Solar photovoltaic panels climb the Miaoli mountain, cut down the woods, and the stone tiger loses its home. Ecological experts: it should be demarcated that it is not suitable to leave the field directly.

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The rice fields in this valley seem to be surrounded by gentle green arms, and the forest on the hillside is lush and lush, like an idyllic symphony. When you first enter the secret land, you will be silent unconsciously, because the present nature is so full and lively that you can only listen attentively.

This is the "field of turtles" in Tongxiao, Miaoli. The ecology is extremely rich, and it is a rare piece of green wild mountain forest. A few days ago, however, there was news that it might be rented out to photovoltaics companies to build solar panels, which worried conservationists. At present, 19 electrical fields on agricultural land have been planted in Miaoli, uprooting entire forests and replacing them with photovoltaic panels, such as black dragons, entrenching hillsides, causing many doubts about the destruction of ecology and soil and water conservation.

The announcement at the press conference of the Council of Agriculture on July 7 this year that "not a single tree has been cut down" is still ringing in our ears, but in the shallow mountains of Miaoli, one forest after another is falling. Although the Council of Agriculture has revised the law to tighten the examination of changing agricultural land to plant electricity, the law does not go back to the past. More than 100 applications have been accepted in Miaoli County, which has become a hot potato.

The photoelectric field under construction in the West Lake of Miaoli (Photo courtesy of Li Xihong) is the shallow mountain closest to the sea, and the small "Tian Bietian" is rich in species.

The willow nest in the shallow mountains of Miaoli hides what locals think is an ordinary rice field. Ecologists have discovered the "soft-shelled turtle" of aquatic insects that have been extinct for decades, and have begun to attract the world's attention. The young team of the Observer Ecological Consulting Company began to work with local farmers for eight years to create the name "Tian Biomi" and record an unimaginably rich ecology. Stone tiger, crab eater, civets and all kinds of birds and insects are all neighbors by the field.

The documentary "back to Lishan" filmed here also returned from an honorable competition abroad and won the 2017 WorldFest Houston documentary Platinum Award in the United States. Tian Bietian is famous and has become a model case of Taiwan's Li Shan initiative.

The Industrial and Commercial Development Office of the Miaoli County Government said that the vast majority of the more than 100 cases in which agricultural land was changed to plant electricity were located in the hills near the provincial highway along the sea line. Unfortunately, these areas also happen to be ecological hot spots. Wang Cheng-an, the field administrator of Tian Biomi, explains, "the shallow mountain system near the sea is very rare in the whole western region, and it is a refuge for many creatures."

Field soft-shelled turtles in their eggs (photo courtesy of / Observer Ecological Consultants) Conservation of the habitat of endangered species of soft-shelled turtles in Shihu field protects many common species

Wang Zhengan has been here for more than three years. In addition to ploughing the fields, he is also responsible for biological monitoring. "I am very happy here, and I have always received great feedback from biology." In this small field, he has seen many kinds of mammals, such as stone tiger, musk cat, white-nosed heart, weasel badger, big red squirrel, as well as firewood coffin turtle, tiger skin frog, water snake, insect tribe, dragon lice family, water mantis, negative worm, swimming Toona ⋯⋯

"both the stone tiger and the soft-shelled turtle are umbrella species species," says Wang Zhengan. Conserving the habitats of these endangered species also protects many species that live together.

According to academic estimates, there are probably fewer than 500 stone tigers left in Taiwan. On the other hand, the infrared automatic camera installed near Tian Bietian can capture more than 10 images of Shihu every month. Wang Zhengan, who once had the experience of meeting the eyes of Shi Hu mother and son, found that every time he weeded the grass, he would photograph Shi Hu and personally experience the wonderful interaction between farming behavior and creatures.

Miaoli shallow mountain is an important habitat of stone tiger, which should not be developed wantonly (photo courtesy of Taiwan Stone Tiger Conservation Association). Suitable farming wisdom creates a beautiful "Li Mountain".

Tian Biomi's ecological team not only focuses on conservation, but also takes inheriting the farming wisdom of Tian Biebo Liu Dingfu as his own responsibility. Because the reason why this field has such a high degree of biodiversity is closely related to the actions of farmers. It is generally believed that man-made development will only cause damage to nature, but the wonderful thing is that farming methods that adapt to the weather and local conditions will create more habitat characteristics and allow more creatures to settle in their own homes.

Wang Zheng-an explains that because of the lack of water conservancy system in the farmland in the shallow mountains of Miaoli, farmers dig their own ponds and store water for irrigation during the rainy season. "from satellite images, there are more than 1,000 ponds in Tongxiao."

These ponds and luxuriant secondary forests, farmland and other components have created a very high degree of habitat heterogeneity, thus giving birth to biodiversity. The perfect blend of "Social-Ecological-productive Landscape" (SEPL) is the core of the "Lishan Initiative". Tian Bietian has also become an important demonstration field for the land ecological green network plan of the Forestry Bureau.

Tian Bietian rice mature scenery, the rear green hillside is faced with photoelectric development (photo courtesy of Li Xiehong) photoelectric uphill fear of decades of conservation efforts, gray-faced eagle can live without branches

Next to the soft-shelled turtle field, there is a figure of farming, that is, Li Jiehong, a warm-blooded ecological observer. Having studied the gray-faced eagle for more than 20 years, and as a director of the Taiwan Stone Tiger Conservation Association, Li Huan-hung has always cherished the dream of "Taiwan's chinchilla forest," hoping to buy land in the form of a mass fund-raising trust to conserve the shallow mountain ecological environment. Unexpectedly, the dream had not yet come true, but there came the news that the optoelectronics industry wanted to rent a whole 36 hectares of hillside land and develop it wantonly.

"in other words, we have been working hard here for almost ten years, and Uncle has been guarding the land for 40 or 50 years, and all our painstaking efforts have to be wasted because of the invasion of photoelectricity. Whether in terms of the concept of conservation, the value of farmland and rice, this is actually a very uneconomical thing. " Li Xihong said earnestly and sincerely.

Li Jiehong takes the sloping land photoelectric crime site that has been completed in Tongxiao, Miaoli, as an example. The crime site is surrounded by iron nets. "this will cause cutting and isolation to the wildlife habitat, and the whole field has made deep cement ditches, and no small animal can get up when it falls." In addition, most fields are barren, making it difficult for organisms to use, and even spraying herbicides, "spraying for 20 years will have an impact on this farmland and the ecology around it."

The photoelectric field that has been built in Tongxiao, Miaoli, is surrounded by a purse seine, which is like a restricted area for wild animals. (photo courtesy of Li Xiehong)

Li Shihong also points out that stone tigers are not the only ones in shallow mountains. Every year, tens of thousands of gray-faced eagles cross the border in spring and autumn, and they perch in the valleys of Tongxiao. "their needs are very simple, which is to have trees." If the woods are cut down one after another and replaced by photovoltaic panels, the gray-faced eagle is likely to have nowhere to live.

Visiting nearby residents, Li Jihong also found that some people had moved here because of the beautiful Acacia forest on this hillside, but it was not long before the whole mountain was replaced by photovoltaic panels. The original window turned into a strong reflection, seriously interfering with the quality of life. I had to close the curtains all day long.