自然谷環境信託屬於國民的公共財，即日起，自然谷將經營過程盡可能讓國民了解。經營土地不是一件容易的事情，也希望更多的包容與建議，讓我們進步。
去年發生嚴重的失誤是，諮詢委員召集人並沒有依照信託契約召開至少一次以上的信託諮詢委員會議。今年我們將更嚴謹的將經營、人力組織、財務等重新架構，遵守信託法、信託契約執行。
2012年9月29日 星期六
2012/08/05 環境信託自然谷諮詢委員會議，會議記錄
環境信託自然谷諮詢委員會議
時間：2012/08/05 pm13:30-16:30
主席：施純榮
諮詢委員：吳杰峰，遲玉堃，許瑞娟，蘇筱芸，施純榮
列席：賴榮孝，張菁砡，柯典一，林金保，梁博淞，周東漢，
記錄：李慈雯
會議結論：
1.環保署發文處理，[100年成果&財務和101年計劃]都須
2.諮詢會議至少一年兩次：未來固定第一季Q1,第四季Q4兩次
3.財務：請筱芸協助另找時間開會討論。
4.人事行政：祕書處協助處理解決，
5.自然谷經營管理計畫：前期祕書處提環保署的經營管理計劃書(
6.荒野環境信託的目標與作法：荒野常理與理監事另找時間討論。
7.臨時動議：荒野主辦的活動有使用到小木屋，需支付活動場地費
8.下次開會 另外約 pm13:30-16:00，地點：自然谷。
2012/06/10 環境信託自然谷諮詢委員會議，會議記錄
環境信託自然谷諮詢委員會議
時間：2012/06/10 pm14:00-17:00
主席：吳杰峰
諮詢委員：施純榮，遲玉坤，陳慈美
列席：善德，語喬，東漢，幸一，哲緯
記錄：慈雯
會議結論：
1.環保署發文處理，[100年成果&財務和101年計劃]都須
2.年度定義：依會計年度(100年,101年…)。
3.諮詢會議至少一年兩次：未來固定第一季Q1,第四季Q4兩次
4.財務獨立：已有獨立統編並設立帳戶，
5.人事行政不健全的解決辦法：從信託位階來看，
6.人事規劃：建議杰峰擔任管理者角色（現階段不支薪），
7.已進行專案持續進行。
2012年8月7日 星期二
志工身影 - 坍方清理... 感恩！
在這次的自然谷路口（村長家）的土方清理，許多志工們前來。有從台北散木家族的散木一老師、從楊梅常態來自然谷的佐正大哥一家四口人、從台中常態來自然谷的亦賢家五口人、荒野的老前輩 博彥老師、從台北好野人小學的 浩天老師、清大的學生 沛縉、滷蛋（芎林有名的 藏綠石窯老闆的小孩）、荒野夥伴 正賢、下週就準備到澳洲一年工作假期的 錞毅、週五就來幫忙的鈞宏老師家三口人... 。
國民信託（環境信託）的精神就是全民參與，因為是全民的公共財，由全民一起努力保存豐富的生態景觀。
感謝所有一起努力的夥伴！ ^__^
2012年6月12日 星期二
四歲的小愉說，「我是自然谷的志工喔！」
上週四是自然谷第四次的志工工作日。幾位固定班底，如 佐正、淑玲、亦賢、小愉... 幾乎每次都來報到。還有交大人社院的同學 老師 群、柳樹婆婆、榮弘...，每個人都帶來人文的學習契機與故事，也一起參與環境信託（國民信託）的工作。
亦賢帶著四歲的女兒小愉初來自然谷時，小愉對自然環境是有點不適應的，坐臥或觀察昆蟲、或觸摸植物都不太喜歡，甚至排斥。但是，在亦賢媽媽與其他志工們的引導下，慢慢地，我們看出小愉對自然谷，對大自然的態度變化。亦賢在 facebook 上說，「閃閃小魚在自然谷這樣自然的環境薰陶下，膽子越來越大，
上週四，另一位志工下午前來自然谷，小愉主動向她自我介紹說，「我是自然谷的志工喔！你是誰？」這真是令人訝異的反應，因為這是對自然谷的認同感。據亦賢說，小愉現在都很期待週四到訪自然谷。
對我們而言，很佩服亦賢以身作則帶領小朋友參與自然谷的國民信託工作。真是不簡單的媽媽。
自然谷是全國國民甚至是萬物一同的公共財，所以，一起來為自己努力吧！
亦賢帶著四歲的女兒小愉初來自然谷時，小愉對自然環境是有點不適應的，坐臥或觀察昆蟲、或觸摸植物都不太喜歡，甚至排斥。但是，在亦賢媽媽與其他志工們的引導下，慢慢地，我們看出小愉對自然谷，對大自然的態度變化。亦賢在 facebook 上說，「閃閃小魚在自然谷這樣自然的環境薰陶下，膽子越來越大，
上週四，另一位志工下午前來自然谷，小愉主動向她自我介紹說，「我是自然谷的志工喔！你是誰？」這真是令人訝異的反應，因為這是對自然谷的認同感。據亦賢說，小愉現在都很期待週四到訪自然谷。
對我們而言，很佩服亦賢以身作則帶領小朋友參與自然谷的國民信託工作。真是不簡單的媽媽。
自然谷是全國國民甚至是萬物一同的公共財，所以，一起來為自己努力吧！
2012年5月29日 星期二
分享一個英國國民信託景點的部落格 - 令人羨慕的國民信託
