Wildlife campaigners call for proactive over reactive policymaking

Taipei, Sept. 15 (CNA) Wildlife conservation groups on Tuesday urged the government to incorporate ecological considerations into public policymaking rather than responding only after environmental harm has occurred, ahead of the 2026 Walk for Wildlife to be held in Taipei on Saturday.

The march, organized by Taiwan Walk for Wildlife (TWW), will be held outside the Legislative Yuan and is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. Saturday under the theme "Wildlife cannot wait, incorporate ecology into public policy."

At a news conference in Taipei on Tuesday, TWW Chairman Lee Tsung-chen (李宗宸) said this year's campaign builds on calls from the previous two editions in 2023 and 2024 for better management of stray dogs and cats and stronger legal tools to address ecological conflicts.

"We eventually realized that the problem was not simply that one measure was missing, but that different policies were operating independently, with ecological concerns only addressed after the damage had already been done," Lee said.

The problem extends beyond animal protection, with ecological concerns often left out of decision-making by central and local governments on issues such as land use, energy and public works, he added.

Kuo Chia-wen (郭佳雯), a researcher at the Wild at Heart Legal Defense Association, cited the endangered Taiwanese white dolphin as an example of ecological concerns being sidelined in development policy.

Taiwan has invested substantial resources in researching the species, Kuo said, but coastal industrial development, offshore wind farms and land reclamation projects have continued along the west coast -- the dolphins' only habitat -- without adequately taking their ecological impact into account.

"We're not saying Taiwan should stop developing, nor are we saying people should stop using electricity," she said. "The question is how we can truly achieve coexistence."

Among TWW's demands for the march is the establishment of a biodiversity committee jointly by central and local governments, with authority to coordinate across agencies and track implementation.

"Any policy that could affect the environment should be subject to review, with scientific data and expert opinions considered before decisions are made," Lee said, outlining the committee's role.

Saturday's event will run from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., with conservation groups operating booths from the morning. Following the roughly one-hour march through streets near the Legislative Yuan, participants will return to the event site for a series of short talks on wildlife and conservation issues.