Qiu Jinghui / go! To find the diversity of the countryside together-the wish of the 22nd Yellow Butterfly Festival

587 Share Exploration: From Forest Conservation to Farmland Ecosystem Restoration

Since the 1960s, agricultural production has been pursuing efficiency, excessive use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and the result of the rezoning of agricultural land, agricultural roads and waterways has also caused the species that used to be common in agricultural ecosystems to be almost extinct. How the conservation work in the Yellow Butterfly Valley extends to the Meinung Plain is also a matter of concern to everyone.

five years ago, the 19th annual yellow butterfly festival was held under the theme of "there is water, there is farmland, and there is always life in my village." in cooperation with three elementary schools in the upper, middle, and lower reaches of the meinung river, it set up natural and cultural societies such as spring springs. through the cultivation of ecological seeds for children, it gradually launched various conservation programs to strengthen the cultural foundation of the community ecology. A series of developments with the theme of "Lishan" indirectly triggered the investigation of farmland ecosystem by the Agricultural Bureau of Kaohsiung City Government in Meinung, hoping to extend the front line of habitat conservation from forest to farmland.

After a year of solid research and discussion, the annual cultivation of Meinung, common and special species, were finally collected in a volume called "Cultivate the Rich Field." During the investigation period, there was also a water conservation project to renovate the Longdu Wild Stream. Because there were still intact riparian forests on both sides of the wild stream, which were habitats of rare species such as ridged drum and amber dragonfly, and were also close to outdoor teaching places for school children, coordination and communication promoted the correction project of the Water Conservation Bureau to reduce the ecological impact area, and also promoted the establishment of the "Yongquan Stream Inspection Society" in the elementary school to continuously pay attention to the wild stream.

Explore wild streams, observe native macrobrachium, rice shrimp, Taiwan stone carp, horse mouth fish, etc., and strengthen the conservation genes of rural children.

Last year, the Agriculture Bureau extended the "Meinongli Mountain Assistance Programme for Farmers to Implement Eco-friendly Agricultural Practices" to assist farmers who identify with friendly farming to obtain the "Green Protection Mark". With the efforts of the counseling team, up to now, eight farmers have been assisted to pass the certification of green protection standard. These include: Yuanmeng Garden Natural Ecological Vegetable Garden, My Au Ha Tea Garden, Kuohong Farm, Jingxin Cultivated Food Garden, Tongxin Garden, Friendly Farmland, Youkuai Field, and Lung To Elementary School.

In order to exchange more biological methods of control, Professor Sun Yuan-hsun's ornithological laboratory at Pingtung University was invited to provide teaching and observation of raptor habitat practices, attracting black-winged kites to stay at fixed locations, replacing rat poison with biological control, and reducing the incidence of raptor secondary poisoning. Subsequently, the Environmental Protection Bureau of the Kaohsiung City government further invested in establishing raptor habitats in seven green protected fields. In order to recover pheasants that were once common in rural areas, Liu Hsiao-shen and Huang Shu-mei rented a field next to Meinung Lake to create a habitat for Lingpo Fairy and add ecological highlights to Meinung Lake. Whether pheasants, which peck at insects in wild lotus fields, can become a symbol of wild lotus conservation remains to be seen.

Pheasants love to eat insects in the wild lotus fields. How to bring them back to Meinung Lake and preserve a hope for the restoration of Meinung farmland ecosystem is the goal of future efforts. (Photo/Lian Weizhi) Overture: Yellow Butterfly Festival and Biodiversity

In response to CBD COP14, the conservation trend breaks away from traditional conservation methods of species and habitats, and emphasizes the connection with local culture and society. After the first preparatory discussion for this year's Yellow Butterfly Festival, it was decided to invite Wang Chengzhi, Secretary General of the Taiwan Wild Hope Nature Communication Society, who is deeply involved in conservation and dissemination, and Dr. Dong Jingsheng, who is promoting the Ark Project of the National Botanical Garden, to share new biodiversity perspectives as reference for Meinung Conservation Action Plan.

The organisation of the Yellow Butterfly Festival biodiversity activities can be traced back to the 17th Yellow Butterfly Festival "Yellow Butterfly Valley Biodiversity Forum", which invited conservation partners who had conducted bat, fish, frog, tree and bird research in Yellow Butterfly Valley to share their research findings with the public on World Environment Day. Since then, there have been annual "biodiversity" themed activities, whether indoor lectures, outdoor visits, ecological experience, etc., are an important part of the Yellow Butterfly Festival public ecological education.

This year's Biodiversity themed activities include five lectures such as "Participatory Ethnobotanical Conservation","Experience Sharing of Pheasant Habitat Management in Lake Meinung","Hometown Notes: Everyday Diversity in Meinung", and four series of activities such as "Stream Tour" and "Night View of Moths", which are planned as a series of thematic activities such as Forest Concert.

Silent Meeting: A Stage for Weaving the Diversity of Mount Li

Since biodiversity conservation needs more public input, after 24 years of the Meinung Yellow Butterfly Festival, this year's opening event is called "Depart·Satoyama Diversity" and uses "environmental art" as a method to invite artists, nature guides, ecological researchers, environmental educators, farmers who are friendly to farming, etc. to guide the use of nature's stage to guide people to interact with the land and form various collective works of "paying tribute to the land." To promote ecological awareness more generally and sustainably.

In the main visual part, Lin Yanling, an artist who moved to Meinung for ten years, was invited to draw "Silent Forest". The hidden creatures in the picture remind people that they don't see them, but they don't exist. Through "Silent Forest", the artist invites everyone to put down the noise and calm down: "Close your eyes and feel the smell of the forest." Imagine: insects, fish, birds, beasts, gazing at each other in the depths of the forest..."