Zou Minhui Environmental Information Center
Taiwan's "List of Conservation Wild Animals" was revised in 2014, and then revised in 2016, adding 201 species of wild animals in one go, and under the long-term appeal of conservation groups, two kinds of Taiwan's endemic corals "Formosa pseudo-silk coral" and "Chaishan multi-cup hole coral" were included for the first time, which were endangered as soon as they were discovered, causing concern.
Today (29) the Committee of Agriculture completed the "Conservation Wildlife List" announcement amendment, a total of 199 new species were added, both corals were retained, and the burmese python, a popular species in the pet market, decided not to be included in the list for the time being.
Chai Shan multi-cup hole coral ecology. Photo by Chen Zhaolun.
Formosa pseudosiderastrea formosa is mainly distributed in the waters of Kenting Wanlitong, Taitung Ki-yi and Lanyu Coconut Oil Village, with each group having less than 200 groups. Polycyanthus chiashanensis is mainly distributed in the chaishan waters of Xizi Bay, Kaohsiung, with fewer than 50 groups. Both are in poor habitat conditions due to natural disturbances, man-made activities and development behaviors.
Since 2012, the Taiwan Association for Environmental Information and Academia Sinica researcher Chen Zhaolun have been concerned about the survival of these two corals and have called on the Forest Service to include conservation species as soon as possible. After five years of hard work, it was 2017, and finally the good news came out! In addition to affirming the announcement of the Committee of Agriculture, the Taiwan Environmental Information Association also hopes that government units can truly protect their habitat in the future.
Formosa pseudo-silk coral group. Photo by Zhuang Yaoyang.
Following 2014, the Committee of Agriculture (COA) went to (2016) to revise the "List of Conservation Wild Animals", and it is expected to add 201 species of wild animals, in addition to the domestic marine species Formosa pseudo-silk coral, Chaishan multi-cup hole coral, but also added some popular species in the domestic pet market, such as Yaoshan crocodile lizard, Burmese python, pig-nosed turtle and other reptiles.
However, at a wildlife conservation advisory committee meeting last December, members decided that the current kinmen county government's conservation and management measures for Burmese pythons were appropriate, so the resolution was temporarily excluded from the list of conservation wild animals. In the future, if there is a threat of conservation, the Kinmen County Government will be asked to coordinate with the Forest Service.
The list of protected wild animals is reviewed and amended once every two years in principle. The amendment will take effect on May 1, and 199 conservation wild species may not be bought or sold or displayed in public places without the consent of the competent authorities.
The Golden Gate Burmese python that crosses the forest road. Image source: Courtesy of the Forest Service.
The other 197 species on the appendix list are included in accordance with the 15th and 16th General Assembly amendments of the Washington Convention (CITES), such as the trilinear tidal turtle with origin in southern Chinese mainland and the Indochina Peninsula, the Burmese rhombus turtle, all species of the closed-shelled turtle genus, the yellow-headed temple turtle, the Asian turtle, the pig-nosed turtle and the Borneo river turtle.
The Committee of Agriculture said that the high volume of smuggling of these species in the world has great pressure on the survival of their wild populations, and some of the above species have a trade (export) limit of "zero" for wild populations in the Norms of the Washington Convention, so there will be no related trade transactions in the world. However, animals such as The Japanese stone turtle, all species of razer family, and all species of the forest borer family have existential threats due to serious land use development in their original habitats or competition with other exotic species.
In addition to the new species, the amendment also divides the list into seven categories (mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, insects and other species of animals) according to animal species, which is convenient for the public to consult.