Executive Yuan, and reorganized its mission under the name of National
Council of Sustainable Development.^79
Within the NCSD framework, a biodiversity working group organizes
research, monitoring, and management. For example, it has already finalized
planning of biodiversity monitoring systems for Taiwan’s lands, wetlands, and
marine environments. Maps have been drawn up showing the distribution of
plant species and important wetlands in the Taiwan area.
The Biodiversity Working Group has prepared the Taiwan Indigenous
Edible Mushroom Germplasm Bank and completed 251 tribal surveys and
maps of indigenous traditional lands. Targeting existing property rights laws
that fail to provide legal protection of indigenous ecological knowledge, the
Working Group drafted legislation for the Legislative Yuan.^80
Taiwan’s Biodiversity National Action Plan, meeting CBD terms, was
approved in 2001. The plan mentioned goals and implementation strategies to
use biological resources sustainably; to strengthen research, education, and
training; and to promote partnerships in biodiversity conservation. The task
force to implement the national plan includes 1) the Biodiversity Working
Group of the NCSD; 2) the Biodiversity Committee of the COA; 3) the
consulting group for ecological engineering technology in the Public
Construction Commission; 4) units planning teaching improvements in
biodiversity in the Ministry of Education; and 5) National Security Council
experts in biodiversity, and research and planning staff.^81
Government Agencies
Table 4.1 shows the bureaucratic division of labor in implementing Taiwan’s
biodiversity policies.
The institutional framework for Taiwan’s biodiversity conservation policies
has serious weaknesses. First, the bureaucratic network is fragmented and
lacks integration. Also, the COA and EPA are relatively weak sectors within
the bureaucracy, compared to the development agencies such as the MOEA.
Second, several ministries conduct their own surveys and investigations on
biodiversity. The central government in Taipei lacks a system to incorporate
all the biodiversity information from ministries and develop systematic
policies. Third, government agencies have failed to reach a balance with
respect to the rights of minorities and aboriginals in the process of preserving
biodiversity. Agencies tend to plan and implement biodiversity policies from
purely scientific and engineering perspectives. Fourth, although the general
public has a strong consciousness toward the need for environmental protec-
tion, it lacks knowledge on essential steps to implement good environmental
practices. As a result, the public cannot exercise a check on the government’s
environmental performance.
90 Governance of biodiversity conservation in China and Taiwan