Residents hope to save venerable mango tree from urban renewal plans

A venerable old mango tree standing gracefully on Guoxiao Rd. Bitan, New Taipei City is affectionately know to locals as ‘The Mango Grandfather’. However, ‘The Mango Grandfather’ appears to be standing in the way of New Taipei City Government’s Urban Development program and as a result may be destined for the chop. Fortunately, a 300-strong group, composed of locals and environmentalists quickly launched a petition to appeal to the government that ‘The Mango Grandfather’ be saved. This magnificent tree, which has a girth of almost 2.5 meters and reaches the same height as a six-story building, still stands majestically, but with the trunk already damaged, for just how long, nobody knows. ‘The Mango Grandfather’ has stood alongside many local residents for a great number of years, and so not surprisingly, is very much revered and considered to have tree spirits. Each year, the tree not only gives locals a wonderful show of fragrant blossoms and a bounteous quantity of tasty mangoes, but also holds a great deal of deeply cherished memories. The tree has temporarily been saved by the Tree Protection Regulations in Taiwan and as this urban development plan is using expropriated land, the approval of the Agriculture Department is necessary. “These trees are true ecological treasures on this planet, and as such, the Agriculture Department will diligently strive to put the proper procedures and guidelines in place to ensure that they are protected…of course we sincerely hope that likewise, the people also love, cherish and protect these venerable old trees”, said Agriculture Department’s Forestry Chief Lin Ai-chin.

PeoPo 公民新聞

Residents hope to save venerable mango tree from urban renewal plans (by CJ SHU Online)
URL: http://www.peopo.org/news/95384

(以下是中文對照)

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芒果阿祖遇都更 居民盼把根留住 ( 世新Online )

新北市碧潭國校路一棵一百二十年歷史的芒果樹，當地人都叫她「芒果阿祖」。因新北市政府推動都市更新計畫，可能面臨被砍掉的命運。約三百名當地居民與保育 人士較早前發動連署簽名呼籲市府原地保留。這棵樹腰二百四十五公分，高約有六層樓高的芒果樹，目前仍屹立其中，但樹身已遭到破壞。陪伴當地居民多年的「芒 果阿祖」，被居民認為是有靈性的百年老樹，每年不但開花結果，讓居民有甜甜的芒果吃，還有與老樹的回憶。這棵百年老樹受到新北市政府樹木保護自治條例的保 護，若因發展計畫而被迫徵用這塊土地，也必須經過市政府農業局的點頭才能執行。新北市政府農業局林務科科長林愛琴呼籲，樹木是我們地球上的綠色資產，農業 局將致力保護這些經列管的百年珍貴老樹，也請民眾一起愛護這些樹木。

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