city government after sitting idle for 10 years.
The city originally planned to build more than 2,000 public housing units on the 3.43 hectare plot, but after collecting suggestions from experts, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) in July 2015 announced that the nation’s first urban wetland park would be established on the plot.
Photo: CNA
The first phase of the park’s construction was completed and it was opened to the public in September last year. It includes two ecological ponds, an ecological trail, two observation platforms and an observation classroom.
At yesterday’s groundbreaking ceremony, Ko said the city government bought the plot for about about NT$600 million (US$19.73 million) and spent about NT$4 million on the first phase, adding that it plans to spend about NT$68 million on the second phase.
The park would cover 3.98 hectares when completed and would be incorporated into the Sishou Mountain ecosystem, also serving as a flood detention pond, he said.
Ko said the wetland would reduce the city’s urban heat island effect — which means the metropolitan area is much warmer than surrounding rural areas — and improve the surrounding environment.
The park would provide diverse habitats for plants and animals; increase water holding capacity by 4,895m3 and detention pond storage volume by 1,207m3; and is estimated to absorb about 57 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually, the Taipei Public Works Department’s Geotechnical Engineering Office said.
Ko said a borough warden told him that many visitors come to the Sishou Mountain trail, adding that he has instructed Taipei Department of Public Works Commissioner Pong Cheng-sheng (彭振聲) to make a comprehensive plan to integrate the park, the trail and the nearby public restrooms to improve the experience of visitors.
The park is expected to be completed by October next year, the office said.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
More than half of the bamboo vipers captured in Tainan in the past few years were found in the city’s Sinhua District (新化), while other districts had smaller catches or none at all. Every year, Tainan captures about 6,000 snakes which have made their way into people’s homes. Of the six major venomous snakes in Taiwan, the cobra, the many-banded krait, the brown-spotted pit viper and the bamboo viper are the most frequently captured. The high concentration of bamboo vipers captured in Sinhua District is puzzling. Tainan Agriculture Bureau Forestry and Nature Conservation Division head Chu Chien-ming (朱健明) earlier this week said that the
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
RSS