Chiayi Tree Frog Set to Lose Its Complete Home Due to Human Urban Camping

To create "one park, one feature," the Chiayi City Government plans to convert the vast Xianghu Park into an urban campground in the first half of the year, letting people camp and barbecue in the park. However, this move could affect the park's extremely delicate residents, the "Zhuluo tree frog" (Zhangixalus arvalis), prompting environmental groups and students who have long cared about ecology to state outright that the conversion is unnecessary, because "we may not lack a campground in the city, but they need many complete homes."

Why did this conversion idea arise? It began with the "awakening the power of play" concept proposed by the Director-General of the Chiayi City Government's Public Works Department, hoping that every park in Chiayi City could have its own theme, including Xianghu, Chiayi, and Wenhua parks, all listed within the scope of conversion, and a budget of tens of millions has already been allocated; among them, Xianghu Park, located at the intersection of Youai Road and Wenhua Road, is large in area, covering 26 hectares and being the second-largest park in the city, and the Public Works Department plans to convert it into a campground to attract people who want to camp and rest in the park.

Xianghu Park Has Quite a Few Zhuluo Tree Frogs Dwelling There; the Wilderness Society Hopes the Government Will Rethink

Regarding the Chiayi City Government's proposal, Hsu Su-chen, branch director of the Chiayi Branch of the Wilderness Society, which has long focused on species conservation, pointed out that the society regularly conducts habitat surveys. According to the results of transect surveys in recent years, the park contains at least sixty or more Zhuluo tree frogs, which are Class II protected species, as well as populations of organisms such as the Taiwan endemic species Stanley's narrow-mouthed frog (Microhyla heymonsi), making it a very important ecological conservation habitat. If it is converted into a campground, it will greatly affect the survival of these populations, and the government should be urged to plan in the direction of an "ecological park" rather than destroying the survival of these delicate guests.