Taiwan’s newest forests

How much trees really help to combat climate change is unclear, however. Woodlands may or may not have a higher albedo (the tendency to reflect sunlight back out into space) than built-up areas or plots of bare soil. Moreover, different species sequester carbon at very different rates.

Before his election victory, Ma Ying-jeou promised he would push for an eight-year, 60,000-hectare lowland afforestation project. This would represent a massive expansion of the government’s existing lowland tree-planting efforts. Between 2001 and 2007, around 10,000 hectares of flat land was afforested.

Previous afforestation efforts concentrated on vulnerable slopelands, the goals being soil and water conservation and landslide prevention. Mature trees can draw up 100 liters of water in the first hour after a thunderstorm, and this ability to store water is especially important for Taiwan. The island receives far more rain per square kilometer than most of the world, but in terms of rainfall per capita, it gets less than one-sixth of the global average.

The current lowland afforestation scheme was conceived as a way of helping farmers adjust to Taiwan’s joining of the World Trade Organization. Market liberalization was expected to lead to lower prices for farm produce, which in turn would cause some farmers to abandon their fields. Lowland afforestation is therefore a way of both helping local farmers and increasing tree cover.

Participating landowners are required to sign 20-year contracts with the Forestry Bureau. During the 20-year period, they are paid a total of NT$530,000 per hectare, so long as they keep their side of the bargain.

According to the Third Survey of Forest Resources and Land Use, which was completed in 1995, 58.5 percent of Taiwan’s land area is covered by trees. More than half of Taiwan’s forests are hardwood. Since then the percentage of Taiwan covered by forest has barely changed. Some patches of land have been reforested, but several old stands have been destroyed by fire or landslides.

Taiwan’s newest forests are found mainly in central, southern and eastern Taiwan. Some plots near the Tainan County (台南縣) town of Sinhua (新化) are typical. Three patches of land, immediately east of the Southern Second Freeway (南二高) and totaling 29.7 hectares, are particularly easy to access.

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