TiT environment:Wetlands and Water Birds in Taiwan

Wetlands and Water Birds in Taiwan

By Roger C.J. Wang

Taiwan is an island of diverse geography. The island, which straddles the Tropic of Cancer, is in both semi-tropical and tropical climate zones. In addition to the Central Mountain Range that extends from north to south for some 270 km of the island's total 394 km, Taiwan is made up of volcanic mountains, foothills, tablelands, and coastal plains and basins. The island is also home to many wetlands. Swamps, coastal areas, marshes, lakes, ponds, and estuaries all fall under

Over half of the world's existing population of black-faced spoonbills winter at the Tsengwen River estuary in southern Taiwan the wetland category. An estuary is made up of a mixture of fresh and salt water and is the most prevalent type of wetland in Taiwan. Of the many complex ecological terms, wetland is one of the most straightforward. In Chinese, as in English, the parts that combine to form the term also have to do with water and land. Specifically, the Chinese term for wetland Аг¦a is formed by the characters Аг for wet and ¦a for earth.

Striking a pose--the cormorant is a water bird that relies on wetlands for survival The most productive habitat
Wetlands act as bridges from sea to land, creating a surprisingly fertile area in which flora and fauna thrive. In recent decades wetlands have been erroneously considered 'wastelands' because they were thought incapable of supporting life. A wetland at first glance doesn't look like the place where a flourishing ecosystem would occur. Submerged in water, wetlands seem to lack the fresh air to support life while a coastal wetland's alt content would appear too high for non-salt-water species. Furthermore, tidal changes which cause extreme temperature swings would lead the untrained eye to believe that they are prohibitive to survival. In fact, wetlands are the most productive habitats in the world--even more so than tropical forests.

Wetlands are home to a variety of plants including reeds and mangroves. These types of plants thrive in wetland environments and provide enough food for the entire ecosystem. The ecosystem supports a plethora of life-forms including insects, amphibians, small mammals, fish, and birds. Of the animals found in a wetland, birds are by far the most noticeable. The majority of birds found in these areas belong to the wader family and include herons, egrets, sandpipers, and plovers, to name a few. Most of these birds stop in Taiwan when migrating from northern areas such as Siberia, Manchuria, Japan, and Korea on the way to Indonesia or the Philippines--their southern wintering areas.

Displaying grace and beauty:the cattle egret(left) and little egret(right) Black-faced spoonbills
The wetlands of Taiwan are important stopping grounds along the East Asian migratory route. While some migratory waders simply stop to rest and feed before continuing their long journey, others winter in Taiwan. The most famous wintering bird is the endangered black-faced spoonbill (Platalea minor). This is an egret-like wader averaging 73 cm in height. In recent years, only about 400 black-faced spoonbills have been reported world-wide, and over 250 of these birds winter in Taiwan. Almost all of them stay in the Tsengwen River estuary, found in the town of Chiku, Tainan county.

In 1992, the black-faced spoonbill was formally recorded in the Asian Waterfowl Census conducted by the Asian Wetland Bureau. In the same year, the Tainan county government decided to build an industrial area where these birds roost. As the proposed plan would destroy the entire roosting area, wild bird societies all across the island united to protest against the plan. Unfortunately, just as discussion was taking place, a black-faced spoonbill was found dead from shotgun wounds, and another was badly wounded. It is strongly suspected that the plan to build an industrial area and the bird killing were directly related.

The furor drew national and international attention to the proposal. Under pressure, the Central Government withdrew the Tainan county government's industrial development plan. But this was not the last challenge the black-faced spoonbill would face. Soon after, two large companies attempted to build an oil refinery and steel mill on the wetland north of the birds roosting area. This time, almost every environmental NGO (non-governmental organization) in Taiwan came together to protect the threatened wetland. The threat to the black-faced spoonbill, which was barely saved by the Environmental Protection Administration, has served as a warning to all about the need to protect the habitats of water birds.

The Eurasian curlew Competing for space
The struggle to save remaining wetlands from development projects is a complex one. Industries have always been attracted to Taiwan's west coast and its low plains--the rest of the island is mostly mountainous and thus prohibitive toward development. Furthermore, wetlands are particularly attractive to factories which rely on easy access to water. Rapid industrialization without an initial concern for the environment has had tremendous negative effects upon animals and the habitats they rely upon. Ever-increasing measures are being taken by the government and organizations such as the Chinese Wild Bird Federation (CWBF) as they work together to protect both wetlands and their inhabitants.

For more information about wetlands and waterbirds, please contact the CWBF at (02) 706-7219 or write e-mail to: cwbf@iis.sinica.edu.tw. The organization also has a World Wide Web homepage on the net: http://com5.iis.sinica.edu.tw:8000/-cwbf.