Paper short abstract:

Taiwan’s mountains provide an ecological niche to mammals, and to indigenous people who hunt. We explore Seediq hunting practices/knowledge. What knowledge do they possess about mammals? How are norms about hunting encoded into customary law? Can this knowledge contribute to wildlife sustainability?

Paper long abstract:

Article 8(j) of the Convention on Biological Diversity calls on contracting parties to respect, preserve and maintain indigenous knowledge relevant to the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity. Taiwan, although not a party to the Convention, does attempt to meet its norms in the management of biological diversity. Taiwan, moreover, is home to 14 officially recognized Austronesian tribes, who possess rich hunting traditions and in-depth knowledge about wild animals. The rugged mountainous terrain of Taiwan has provided an ecological niche to a wide variety of mammals; but also to indigenous peoples who have learned over centuries to sustainably hunt game. Their experience is thus food for thought about the implementation of Article 8(j) and sustainable management of wildlife.

This paper, based on ethnographic research with the Seediq and Truku since 2004, looks at hunting practices and knowledge about their most important game mammals: the Formosan Wild Boar (Sus scrofa taivanus), the Formosan Sambar Deer (Cervus unicolor swinhoei) and the Reeve's Muntjac (Muntiacus reevesi micrurus). Seediq and Truku hunters, by tracking animals through the forests and observing their behaviours, know the animals and their habitats intimately. What special knowledge do the Seediq and Truku possess about these animals, their reproductive cycles, and environments? How have Seediq and Truku cultural norms about hunting, including the ancestral law of Gaya, encoded this knowledge into customary law? How can this knowledge contribute to effective management of wildlife resources? What lessons does their experience offer to the management of game animals in other contexts?