volumes, is the most comprehensive evaluation of the status of wild fauna and
flora in China. One of the directors of the project commented on the process:
‘The inventory process has been so haphazard and in the past there was no
movement. Government officials didn’t think it was important. The Red List is the
first baseline that we have. Yet there is no broad-based effort to do comprehensive
inventory work. It can’t be done by individual scientists working alone.’^13Notably, the process used to develop the China Red Listwas participatory (at
least among recognized scientific experts) and transparent.
Identification Process in Taiwan
Taiwan did not start its classification work on endangered species until the
early 1980s. Based on Article 49 of the Cultural Heritage Preservation Act of
1981 and Article 69 of the Enforcement Rules of the Cultural Heritage
Preservation Act, 2001, 34 valuable and rare animals or plants that are unique
to Taiwan or whose species members are few in number or in danger of
extinction were listed from 1984–88.
Since the promulgation of the Wildlife Conservation Law in 1989, the
Council of Agriculture (COA) has added at least 465 species to the list of
endangered species. This list includes species of mammals, birds, amphibians,
reptiles, insects, and other invertebrates.^14 The COA designated the Wildlife
Conservatory Advisory Committee (WCAC) as the responsible authority for
identifying and determining the classification of protected species. The
Wildlife Conservation Law (1989) requires that academic experts, private
conservation organization members, aborigines, and other non-governmental
representatives comprise not less than two-thirds of the 31 members of the
advisory group.
The classification of endangered species and ecology Geographic
Information System (GIS) databases in Taiwan generally is based on the
1994 standards of evaluation of the World Conservation Union (IUCN).
The endemic species research institute of COA also uses schema from the
United States, New Zealand and Australia; it submits an evaluation system
proposal to the COA for classification of species. The Center for Wildlife
Conservation and Management of National Pingtung University of Science
and Technology provides an Information Network for Species and Products
Identification; it is funded by COA to assist in implementation of wildlife
conservation.^15
As we note in Chapter 4, protective categories for animal species are more
comprehensive than those for plants, and the total number covered, around
2000, is greater than found on China’s national list. The Wildlife Conservation
Law (1989) arranges protected species into three categories: 1) endangered
Current status of species and ecosystems 43