August 19, 2008

The compost toilet

In a profile in today's Taipei Times, Wild at Heart Legal Defense Association director Robin Winkler shares some of his ideas on protecting the environment and "reverse engineering". See
"Being the change we want to see in the world", Taipei Times, August 19, 2008, p.4.

August 15, 2008

Taiwanese environmental groups held their second Pudu (普渡) ceremony yesterday (the 14th day of the Seventh Month of the Lunar Calendar, or 14 August) in front of the Executive and Control branches of the government.

We are currently in the middle of ghost month, when the gates of hell are opened and all manner of other worldly creatures roam the realms of humans.

Near Taichung Port on 5.8.08

Shortly after the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) listed Taiwan's Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins (Sousa chinensis) as "Critically Endangered" on Wednesday this week (12 August), the Eastern Taiwan Strait Sousa Technical Advisory Group (ETSSTAWG), established in January this year, responded with a press release. In the press release, the Chair of the ETSSTAWG, Dr Peter S. Ross, said “Time is running out for the Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin in Taiwan. We hope that recent advances in our understanding of the habitat needs of this charismatic creature will identify a path forward that allows it to recover and thrive.”

A copy of the full press release is posted on the Matsu's Fish Conservation Union (MFCU) blog.

Note: The following is the press release/petition delivered by Matsu's Fish Conservation Union, Green Party Taiwan, the Congressional Office of Legislator Tian Chiu-chin and Taiwan Friends of the Global Greens on 13 August 2008 during a press conference held in front of the Council of Agriculture in response to the listing of Taiwan's humpback dolphins as "Critically Endangered" by the IUCN in its 2008 update of the Cetacean Red List.

Photo: A make-shift President Ma
presents the Critically Endangered
award to a humpback dolphin

(Matsu's Fish Conservation Union, established in January 2007, is a coalition of the following Taiwanese conservation groups: Taiwan Academy of Ecology, Taiwan Sustainable Union, Wild at Heart Legal Defense Association, Taiwan Environmental Protection Union, Wild Bird Society of Yunlin, Changhua Coast Conservation Action and FormosaCetus Research and Conservation Group.)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * PRESS RELEASE * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Due to being isolated from other populations of the same species, Taiwan’s "Matsu's Fish" (Sousa chinensis), also known as the Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin or Chinese white dolphin, has evolved in a way that distinguishes it from other populations. It is now recognized by the international cetacean science community that Taiwan’s Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins constitute a unique population.