TAIPEI (TVBS News) — In a significant move to align with global biodiversity protection standards, Taiwan's Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency (農業部林業及自然保育署), a specialized bureau under the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA, 農業部), unveiled its ambitious "Conservation Coexistence Land Certification Program" (保育共生地認證方案) on Friday (June 6). The initiative represents Taiwan's response to the Kunming-Montreal Framework's call for "Other effective area-based conservation measures" (OECMs), a key conservation approach endorsed by the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity that encourages protection of biodiversity outside traditional protected areas. This strategic program aims to expand Taiwan's conservation footprint while balancing ecological protection with sustainable human activities on the densely populated island.
The agency's Director-General Lin Hua-ching (林華慶) outlined the program's innovative approach during the launch ceremony, drawing a clear distinction between this new initiative and Taiwan's conventional protected areas system. Unlike traditional nature reserves that impose strict regulatory constraints on land usage, Lin explained that the certification program embraces a more flexible conservation model. Landowners who participate will commit to long-term biodiversity protection measures while still maintaining the economic viability of their properties. This balanced approach seeks to preserve ecological values without sacrificing the social and cultural significance of the lands, creating what conservation biologists often refer to as "working landscapes" where human activities and nature protection can coexist harmoniously.
According to official data presented at the launch, Taiwan's existing network of legally designated protected areas encompasses 19.2% of the island's territory, primarily concentrated in what conservationists call the "Central Mountain Range Conservation Corridor" (中央山脈保育廊道) — a critical ecological spine running north to south that safeguards Taiwan's mountainous forest ecosystems. The conservation gap analysis conducted by the agency revealed a troubling pattern: Taiwan's densely inhabited lowland regions, fertile agricultural plains, and developed coastal zones — areas largely outside government-owned forest lands — continue to experience severe habitat degradation and fragmentation. These anthropogenic pressures have progressively diminished biodiversity and undermined valuable ecosystem services such as water purification, flood control, and pollination that these landscapes historically provided.
The certification program builds upon the agency's long-standing conservation efforts in human-dominated landscapes, which began in 2009 with projects focused on rehabilitating critical agricultural ecosystems in Taiwan's lowlands. This approach gained momentum in 2011 when officials introduced the "Satoyama Initiative" (里山倡議), a conservation concept originating in Japan that recognizes the biodiversity value of traditional rural landscapes. Director-General Lin explained that this philosophy promotes community stewardship of natural resources while developing sustainable agricultural practices that maintain ecological functions. The new certification will be available to diverse landholders, including government bodies like the National Property Administration (國產署), major telecommunications provider Chunghwa Telecom (CHT, 中華電信), and the state-owned energy company CPC Corporation, Taiwan (中油公司), particularly for their currently underutilized land holdings that could serve conservation purposes.
Looking toward future conservation milestones, agency officials presented ambitious projections during the launch event, estimating that the comprehensive implementation of this certification program, combined with Taiwan's existing protected areas network and designated forest reserves, could potentially safeguard up to 38% of the island's total land area for biodiversity conservation by 2030. This target significantly exceeds the global "30 by 30" conservation goal established in the Kunming-Montreal Framework, which aims for countries worldwide to protect 30% of their territories by the end of this decade. For Taiwan, an island roughly the size of Maryland and Delaware combined but with steep mountain terrain and 23 million inhabitants, achieving such extensive conservation coverage while maintaining economic development represents both an ambitious commitment and a complex land-use challenge. ◼