May 26, 2008

Green Party Taiwan's Su-hsin Tsui addressing the Global Greens Congress on 3 May 2008 in São Paulo, Brazil, on the future of the Global Greens: Taiwan’s Perspective, Taiwan’s Role (Photos courtesy of Ting Ting)

A 22-member Green Party Taiwan delegation recently returned to the island from the second congress of the Global Greens that was held May 1-5 in São Paulo, Brazil. The first Global Greens congress was held in Canberra, Australia, in 2001, and produced the Global Greens' Charter, while the main document to come out of the São Paulo Conference was 21 Points for the 21st Century.

The Global Greens is an organization comprised of over 80 members from nearly as many countries with its administration being divided into four regional groups: Americas, Europe, Africa and Asia-Pacific. The most active members are Green political parties, but other civic organizations are members and the Global Greens seek to include all groups that subscribe to the core values of ecological wisdom, non violence, social justice, sustainability, respect for diversity and participatory democracy.

Five major topics discussed at the congress were sustainable cities, climate change, post-Kyoto, future of the Global Greens, and biofuels versus biodiversity. In addition to adopting the 21 Points, the congress passed resolutions supporting the peoples' struggle in Tibet, ban on nuclear power as a response to climate change, and continued support for Ingrid Betancourt, the Colombian activist who was running for president on the Green Party ticket when abducted more than six years ago.

Upon their return to Taiwan, the delegation held a press conference on Monday, May 12, which was quite well received by the press.

Robin Winkler, founder and director of the Taiwan Wild at Heart Legal Defense Association, was active in the planning and execution of the visit. Winkler broke his three-anda-half-year "boycott" of international travel to join the delegation. During a debriefing for Wild colleagues on 16 May 2008, he explained his recent involvement in the Green Party Taiwan:

"Being punched by the head of Yunlin County's Assembly while the manager of Formosa Plastic's local plant looked on and facing ridicule and jeers from the media, Taiwan's EPA and other government agencies was one of the more traumatic experiences of my life. It forced me to reconsider the strategies of the environmental and social movements in the face of such an organized, well-funded and anarchic alliance of government, elected representatives, business and academics.

"World wide the movements face similar problems, however Taiwan differs in that we are very isolated from the rest of the world--not the world's multinational corporations or trade and investment delegations, but from a vast resource of dedicated people and organizations that will no longer allow the world to go on "business as usual". These groups have a lot to offer Taiwan, and with our connections to Green Parties around the world, we may actually be able to bring some pressure on business and government in Taiwan to reform its ways and to open up to public participation in important issues."

April 23, 2008

By C.M.

The official Public Hearing on the Hushan Reservoir Ecological Conservation Measures will be held at 9 a.m. this Saturday (April 26) in Douliu Town Hall (38 FuwenRoad 府文路, Douliu City, Yunlin County, map in Chinese). This follows a preparatory hearing held last month where stakeholders met for a test run and to thrash out details such as the main focus of the discussion and the level of transparency and detail that was expected of the reservoir developer (the Central Region Water Resources Office (CRWRO)¹) and Taiwan Endemic Species Research Insitute (TESRI ), the body commissioned to oversee and co-implement the Conservation Measures.

The official purpose of the meeting is to explain the current status of the Hushan Reservoir Ecological Conservation Measures, the design and implementation of which were one of the conditions upon which the project was approved. Environmental groups, experts, academics and local community representatives are free to attend, or "participate" as the public notice calls it, although public explanation meetings and hearings for EIAs in Taiwan usually allow only a very passive form of participation by the public, something better described as consultation of the public and the provision of an opportunity to comment, but not to directly influence decision-making.

April 08, 2008

Matsu's Fish Conservation Union (MFCU), of which Wild at Heart is a member, will be holding its first weekend training courses of 2008 starting this Saturday. The first two courses (on the 12th-13th and 19th-20th) aim to train a total of 40 volunteers to contribute to land-based observation records and to assist in providing interpretation services near the habitat of Taiwan's Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins. There will be a minimum 10 hours of volunteer work expected after completion of the course, but there will be no limit to further participation by dedicated volunteers in this long-term project. The training courses will include talks by experts in the dolphins, their ecology, habitat and the threats they face, as well as on-site practice in land-based observation.

Read the full details below or see the MFCU's Chinese and English blogs.

April 01, 2008

The Green Party Taiwan and Wild at Heart Legal Defense Association will sponsor a discussion on vegetarianism's role in dealing with global warming on 1 April 2008, at 12F, #86 Chongcing S. Rd. Sec. 1 Taipei, Taiwan from 2-4 pm. The public is invited to attend.