Damage Control

This article was written by Jim Hwang and published by the Taiwan Review on March 1, 2006. It reports that Taiwan now faces a serious challenge in balancing economic development and high population density with the protection of plant and animal life.

Scientists have warned that life forms on earth are now vanishing at an estimated speed of more than 100 species a day because of mankind's abuse of the natural environment. At such a rate, which is 1,000 times faster than Mother Nature's original schedule, more than a quarter of the world's species will vanish in 50 to 100 years.

At the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, world leaders agreed on a comprehensive policy for sustainable development - to try to meet our economic needs while ensuring that we leave a healthy and viable world for our future generations.

One of the important agreements reached at this summit was the Convention on Biological Diversity, which aims to pursue "the conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of its components, and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits from the use of genetic resources". The convention proposes that each country has jurisdiction over the biological resources in its territory and has the responsibility to conserve its biodiversity.

The government in Taiwan formulated the Biodiversity Action Plan in 2002. It decided that one of the most fundamental tasks in biodiversity research, education and conservation is to establish a database. In 2005, the Taiwan Biodiversity Information Facility network was set up. It serves as Taiwan's center for exchanging information with other members of the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, which was launched in 2001 for members of the Convention on Biological Diversity to collect and share local biological data. So far, more than 45,000 entries on native Taiwanese species have been listed on the Taiwan Biodiversity Information Facility network.

It is estimated that Taiwan is home to about 150,000 species, and 30 percent of them are endemic. However, because Taiwan does not have enough taxonomists - scientists who specialize in many different fields - many species remain unidentified. Many people prefer to become biotechnologists, instead of taxonomists, because biotechnology has more commercial potential and often enjoys more resources.

Scientists also know little about many species that have been identified - their behaviors, populations and roles in the ecosystem. While many private organizations and amateur individuals have conducted plenty of studies, their research data has not yet been subjected to professional analysis.

Nonetheless, people in Taiwan today are learning the importance of biodiversity. It is about the protection of the whole ecosystem, instead of only a few "star" species. An prominent notion is to keep the HIPPO away - the major reasons that cause the decline in biodiversity. HIPPO stands for Habitat destruction, Invasive species, Population growth, Pollution and Over-consumption.

Taiwan has designated nearly one-fifth of its land area as nature reserves. They need sufficient manpower and strict law enforcement. In this case, community involvement is important, so the ideal situation is to have the nature reserves accommodate the needs of local residents. The Tanayiku Natural Park in central Taiwan's Alishan (Mt Ali) is a good example, where the local community have organized a voluntary patrol team that protects the creeks from being overfished. In turn, local residents see handsome profits generated from the cleaning and parking fees gathered from visitors. The Tanayiku Natural Park was opened in 1995 and has since become a paradigm for Taiwan's environmentalists and community activists alike.

Still, conflicts are greater when it comes to the conservation of Taiwan's marine biodiversity. Turning a number of coastal areas into marine reserves means direct and serious conflict with the fishing industry.