Wildlife Conservation in Taiwan
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Abstract
Taiwan is located on the Tropic of Cancer and is separated from the mainland by the Taiwan Strait, which has a minimum width of 130 km. It has an area of 36,000 km 2 and is dominated by rugged mountainous terrain with remarkable diversity of fauna and flora. More than a century ago, naturalists Swinhoe and Wallace conducted surveys of wildlife in Taiwan, and they recorded about 36 species of mammals and 187 species of birds (Swinhoe 1863; Wallace 1880). According to recent surveys, Taiwan harbors nearly 4000 species of vascular plants, 61 species of mammals, 400 species of birds, 92 species of reptiles, 30 species of amphibians, 140 species of freshwater fish, and an estimated 50,000 insect species, including 400 species of butterflies (Yang 1993; Boufford et al. 1996; P. H. J. Su, unpublished data). Over the last decade, the government of the Republic of China on Taiwan has been keenly concerned about the rapid industrial growth and its impact on natural resources (Chang et al. 1989; M. H. Sun, unpublished data). To date, 6 national parks, 18 nature reserves, and 24 nature protected areas have been designated to ensure protection for wildlife and their habitats (Yang 1993). The protected area covers 440,290 ha, 12.2% of the total land area of Taiwan. During the last 6 years, major wildlife conservation programs have been in progress. We present our evaluation of the achievements of the government of Taiwan and the problems it faces in implementing its policies. Recently Lost Mammals