During the recent meeting to extend the scope of the second phase of the environmental impact assessment of Nanke Phase 4, demands such as "ecological fraud" and "fake compensation" emerged to express concerns about the development of Nanke Phase 4 and the conservation of grass owls. Among them are issues such as whether the important habitat of the Grass Owl is sufficiently avoided, whether out-of-area compensation has substantial effects, and whether road cutting causes habitat fragmentation. These are all important issues worthy of serious consideration in the second-level environmental impact assessment.
Nanke Phase IV Sharon Industrial Park is currently entering the second stage of environmental impact assessment. Schematic diagram. (Provided by Tainan City Economic Development Bureau) Environmental impact assessment should be based on scientific investigation, objective data and comparison of alternatives. Nanke Phase 4 is currently entering the second stage of environmental impact assessment, and various ecological surveys, impact predictions, alternatives and conservation measures still need to be further clarified. If you directly characterize the overall development plan as "ecological fraud" at this time, it will easily turn the issue that should be dealt with through scientific evidence and public discussion into a debate about positions and labels.
From a meadowlark hotspot to a complete habitat
The Nanke Phase IV planning area includes different land uses such as industrial land, public facilities, roads, green spaces, ecological spaces and flood detention facilities. When discussing the conservation of grass owls, it is necessary to distinguish between the project scope, actual development land, hot spots where grass owls occur, breeding and foraging habitats, and movement corridors. Through ecological surveys and spatial overlapping, it is necessary to determine the ecological functions and conservation priorities of different lands.
The Nanke Phase IV Ecological Collaboration Platform has listed the grass owl as an important species of concern and has conducted ecological surveys, habitat analysis and inventory of potential compensation areas outside the area. Relevant experts have also pointed out that Sharon Farm is an important activity area for grass owls, and their breeding, foraging and movement should be considered on a larger landscape scale. Ecosystems and grass owl habitats are not inherently restricted by administrative plan boundaries. Relevant surveys and spatial planning should also cross project boundaries and take surrounding grassland, agricultural land, and possible ecological corridors into overall consideration.
Sharon Farm is an important activity area for grass owls, and their breeding, foraging and movement should be considered on a larger landscape scale. (File photo) Whether the existing investigation and planning are adequate should still be subject to the second-level environmental impact assessment test. "The planning is still insufficient" and "the important habitat of the Grass Owl has not been avoided at all" are different levels of judgment, and should be confirmed by going back to ecological surveys, habitat functions and spatial allocation.
The occurrence hotspots of straw owls are important ecological information, but ecological planning cannot stop at each occurrence point on the map. If only sporadic hotspots are retained to form fragmented green spaces surrounded by roads and industrial land, habitat fragmentation may still occur.
A more appropriate planning direction is to completely overlay hot spots, breeding and foraging habitats, grasslands, ecological corridors and surrounding farmland, identify areas that should be avoided with priority, and then use habitats to create a large, continuous grassland environment that can be maintained for a long time. The effectiveness of conservation should also further examine habitat integrity, continuity, ecological quality and long-term management based on area, and use the grassland owl as a flagship species to promote the conservation of grassland ecosystems and overall biodiversity.
Location and habitat continuity of off-area compensation
Important habitats should be avoided as a priority. After avoidance, mitigation and habitat restoration, if there are still unavoidable residual impacts, off-site habitat creation, ecological benefits, friendly agriculture and long-term land conservation can all be incorporated into the overall conservation strategy.
Using the grassland owl as the flagship species will promote the conservation of grassland ecosystems and overall biodiversity. (Taken from Lin Jianzheng’s Facebook) Whether out-of-area compensation has substantial effects, testable standards should be established, including land location and area, habitat quality, ecological corridor connections, completion schedule, long-term management responsibilities and legal protection for land conservation. For the Grass Owl, more attention should be paid to the spatial relationship between the compensated land and the existing habitat. How far the compensation base is from the original habitat, whether there are roads or other obstacles in between, and whether it is connected to breeding, foraging and movement spaces will all affect the actual conservation effect.
This reflection should also review the previous spatial planning of Nanke Phase 4. At that time, the Wild Bird Society pointed out the importance of the integrity and continuity of ecological conservation areas, and raised concerns that the detention pond and road configuration might cut off the ecological corridor of the grass owl. Nowadays, when compensation land outside the area is added, the same perspective can be used to examine: Can the new compensation space be connected with the habitats in the park to form a complete and continuous habitat system? The second-level environmental impact assessment should also re-examine the spatial relationship between the grasslands, ecological conservation areas, ecological corridors and compensation bases outside the park, and find a configuration with higher continuity and integrity through overall overlapping and comparison with alternative plans.
To examine the current out-of-region compensation concept based on these conditions, it is necessary to compare the location conditions of different candidate bases. Hushan Farm and Puqian Farm are some distance away from the Nanke Phase IV project area, and there are spatial barriers such as traffic arteries in between. Shenkengzi Farm is close to the southeast side of the project area and is of considerable scale, and can be directly connected to the original pasture area on the south side of Sharon Farm. The ecological benefits of the three lands as out-of-region compensation bases should be compared through the same standards. The adjacency, habitat continuity and integrity of the land should all become important evaluation items.
