President Ma Ying-jeou attended a Roots & Shoots Day tree planting activity on the morning of September 5 at Laomei Elementary School in Shihmen Township, Taipei County. The president, along with Dr. Jane Goodall, planted a Chinese fan palm seedling, a plant native to Taiwan, signifying the planting of hope for the next generation. The president expressed his hopes that Roots & Shoots education will take root throughout society.
The president remarked that this is the 13th time that Dr. Goodall has visited Taiwan, and this year also marks the 50th anniversary of Dr. Goodall's research into chimpanzees at Gombe National Park in Tanzania. Both events, he said, are extremely meaningful.
President Ma showed Dr. Goodall a photo of a tree that the two planted together at the Taipei American School six years ago, and commented that Taiwan is an "ilha Formosa" that is home to a rich array of ecosystems and an abundant variety of fauna and flora. Researchers have already documented over 4,000 different vascular plants in Taiwan, about 25% of which are endemic to Taiwan. Meanwhile, Taiwan is home to nearly 20,000 species of named mammals, birds, and reptiles, with over 20% of these species endemic to Taiwan.
The president said that the government has worked hard to conserve energy and reduce carbon emissions. Two years ago, Taiwan cut its carbon emissions output by 4.4%, and last year it reduced them by another 5%. Even though Taiwan has not been able to join the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change or sign the Kyoto Protocol, it is still willing to act in step with the international community. Taiwan has become one of a very few nations to announce voluntary carbon reduction standards, and the government has passed a General Plan for National Energy Conservation and Carbon Reduction, along with 10 major projects that incorporate the key content of the nationally appropriate mitigation actions (NAMAs) called for in the Copenhagen Accord. He said the Presidential Office two years ago also began promoting an energy reduction and carbon emissions project, and over the past two years this has on average resulted in savings of about 20% in the consumption of electricity, oil, and water, amounting to over NT$16 million. While this figure is not large, it does represent the determination of society as a whole to cut energy consumption and carbon emissions, he said.
President Ma pointed out statistics showing the tremendous work being done in Taiwan to plant trees and create forests. As of the end of 2009, afforestation had been carried out on 6,067 hectares of land, while some 8,900 hectares of woods were being pruned and tended, bringing total land under care to 14,967 hectares, which is equivalent to the size of about 600 Da-an Forest Parks, he said. As of the end of this June, new afforestation was being carried out on 4,433 hectares of land to help reduce carbon emissions and beautify the environment, he said.
President Ma stated that today's activity marks the 19th year that Taiwan has promoted Roots & Shoots initiatives. Nearly 600 schools, all the way from kindergartens to colleges and universities, have established Roots & Shoots clubs. Today's activity, he said, exhibits to everyone the emphasis being placed on forestry conservation and ecological preservation. The president quoted a famous remark made by Dr. Goodall – "Every individual matters. Every individual has a role to play. Every individual makes a difference." Laomei Elementary School, he said, is the first Green Thumb Garden established by the Jane Goodall Institute in Taiwan with the support of the cabinet-level Council of Agriculture. He said he hopes that the promotion of the Roots & Shoots project will help to create a strong foundation here for environmental ethics education, harmony between man and the environment, and sustainable development.