Aogu Wetland Forest Park, a 1,470-hectare site in Chiayi County’s Dongshi Township in southwestern Taiwan, opened Nov. 24.
“Wetlands are the lungs and kidneys of the Earth,” ROC Premier Sean C. Chen said at the opening ceremony. “They are crucial to regulating the environment, so must be protected and put to wise use.”
Taiwan will soon have more such reserves, Chen said. A wetlands protection bill drawn up by the Ministry of the Interior and reviewed three times by ministers without portfolio is set to be sent to the Cabinet next week, he added.
Aogu was reclaimed from the sea for agricultural use in 1960 by Taiwan Sugar Corp., but became a coastal wetland after being abandoned due to land subsidence and salinization. The park area is rich in biodiversity and incorporates open sea water, a river mouth, estuary, ponds, woodlands, fields and mangrove forests. As many as 208 species of birds have been spotted there, making it a birdwatcher’s paradise.
The park’s master plan, designed by a National Sun Yat-sen University team, won an excellence award from the American Society of Landscape Architects in 2011.
Chiayi County Magistrate Chang Hwa-kuan said Chiayi was proud to have abandoned the petrochemical industry to save the beautiful environment of Aogu. “Visitors can get so close to migratory fowl here that they don’t need binoculars.”
In conjunction with the park opening, Chen kicked off the 2012 Taiwan Birdathon, with 22 teams from five countries competing to spot the most bird species in 30 hours Nov. 24-25 in coastal areas and mountains across Chiayi and Yunlin counties, as well as Tainan City. (THN)