TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) led teachers and students from National Chengchi University to plant native tree species on Arbor Day on Tuesday (March 12).
This year’s Arbor Day event was intended to inspire more people to become active in environmental protection, per CTS. The Ministry of Agriculture’s Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency hosted the event for participants to plant trees such as Japanese blue oak, woodland elaeocarpus, red machilus, Chinese dogwood, and Taiwan trident maple.
President Tsai said such actions can improve air quality, regulate the climate, and protect biological diversity. Related educational activities have also been carried out, allowing citizens to become familiar with endemic tree species.
Tsai hoped that tree planting could also stir innovation and that eco-tourism and agriculture could inspire farmers to maximize the economic value of sustainable forests. She said Taiwan's forest lands face climate challenges.
The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency designated March as a month of tree planting, with 163 planting activities across Taiwan. For more details, please visit the website.
Taiwan’s forests currently offset 7.36% of domestic greenhouse gas emissions. The agriculture ministry is planning to increase the offset of domestic forests to the equivalent of 10 million metric tons of carbon dioxide by 2040.
To reach this goal, the agency is pursuing afforestation projects (creating forests where there was no previous tree cover) and better forest management and tree farms. It is also inviting local companies to fulfill their social responsibilities.