State-owned forest land opens up for conditional harvesting of precious timber such as red cypress, wild vegetables and windfall wood

In order to respect the living habits of indigenous peoples coexisting with the forest, the Council of Agriculture of the Executive Yuan and the Council of Indigenous Peoples (CIP) jointly issued yesterday (the 4th) the "Regulations on the Harvesting of Forest Products by Indigenous Peoples in Accordance with Living Customs." In accordance with Article 15, Paragraph 4 of the Forestry Act, based on traditional culture, ceremonial rituals, and non-profit personal use and other living habits and needs, as well as past traditional customs, indigenous peoples will in the future be able to legally harvest wild plants, fungi, and other forest products in state-owned forest land and public forest land.

In response to outside doubts that the new law would permit the felling of precious tree species such as red cypress, the Forestry BureauLi Yun-chung, head of the Afforestation Production Section, said,For precious timbers (such as red cypress) or rare and precious plants protected under the Cultural Heritage Preservation Act (such as the Qingshui juniper), a proposal must be submitted by the tribe and the Forestry Bureau must conduct an on-site assessment to confirm that the quantity used will not affect the species before it can be taken.

As for driftwood and windfall wood, regardless of whether they are precious timber or rare plants, they must be applied for by the tribe before they can be taken, and they are not open to individuals. Thinning wood (moderate thinning is required to maintain forest land health) belongs to planted forests and is not open to the public, nor does it fall under these regulations.

Outside doubts over whether this encourages illegal logging? Forestry Bureau: management will still continue

In response to outside doubts over whether opening up state-owned and public forest land for indigenous harvesting will lead to precious tree species being illegally felled, or being misused by mountain rats? Li Yun-chung said the purpose of this law is to encourage indigenous peoples toward tribal self-governance and to restore harvesting rights. Illegal logging or felling of precious timber is not within the scope approved by this law. "Whether or not this regulation exists, mountain rats who illegally log will still illegally log," and enforcement will continue.

In response to past incidents of "felling trees first and then disguising them as driftwood," will opening up driftwood collection to indigenous peoples lead to an increase in illegal logging cases? Li said driftwood still must be applied for by the tribe, while illegal logging must be handled through criminal procedures.