URGENT!
Petition against Installing Solar Panels at Zhiben Wetlands:
Protect the Last Wild Alluvial Fan in Eastern Taiwan
The largest solar power plant is substituting the largest natural wetlands in the east coast of Taiwan!
Along with a seasonal closed mouth river, Zhiben Wetlands feature a mosaic landscape, including grassy marshes, coastal forests, shrubs, grasslands, beaches, spring-fed ponds, etc.
Zhiben Wetlands cover all the way from the river mouth to the lowland forests, which combination reaches high niche diversity.
Zhiben Wetlands meet A1 criteria of Bird Life International, being a significant staging site of East Asia migratory birds.
Over 55 families, 213 species of wild birds were observed, including 51 protected species.
photo by 曾聖元(1998)
The wetlands were also the traditional territories of the Katratripulr community of Puyuma tribe.
During the 17th century, the tribe ran into the Dutch and named the place they heard the very first gunshot “Kinkuwangan,” meaning “the place of gunshot” in Puyuma language.
The traditional naming of each site connects to their tribal life closely.
Such wetlands were bid by Vena Energy (https://www.venaenergy.com/) in 2018 according to Taitung County Government’s tender to locate the largest solar power plant in Asia. The tender would cover 161 hectares of the wetlands with photovoltaic panels.
Zhiben wetlands were chosen and tendered without any consultation of the tribe and environmental organizations, lacking of ecological environment impact assessment.
Concurrently, the Committee of Regional Planning, Ministry of Interior will practice the censorship of this Zhiben Solar Power Project.
Once the project is approved, the solar panel arrays would be installed all over the wetlands, devastating the wetlands. Then it’s too late to repent.
There are many alternative choices for solar power, but we have only one Zhiben Wetlands.
Through this petition drive, we wish to gather your voices and power to preserve Zhiben Wetlands and cease the improper solar power project implemented by the government, resolving the contradictory created between ecology and green energy.
This petition would be delivered to the local and central administration offices.
Please be keen on our movement and help share the messages in order to make a difference!
We’ll be thankful for your participation and hope we can get more than 10,000 signatures by October, 2020.
Let’s go for it!
Promoter: The Society of Wilderness
For further information, please refer to the page of “Saving Zhiben Wetlands.”