清大 王俊秀老師曾經分享說，英國的國民信託是第三產業，其產值不輸給第一產業的政府。這到底是如何辦到的？分享一個部落格，這是我看過中文部落格介紹英國國民信託的景點最多的網頁，其中也談到不少英國國民信託的理念與作法。格主 是嫁到英國的台灣女兒，感謝她讓我們了解迥異於台灣『山 嘛 BOT，海 嘛 BOT』（海角七號 馬如龍的台詞）輸送土地海洋給財團經營的方式。英國是將山、海、土地、溪流、古蹟...都回歸「國民」信託的經營方式。
英國國民信託官方網頁：http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/
英國國民信託 Facebook 粉絲專頁：http://www.facebook.com/nationaltrust
2012年5月11日 星期五
《環境公益信託》中部環境議題座談會→歡迎有興趣者踴躍報名參加（線上報名）
《環境公益信託》中部環境議題座談會→→
活動時間：2012年6月9日下午14:00～17:30
活動地點：台中地方法院第二辦公大樓5樓會議室（台中市西區自由
活動費用：Free！（但交通及餐飲請參加者自理。）
參加對象：不限。
報名截止日：即日起至2012年5月31日（四）以前止。
活動內容：
14:00~14:05 主辦單位代表致詞
趙建興理事長（台中律師公會）
14:05~14:10 引言
主持人：林三加律師（律師全聯會環境法委員會主委）
14:10~15:00 人民財團與信託社會（※參考影音，連結點我。）
主講人：王俊秀教授（清華大學通識教育中心 / 社會學研究所 / 學習科學研究所教授）
15:00~15:30自然谷環境公益信託
與談人：吳杰峰先生（自然谷谷主）
與談人：林淑雅教授（靜宜大學法律學系助理教授）
15:30~15:40 休息10分鐘
15:40~16:30 白海豚棲地信託反國光石化（※參考影片，連結點我。）
主講人：蔡嘉陽教授（彰化環保聯盟理事長、靜宜大學兼任教授）
16:30~17:00台灣環境信託的整體現況
與談人：施淑貞律師（永信法律事務所合夥律師）
17:00~17:30 問題與回應
全體與會人士
主辦單位：中華民國律師公會全聯會環境法委員會、台中律師公會、
協辦單位：環境法律人協會、彰化環保聯盟、荒野保護協會、
**線上報名**
技術提供：Google 文件
2012年5月10日 星期四
自然谷定期活動 -- 每週四之 自然谷工作日（邀請 台灣國民信託協會加入協辦）
我們重新公告自然谷的每週四工作日，並邀請 台灣國民信託協會（TNT）一起支持這項活動。台灣國民信託協會目前由 清華大學 清華學院執行長 王俊秀教授擔任理事長，該協會以提供國民信託的運作資訊平台為主，並與相關公益信託組織合作提供資源。也感謝 王俊秀老師長期提供的訊息與協助。
荒野自然谷環境公益信託是由人民所啟動，就是希望更多民眾一起參與維護我們共有的土地、水源、美景及生態，確保我們及下一代有永續與健康生存的環境。我們以主動積極的方式，透過各種活動規劃，來達成共同努力保護環境的目標。
2. 下雨天氣請自備雨具參加，將不另行通知。
荒野自然谷環境公益信託是由人民所啟動，就是希望更多民眾一起參與維護我們共有的土地、水源、美景及生態，確保我們及下一代有永續與健康生存的環境。我們以主動積極的方式，透過各種活動規劃，來達成共同努力保護環境的目標。
從101年五月17日起，每週四定期舉行工作假期，邀集您一起參與荒野自然谷的各項工作，一起來保護我們共同的家。目前已經規劃的工作內容及規劃如下：
【活動時間】09：00～16：00
【人 數】20人/週
【費 用】免費（請自備午餐）
【報名方式】
1. e-mail報名：sowtrust1@wilderness.tw
2.洽詢專線： 荒野自然谷 03-5931320
3.協助辦理保險，請備妥活動報名者之身分證字號、聯絡方式及出生年月日等資料。
【工作內容說明】
工作項目
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工作說明
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步道維護工作
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1.部分水泥路面的坡度較陡，落葉需清掃，以避免造成濕滑摔跤。
2. 泥土路上清除強勢的外來種草苗或小花蔓澤蘭小苗。
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移苗工作
