Habitat Restoration Sees Wildlife Return to Hualien Creek

Papaya Creek in Taiwan's eastern Hualien County has seen the return of several animal species following local conservation efforts.

Transcript

00:00 This is Mu Gua or Papaya Creek in Taiwan's eastern Hualien County.

00:05 The lush greenery is home to an abundance of wildlife.

00:09 The area has seen an ecological transformation

00:12 after the local water resources department started using greener construction materials

00:17 and streamlining conservation projects.

00:20 "This is an ecological park,

00:23 we want to make it an active area,

00:26 and this area will be used as an educational area.

00:28 We want to make this area an ecological park."

00:31 Local biodiversity had been threatened by overdevelopment

00:35 and a historic drought earlier in the year.

00:38 Key species were becoming a rare sight.

00:41 But now, masked palm civets, crab-eating mongooses,

00:46 reefs' muntjacs and various species of fish, shrimps and crabs

00:50 are all making a comeback.

00:52 "The G14CG,

00:56 and the Japanese sand-eating mongoose,

00:59 I think with the environmental protection,

01:03 we can see that the trend is increasing."

01:08 Officials are also trying to increase efficiency,

01:12 communicating across local government departments to save on costs and avoid overlap.

01:17 "We can communicate through platform meetings,

01:20 and know which units have the best opportunities.

01:25 We can coordinate and collaborate to make sure that we can spend money on cutting costs."

01:31 These restoration efforts are not limited to Papaya Creek.

01:35 Hualien's Water Resources Agency has also been renovating a nearby dike

01:40 which was damaged by a recent typhoon.

01:43 An ecological hotspot now safe from floods,

01:46 it's an oasis where the public can connect with the local wildlife.

01:50 Chris Ma, Sally Ensign and Laurel Stewart for Tawan Plus.

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