The TSC would proceed with whatever resolution was reached through the Tainan County Government's mediation between the corporation, conservation groups and local residents, Yu said at the Sankandian sugar mill, located in Yongkang City, Tainan County, the report stated.
Yu stressed the TSC should protect Taiwan's environment while creating value for its shareholders. The TSC had asked the developer to draft a new plan that would be environmentally friendly, he added.
The 10 hectares of unused land has become a forest and natural habitat for the Rhacophorus arvalis, also called the farmland green three frog, since the mill discontinued operations in 1990. Under a development plan, nine hectares of the area were ready to be turned into a residential community that could accommodate 600 households, thus creating concern among wildlife conservation groups.
The farmland green tree frog was first identified in 1995. Until recently, it was found only in scattered areas of Yunlin, Chiayi and Tainan Counties in central Taiwan. Its Chinese name means "Jhuluo tree frog," in which "Jhuluo" is an old designation for those three counties.
The preparation work for construction, which included "clearing random trees for measuring the boundary of the plot," drew public attention to the existence of an estimated 2,000 frogs living in the Sankandian sugar mill property, according to an in-depth report by the Public Television Service July 13.
After noting their mass existence June 27, several environmental groups mounted a rescue campaign June 28, saying the area was the largest and southernmost habitat for this tree frog. More than 300 frogs had been relocated through an ex-situ conservation effort. Conservationists were worried, however, that moving the endangered species to a new location might lead to serious ecological problems elsewhere, and may not be the best solution, since the frogs' habitat took three to five years to form, according to the PTS program.
Rescue-team members and Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Huang Wei-cher called a press conference July 13, where Huang asked the government to designate Sankandian as a conservation area, the CNA reported the same day.
Jhuluo tree frogs were not listed as a protected species because they were identified only recently, but researchers stated they should receive protection. There were 35 amphibious species in Taiwan, of which 11 were endemic, and the Jhuluo tree frog was one of them, Lin Chun-fu said July 23. Lin is a researcher at the Endemic Species Research Institute under the Council of Agriculture, who also took part in the press conference.
There were not many frogs in existence and their low-altitude habitats easily faced destruction by human activities, Lin said, adding that "the group in the sugar mill area was the largest found to date after it was identified."
This species depends largely on trees for their livelihood and reproduction, so they are loyal to their home, and destruction of trees threatens their existence.
Write to June Tsai at june@mail.gio.gov.tw