Linden wood shiitake and wood ear mushrooms, Jinsilian (Goodyera procera), and beekeeping in forests as part of forest-based economy; first round of applications open to anyone, not just farmers
The "forest-based economy" officially opened for applications on April 18. Forestry farmers with private forest land or land afforested under lease, or any member of the public interested in engaging in forest-based economy, may apply as long as they are the landowner or the lessee of the forest land. Lin Huaqing, Director-General of the Forestry Bureau, stated that the crop categories open for application in the first phase are linden wood shiitake and wood ear mushrooms, Jinsilian (Goodyera procera), and beekeeping in forests; coffee and Camellia are possible categories for the second phase.
He also stated that if indigenous communities have traditional forest-based crops that have been cultivated for a long time, they are also welcome to submit proposals to the Forestry Bureau, and the Forestry Bureau will coordinate with the Taiwan Forestry Research Institute, improvement stations, or the Agriculture and Food Agency to conduct relevant research and formulate cultivation guidelines, so that mountains and forests and humans can coexist and prosper together through diversified management.
First wave open: linden wood shiitake and wood ear mushrooms, Jinsilian (Goodyera procera), beekeeping in forests
As for the application process, it is divided into three application units based on different land management situations. Indigenous reserved land, private land, and public leased land are accepted by township (town, city, district) offices, with local county and city governments responsible for review; university experimental forest leased land is accepted and reviewed by university experimental forest management offices; national forest leased land under the Council of Agriculture or other central competent authorities is accepted and reviewed by the respective forest district management offices of the Forestry Bureau.
However, he added that some land, although regarded as forestry land, has not yet been designated for use, or has land use considerations such as national land conservation, and is currently not included in the scope of forest-based economy applications. If a forestry farmer's land has not yet been designated, an application for land use approval must be made before forest-based economy activities can be carried out.
The items currently open in the first wave are linden wood shiitake and wood ear mushrooms, Jinsilian (Goodyera procera), and beekeeping in forests. Li added that mountain pepper (makauy), which was discussed earlier, grows naturally in forests, and there is currently no artificial set of methods or regulations for industrial-scale cultivation. Therefore, although it is a product of the forest-based economy and the public is allowed to harvest it themselves, it currently cannot be regulated and applied for under "relevant management operations for the forest-based economy."
As for how to prevent forest-based economy activities from damaging afforestation? Li stated that the review authorities for the forest-based economy will carry out subsequent supervision.