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步道中央的原生小樹苗常在解說導覽時被不小心踩踏，
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竹林工作
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自然谷內有一片荒廢超過20年的竹林，林內枯竹甚多。
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育苗工作
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自然谷內有一小小區域規劃為培育台灣原生樹苗及果樹。
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油漆木屋
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自然谷座落在谷地，濕氣重，木屋教室的維護工作很重要，
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荒野自然谷
義賣品製作
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運用自然谷內的竹子與枯木，製作荒野自然谷的義賣品，
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教室與周遭
工作
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為了讓上課的教室與周邊環境更優雅與大自然更融合，
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【注意事項】
1. 活動當日若中央氣象局發佈陸上颱風警報或豪大雨特報等惡劣
天候，則當日活動取消。
2012年4月15日 星期日
來自日本 龍貓森林的槭樹葉子
文圖:林國香 (新竹分會解說員 推廣講師 自然名:春天)
一張月光白的宣紙上寫著中英文字樣，紙張角落仔細貼著一枚精緻小巧的七裂槭樹葉子，多麼慎重優雅的卡片，我以沉靜虔敬的心感受來自北國的溫暖情誼。 今年的聖誕節分外溫馨，因為我在寒冬收到來自日本龍貓森林的禮物和卡片，這是龍貓基金會安藤理事長來台參加NGO會議及活動後，回到森林旋即捎來對荒野夥伴及台灣第一個環境信託ー自然谷的柷福。 因應台灣國民信託協會王俊秀理事長之邀來台，安藤理事長主動表示要和自然谷的志工夥伴交流龍貓森林信託20年的經驗分享，這對任重道遠的自然谷是莫大的鼓勵和收穫 一樣11月下旬，龍貓森林落葉如毯，大樹光禿，一片孤獨。但自然谷仍滿目蒼翠，各種生物叫聲，一片生氣盎然。這南方島國的特有景觀讓安藤先生很驚豔。 相較龍貓森林和自然谷，安藤理事長有深刻的感觸和感動，他說龍貓森林起初是因激烈抗爭不當開發而由各界捐款信託保護，但自然谷完全是主動捐地信託。日本是被動的從負面過程引發，台灣是以正面生態教育出發。日本一直到最近的第15號龍貓森林才是個人捐贈土地信託，加上台灣已通過環境教育法推動環教課程，他認為台灣在生態教育上比日本還積極先進，值得學習，希望能和台灣多相互交流。 聞名國際的動畫大師宮崎駿認為讓孩子找到幸福感的樂園就是回歸自然，所以無償讓筆下龍貓作為保護森林的精神象徵。但安藤一走進自然谷就看到很多小朋友徜徉自然懷抱，利用竹筒當杯子，以樹葉做盤子並自製當地取材的客家點心，分享他們的幸福給外賓，顯然兒童的樂園已在自然谷成型，這令他頗為感動。
「解決環境問題應先從教育開始」安藤語重心長`，不謀而合，殊不知這就是徐仁修老師成立荒野１6年來的宗旨一，宗旨二的棲地保護最終目標環境信託也終於跨出第一步，由3位荒野人自發性捐地，這是一點一滴從生態教育累積對自然的終極深情！ 龍貓森林雖已多達15座，但一直到第13座，全部森林面積總和才等同於自然谷的面積。這些大大小小不等的森林分散各地，有數百坪的，也有才30多坪的，但利用切割保護即能扼阻一些不當開發。 為了鼓舞自然谷的士氣，宮崎駿和前理事長還特別錄影為台灣打氣，他們強調台灣人民的生態保育力量一定要起來，環境信託需要很多義工的參與，共同搶救保護有價值的文化財和公共財。安藤理事長表示明年將陪同宮崎駿大師來自然谷，為台灣第一個環境信託呼籲，這份驚喜和情誼著實溫暖感動３位捐贈自然谷的荒野人及荒野總會上下。相信將會激盪出最燦爛溫馨的火花。 