International Exchange on Wetland Conservation: Students in Nan'ao Learn to Protect Little Terns

(CNA, Yilan, 30th) The "Legend from Ishigaki Island, Okinawa" picture book exhibition opened on the 29th at Penglai Elementary School in Yilan. Both regions face impacts on their estuary and wetland ecosystems. Conservationists from Ishigaki Island shared ways to live in harmony with nature with the students, helping to root the concepts of loving nature and respecting the environment. Planned by Wang Li-ping, Chairperson of the Nan'ao Township Women's Association, the opening ceremony featured a lively performance by the Atayal woodwind ensemble of Penglai Elementary School. The ceremony invited Shimamura Kensho and Miyagi Reiko, co-representatives of the "Nagura Amparu Nature Environment Protection Association" in Ishigaki, to share with students about the mangroves and intertidal wetlands of the Nagura River estuary. The team also used songs to explain that wetlands are ecosystems that harbor shellfish, shrimp, and crabs, building biodiversity and serving as a paradise for birds. Due to large-scale golf resort development upstream, the ecosystem of the Nagura River estuary is under threat. Through the "Amparu Labor Song," the delegation expressed their hope that Atayal students would join them in protecting the beautiful island and ocean. Peng Chia-chih, Principal of Penglai Elementary School, told CNA that the estuary of the Nan and Bei Creeks in Nan'ao is an important wetland ecological area, where the Japanese mitten crab is an important indicator of ecological health. Protected Little Terns also stop and breed on the sandbars, showcasing the precious natural vitality of Nan'ao. Principal Peng said that "Protecting Nan'ao's Japanese mitten crabs and Little Terns" is a school-based curriculum, hoping that international exchanges will guide children to learn to respect life, promote biodiversity, and practice the Atayal wisdom of respecting mountains, forests, rivers, and seas. Yeh Wu-hsun, Chairman of the Taiwan Rural Ecological Species Protection and Restoration Association, and Secretary-General Hu Tse-wen led the Japanese delegation to observe the Little Tern breeding area and habitat protection scope at the estuary. Yeh told CNA that he has adopted the Little Tern conservation and breeding area at the Nan'ao South Creek estuary and organized a patrol team to protect the beach and forest, maintaining the breeding habitat from disturbance. Hu, who became an ecological guardian after his daughter expressed a wish to become a bird patrol officer, noted that the Little Tern is a precious second-class protected summer migratory bird that flies long distances from Australia to Taiwan every year to court, nest, and raise chicks. Shimamura Kensho told reporters that "Nagura Amparu" on Ishigaki Island is Japan's southernmost wetland nature reserve and an irreplaceable international transit point for migratory birds traveling between Japan, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia. He hopes that through international exchange, society will place greater importance on protecting precious natural heritage.