The Grass Owl is an endangered first-level protected wild bird in Taiwan. (File photo, provided by Tainan Bird Club) Another issue that must be faced together is habitat creation. The out-of-area compensation plan currently proposed in the fourth phase of Nanke is mainly for the conservation of grass owls. If a grassland environment suitable for the breeding, foraging and movement of grass owls is to be created, the existing flat land afforestation and tree configuration of the candidate base need to be re-examined. Based on the needs of the grassland owls and grassland ecosystem, we should evaluate how to arrange the grasslands, sparse forests, shrubs and water areas to form a habitat environment suitable for the use of the grassland owls and other species.
Taking into account the two factors of location conditions and habitat creation, Shenkengzi Farm deserves to be included in the assessment of alternative options. By co-planning Shenkengzi Farm adjacent to the project area and the original pasture area south of Sharon Farm, and comparing it with other scattered out-of-area compensation plans, we can further test which plan has a better chance of forming a larger-scale, more continuous meadow owl habitat.
From this perspective, the role of Shenkengzi Farm can further transcend a single “outside compensation base”. If the subsequent ecological survey confirms that the conditions are suitable, the original pasture area, ecological conservation area and related ecological corridors on the south side of Shenkengzi Farm and Sharon Farm can be comprehensively planned to cross the existing project boundaries and gradually form a "Grass Owl Prairie". The original scattered out-of-area compensation can be upgraded to larger-scale habitat creation, and a measurable, verifiable and long-term tracking of the Grass Owl conservation mechanism can be established.
Another key element of habitat continuity is roads. Roads may cut into meadowlark habitat and increase the risk of roadkill. If a large and continuous meadow owl habitat is to be formed, how roads pass through or avoid important habitats must be included in the overall spatial planning.
In particular, road alignment, width, ecological corridors, feasibility of local tunneling, speed management, nighttime lighting and light pollution control should be included in the comparison of alternatives in the second-level environmental impact assessment. In addition to the area of green space, road cuts and ecological connections between different habitats should also be examined so that the transportation system and the grass owl habitat can be considered as a whole within the same spatial framework.
Integrate Nanke Phase IV with three main axes
The various reminders regarding straw owl habitat, out-of-area compensation, and road cutting all have public value in prompting more stringent scrutiny of development plans. The second-level environmental impact assessment also provides an important opportunity to rethink Nanke Phase 4 and the surrounding areas from the overall spatial planning, and gradually form three main axes of "industrial zone, grassland prairie, and ecological natural park".
The "Industrial Zone" reserves the land that is really needed on the east side of the planning area for key industries such as semiconductors and AI. Through centralized allocation and improved land use efficiency, it confirms the necessity of industrial land development and leaves a more complete space for ecological conservation.
The "Grass Owl Prairie" is centered on a large, continuous grassland on the south side of the project area. It jointly plans the original pasture area on the south side of Sharon Farm and the adjacent Shenkengzi Farm, and connects relevant ecological corridors and surrounding friendly farmland to establish a complete habitat system required for grass owls to breed, forage and move.
Savanna is the typical habitat of the Grass Owl. The author advocates that the "Grass Owl Prairie" should be planned with a large, continuous grassland on the south side of the project area as the core. (Information photo, provided by the Pingtung Branch of the Forestry and Conservation Department) The "Eco-Natural Park" is based on the existing flat land afforestation on the west side of the project area, moving from grass owl conservation to multi-species conservation. Through planting improvements, trees, shrubs and ground cover plants with the function of attracting butterflies and birds are added, and the original Gangshan creek water area, flood detention space and ecological corridors are integrated to form a natural space that has the functions of habitat conservation, ecological research and environmental education.
In this way, the overall spatial structure of "industrial on the east, grassland on the south, and natural park on the west" can be gradually formed. The three main axes can be used as planning concepts for the main functional configuration of different lands. The actual scope and land use should still be continuously tested and adjusted through second-level environmental assessment, ecological surveys, expert research and citizen participation.
Conclusion: Co-creation of value, balance of interests and sustainable management
The fourth phase of Nanke also faces important issues such as the development of the semiconductor and AI industries, the conservation of endangered grass owls, and the maintenance of grassland ecosystems in the southwest plains. How to properly allocate different land uses and cross project boundaries to form a larger-scale ecosystem with Shenkengzi Farm and surrounding land may become an important case for Taiwan Science Park to deal with industrial development and ecological conservation.
The three main axes of "Industrial Zone, Grassland and Ecological Nature Park" are to resolve conflicts between different land use needs, create common values for industry, ecology and community on the same spatial blueprint, seek a balance of interests, and implement sustainable management through long-term habitat management and institutional guarantees. The land on the east side of the planning area is reserved for industries that really need it, the original pasture area and Shenkengzi Farm on the south side are integrated into a large, continuous grass owl habitat, and the ecological and natural park on the west side is used to expand multi-species conservation, so that industrial development and ecological conservation can each obtain a clearer and more complete space.
The three main axes of "Industrial Zone, Grassland, and Ecological Natural Park" are to resolve conflicts between different land use needs. (Drawing by this newspaper) If this second-level environmental assessment can be used to continuously test the three main axes through scientific investigation and comparison of alternative plans, and establish a conservation mechanism that can be measured, verified and tracked in the long term, the ecological controversies currently faced by Nanke Phase 4 will have the opportunity to be transformed into a driving force for planning innovation and move towards a model of co-prosperous development of industry and ecology.