溫文的安藤理事長是日本東京琦玉大學社會學教授，接掌龍貓森林4年，其T恤背後無比可愛的大龍貓讓他被封為Totoro先生，他手機上有利用移除外來種樹木做成的小吊飾，上面印著的小煤灰渣(龍猫動畫中的灰塵要角)更令人莞薾。他說這些周邊紀念品收入就佔了基金會收入的四分之一。當然這完全歸功宮崎駿有無數的龍貓迷，如何讓自然谷也能醞釀出一個動人代表物種是非常重要的。 日本龍貓森林環境信託第一年就募到台幣三千多萬，百分之40是小朋友捐款，好多小朋友抱著撲滿來救龍猫的家，大量的銅板算來又累又重，但這些小額捐款才是最有價值意義的，小朋友都希望龍貓能永遠快樂生活在森林中！ 龍貓森林效應連日本政府也支持，政府除了也投入買下該受保護的地方，成為環境信託夥伴，並透過議會保存生態，這是日本生態保育較有利之處。 台灣自然谷如何讓民眾了解信託的意義和重要並得到捐歀支持，進而影響政府也參與保護，還需走一段艱辛漫長的路，但有日本龍貓森林的鼓勵及原創者宮崎駿的加持，至少已展開國際性連結了。 王俊秀理事長則奇想建議國際結盟最好的安排是龍貓明年也隨宮崎駿大師來台，迎娶白海豚或台灣黑熊，雙方結成親家。人稱「點子王╜的王老師總有獨到思維，但願這美夢能實現啊！
2012年4月4日 星期三
環境信託(國民信託)的鼻祖 英國的國民信託
英國的國民信託超過了百年以上，很多著名的景點，甚至國家公園都是國民信託( national trust)在經營管理。下面兩個影片是大愛台拍攝的，可以從中了解部分英國國民信託的理念與故事。
2012年3月14日 星期三
In Trusted Hands. Taiwan’s environmental movement has received a boost from the creation of Nature Valley, the island’s first land trust.
本文由行政院新聞局 Taiwan Review 提供，撰稿記者 鍾孟學(Oscar Chung)，原文出處: http://taiwanreview.nat.gov.tw/ct.asp?xItem=174104&CtNode=1364
經 鍾孟學先生同意轉載。也提供給外國友人認識台灣環境信託的故事。
In Trusted Hands
Wu Yu-chiao, left, and Wu Jie-feng, two of the three dreamers who worked with the Society of Wilderness to establish Nature Valley, Taiwan’s first environmental land trust (Photo by Huang Chung-hsin)
By line：OSCAR CHUNG
Taiwan’s environmental movement has received a boost from the creation of Nature Valley, the island’s first land trust.
In the summer, the Nature Valley environmental land trust is especially full of life. “I used to fear bugs. But not anymore; not after staying here and spending some time with them,” Wu Yu-chiao (吳語喬) said in June this year while guiding a group of journalists at the 1.8-hectare site. Nature Valley is located at an elevation of 380 meters on Nanhe Mountain in Hsinchu County, northern Taiwan. Except for a few trails, the densely forested area shows little evidence of human disturbance. Wu, a 51-year-old mother of two, has literally called Nature Valley home for two years as it provides such an opportunity to get close to and learn about nature.
But Nature Valley offers more than a respite from the hustle and bustle of urban life or a huge outdoor classroom for nature lovers. In fact, the reason the property has been drawing attention from the media is because it is operated as Taiwan’s first environmental land trust. “It’s about people with a dream and those who made it come true,” says Wu Ling-chu (吳鈴筑), who is a senior executive officer of the Cabinet-level Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) as well as a key figure in developing regulations to promote land trusts in Taiwan. In the case of Nature Valley, the dreamers are Wu Yu-chiao and two other co-owners of the land, while the dream maker is the Society of Wilderness (SOW), an environmental non-governmental organization (NGO) based in Taipei since 1995.
Nature Valley is operated under a legal relationship between the settlors (those who make a settlement of property) and a trustee. In this case, Wu Yu-chiao and her partners are the settlors and SOW is the trustee. As such, SOW is tasked with administering the trust fund established for Nature Valley, as well as with the property’s upkeep. “It’s not simply a donation,” says Antonio Chou (周東漢), SOW’s director of environmental conservation. “Both parties have to act according to the contract they signed. That prevents the settlor from selling the land or the trustee from managing it outside the terms of the agreement for the duration of the contract.”
The contract governing Nature Valley will run for three years. When the contract expires, Chou says that if neither the settlors nor SOW seeks changes, it will continue for another three years. Alternatively, the parties could decide to extend the contract for five, 10 or even 50 years, he adds.
The existence of Taiwan’s first land trust can be traced to the effort of environmentally conscious Wu Yu-chiao, who formerly served as the secretary for SOW’s Hsinchu chapter. “Taiwan’s land has been developed at too fast a pace. I felt the need to do something about it,” she explains. In 2006, she thought of creating an environmental trust and began inviting other like-minded people to pool their money to purchase a piece of land in the mountains. She received positive responses from five other SOW members, and together they established a fund worth NT$7.2 million (US$218,200). In July 2007, after looking for suitable spots, mainly in northern Taiwan, for more than a year, they decided on a privately owned area on Nanhe Mountain and purchased it for NT$6 million (US$181,800).
Environmental Protection Administration Minister Shen Shu-hung, fourth left, pays a visit to Nature Valley in June. (Photo by Huang Chung-hsin)
Around the same time, Wu Yu-chiao and two of her prospective co-buyers met with a group of high school teachers from Taipei County (now known as New Taipei City) who were devoted to instructing people in tree climbing. After learning the requisite skills from the teachers, Wu Yu-chiao’s group began using the Nature Valley site to give their own tree-climbing courses to the public, as well as to provide training sessions for workers from SOW’s Hsinchu chapter. In fact, Nature Valley’s educational mission was critical to gaining approval from the EPA to operate as a land trust, as the agency requires that trusts under its authority offer classes on environmental topics.
The global economic recession that began in the fall of 2008, however, affected the financial status of all six landowners. The downturn forced three of them to back out, which meant selling their shares to Wu Yu-chiao and co-owner Wu Jie-feng (吳杰峯). Liu Hsiu-mei (劉秀美), the other original co-owner, remained with the project, but was unable to help in purchasing the shares of the three owners who wished to withdraw.
Wu Jie-feng, who came up with the name Nature Valley with Wu Yu-Chiao, raised his financial commitment to the project when the three partners backed out, even though doing so drove him into debt. “I wanted to keep my dream alive,” he says, referring to his goal of maintaining the integrity of the site’s environment, as one potential developer was eying it as the location for a columbarium.
Like Wu Jie-feng, Wu Yu-chiao was committed to finding a way to give Nature Valley long-term protection. “I wanted this to be difficult to reverse,” she says. “I didn’t want my children to be tempted to sell the land to developers in the future. I felt like I needed to move forward by creating an environmental trust that could run permanently, according to the terms of a contract.”
In the spring of 2010, the three co-owners began serious discussions with SOW over the best way to secure long-term protection for Nature Valley. In April this year, those negotiations resulted in the owners and SOW submitting an application to the EPA to operate 1.3 hectares of the site as Taiwan’s first environmental land trust. The EPA gave its approval on June 1.
A tree-climbing training course at a site next to Nature Valley, which offers similar courses as part of its environmental education program (Photo by Huang Chung-hsin)
Nature Valley’s singular status, however, is an indication that Taiwan lags behind in terms of progress in establishing environmental trusts. The United States established its first conservation land trust in 1891, while the practice began in the United Kingdom in 1895. In Asia, Japan established its first land trust in the mid-1960s.
Healthy Development
In Taiwan, the Trust Act was promulgated in 1996, providing a legal foundation for charitable trusts as well as regulating their operations. Among other provisions, the Trust Act requires that supervisors advise land trusts, thereby ensuring that conservation sites develop in a “healthy” manner. In the case of Nature Valley, the supervisors are three environmental experts chosen by SOW. The EPA is required to conduct an annual review of trustees’ management plans as well as review the minutes of meetings between those operating the trusts and the supervisors.
The year 2000 saw the birth of the Taiwan Environmental Information Association (TEIA), an NGO that focuses much of its attention on the issue of environmental trusts. In 2003, the EPA announced regulations based on the Trust Act that govern licensing and supervision of charitable trusts oriented toward environmental protection.
In 2008, TEIA formally became a member of the International National Trust Organization. Participation in the London-based non-profit society, which consists of groups from more than 20 countries, has helped TEIA learn more about trust-related issues.
There are several factors behind the slow emergence of land trusts in Taiwan, one of which is simply that most people do not know about them. “The public needs to become more familiar with this concept, because it’s relatively new in Taiwan,” Wu Ling-chu of the EPA says.
Another reason land trusts have been slow to catch on is that despite the promulgation of the Trust Act and the EPA’s regulations governing the operation of environmental charitable trusts, there are still numerous regulatory issues to be addressed. The Legislative Yuan, for example, has yet to pass the Wetlands Act, which means that protecting such areas is difficult. In the spring of 2010, for example, TEIA and other environmental NGOs launched a campaign calling for public donations to purchase a wetland area at the estuary of the Zhuoshui River on the west coast of central Taiwan. The fundraising effort was a response to the Kuokuang Petrochemical Technology Co.’s proposal to build a petrochemical refinery in much of the wetland area. The environmental groups and their supporters feared that the destruction of the wetland ecosystem and possible pollution released by the plant would harm the habitat of an endangered dolphin species. The campaign had enlisted the support of about 70,000 prospective individual donors before the construction plan was officially dropped in March 2011.
A wooden bungalow at Nature Valley serves as an educational venue as well as home for two of the site’s three settlors. (Photo by Huang Chung-hsin)
The Construction and Planning Agency under the Ministry of the Interior began drawing up the Wetlands Act in 2009 and released a public draft at the end of 2010, but aside from public hearings on the act, no further progress has been made. The draft specifically allows wetlands to be administered by an environmental land trust, but until it is promulgated, land trusts in wetland areas like the Zhuoshui estuary will continue to lack a legal basis.
The campaign to create a land trust at the estuary continues, but it has lost significant momentum since the government made the decision to drop the project to construct the controversial petrochemical plant. “Instead of the petrochemical plant, now there’s talk about building a wetland park there. But we’re afraid that it’d be an overly artificial park. We want it to be as natural as it is now,” says Norna Wen (溫于璇), coordinator of TEIA’s environmental trust and volunteer program, explaining why there is still the need to protect the wetland through an environmental trust.
Meanwhile, the development of land trusts has also been hampered by other regulatory issues. The EPA allows for the establishment only of land trusts that have an educational mission, as is the case for Nature Valley. The Council of Agriculture (COA), however, is the government agency responsible for land conservation, but it has yet to adopt regulations regarding the creation and operation of land trusts. The result is that at the present time, there is no government agency to apply to for those who would like to create a land trust dedicated solely to conserving an area’s natural environment.
That situation could change after January 1, 2012, however, when the EPA and part of the COA will be combined into a new environmental ministry responsible for both environmental education and conservation, among other functions. The new ministry will eventually have a single set of regulations based on a combination of the EPA’s current regulations and those proposed by its incoming COA colleagues. Groups seeking to establish trusts solely for conservation purposes will therefore likely be able to apply to the new ministry.
In addition, SOW’s Antonio Chou notes that the Agricultural Development Act stipulates that a so-called “artificial person,” a legal term used for entities such as groups or corporations, may not own agricultural land. That stipulation applied to Nature Valley because a half hectare of the property is designated for agricultural use, and because SOW, the trustee, is considered an artificial person, not a single “natural person.” The rule is the reason why only 1.3 hectares of Nature Valley’s 1.8 total hectares could be transferred to the land trust administered by SOW.
A 2010 campaign to establish an environmental trust at the mouth of the Zhuoshui River received a huge public response, but stalled when plans to develop the area were dropped, as well as because of the lack of a legal framework for trusts in wetland areas. (Photo Courtesy of Taiwan Environmental Information Association)
Unable to donate all of the property to the land trust, Wu Yu-chiao and Wu Jie-feng built a wooden bungalow on the half hectare of land that was left over. Today, it is not only used as a venue for indoor educational activities, but also doubles as their home.
Taxation is another area of concern for land trusts in Taiwan. In the United States, land trusts typically do not file state or federal tax returns, with taxes paid by landowners, not trustees. In Taiwan, a land trust that receives property must pay a one-time stamp tax, equal to 0.001 percent of the value of a property transaction, in addition to a one-time land transfer fee. In the case of Nature Valley, the amounts were relatively small—around NT$5,000 (US$172) each for the tax and fee—but SOW’s Antonio Chou worries that some regulations are unclear, and that future property transfers to a trust might also incur a gift tax levied at a hefty 10 percent of the value of a property. Wu Ling-chu of the EPA suggests more incentives would speed up the development of land trusts in Taiwan. “Tax incentives also should be offered to those involved in an environmental trust, which is not the case now,” the official says.
While land trusts face an array of difficulties in Taiwan, environmentalists are unquestionably excited about the creation of Nature Valley. According to Chou, within days of the Hsinchu case winning official approval in June this year, SOW received phone calls from people who were interested in creating land trusts at four separate sites around the island. Chou cautions, however, that numerous factors are likely to prevent his organization from working with all of them, at least in the near future. SOW will have a difficult time assisting one of the groups that is trying to establish a land trust in Miaoli County, central Taiwan, for example, because the NGO has an insufficient number of staff members there to serve as the trustee.
As the media spread the story of Nature Valley, SOW also began to receive phone calls from people enquiring about visiting the area. The strong response has led the organization to consider setting limits on the number of visitors to the property to reduce environmental impact. “We have the right to set up rules regulating visits to the site since it’s privately owned,” Chou says. TEIA’s Norna Wen concurs about the need to protect sites such as Nature Valley, saying “It’s important to break through barriers to creating an environmental trust, but it’s even more important to manage it well afterwards.”
Meanwhile, TEIA has been promoting a long-running program that targets cultivating volunteers who can help in managing environmental trust sites. That effort started in 2004, when the organization introduced Taiwan’s first environmentally oriented working holiday program in Taitung on the east coast of the island. In such programs, volunteers take part in work to protect natural and historical sites. TEIA has also called on volunteers to participate in similar working holidays in foreign countries, where they can learn new management techniques, among other skills.
The Society of Wilderness is planning further environmental education activities for Nature Valley while also considering ways to regulate access. (Photo by Wu Jie-feng)
Finding Funding
Along with developing a trained volunteer corps to manage protected sites such as land trusts, it is also critical to develop funding mechanisms to sustain their operations. Chou believes that NGOs like SOW have the upper hand in fundraising, saying it is easier for them than it is for the government to solicit funds from private enterprises. To administer the Nature Valley land trust, SOW has earmarked NT$300,000 (US$10,345) for maintenance during the first year of operations. “We’ll see how much of that money we actually use,” he says. “When we know that, we’ll launch a fundraiser exclusively for the purpose of offsetting future maintenance costs.”
New environmental courses are also being developed by SOW at Nature Valley in the hope of enhancing the site’s value as a base for environmental education. SOW will charge fees for some of those courses, and the proceeds will be used to offset Nature Valley’s operating expenses.
There is no question that the establishment of Nature Valley has had a game-changing effect on environmentalism in Taiwan. “The public had little idea about the concept of environmental trusts because there was not a single case here before,” the EPA’s Wu Ling-chu says. “Now if SOW can do a good job and set a good example, we’ll see a trend toward this practice in the future. The EPA hopes this first case can help involve more and more people in Taiwan’s environmental protection campaign.”
Write to Oscar Chung at oscar@mail.gio.gov.tw
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