成立於1933年的美國田納西河谷管理局，以整體規劃、資源多目標利用、效率與專業至上、草根民主、國家中心等特色，成為後續30年在全球環境保育中動見觀瞻的領頭羊。本文主張，該局的理念與經驗為理解戰後初期臺灣林業體制的關鍵。1947年6月，省政府農林處林產管理局成立，首任局長為留美9年餘的康乃爾大學水利工程學博士唐振緒。受到田納西河谷管理局的啟發，他既不認同行政長官公署林務局以林產收入挹注林政的「以林養林」，也不同意省主席魏道明將林政與林產「分而治之」的構想。他認為臺灣林業應以保林與造林為優先，林產生產為其次，且林產管理局應為臺灣林業的最高主管機關，統轄林政與林產，如此方能以整體視野做規劃，且有效率地推動之。唐振緒的林業構想受到本土林學菁英的支持。有感於殖民政府雖對林業做了不少規劃，卻刻意排除臺灣人參與，且在戰爭期間，政府更與少數日籍企業及官商關係良好之臺籍業者聯手，掠奪臺灣森林資源，他們於是認為，這名留美博士將讓臺灣森林休養生息，讓臺灣重拾「福爾摩沙」的美名，而臺灣林業將會是臺灣人的林業。1947年8月，林產管理局的體系初成，唐振緒以田納西河谷管理局為師的構想大抵實現。然而，唐振緒及本土林業菁英追求的整體林業排擠了既得利益者，特別是那些自日治末期以來便在臺灣林業中站穩腳跟的材商。至1949年初，他們盡可能地瓦解林產管理局，將臺灣林業帶入戰國時代。

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), established in 1933, became a global model for environmental conservation over the next three decades, recognized for its holistic planning, multiple use, emphasis on efficiency, technocratic governance, grassroots democracy, and statism. In June 1947, the Bureau of Forest Product Management was established under the Provincial Department of Agriculture and Forestry, with Tang Zhengxu as its first director. Tang, who received his PhD in hydraulic engineering from Cornell University and spent more than nine years in the United States drew inspiration from the TVA. Tang rejected the Forest Bureau’s policy of “using forests to nourish forests,” implemented under the Office of the Chief Executive. He also opposed Governor Wei Daoming’s proposal to “divide and rule,” which separated forestry administration from forest product management. Instead, Tang argued that Taiwanese Forestry should prioritize forest protection and afforestation over utilization. He believed that the Bureau of Forest Product Management should have the highest authority in both forestry administration and forest product management, allowing it carry out multiple planning projects from a holistic perspective and implement its plans efficiently. Tang’s forestry scheme received support from Taiwanese foresters. These foresters believed that the Japanese colonial government had deliberately excluded the Taiwanese from forestry planning, conspired with Japanese corporations, and relied on politically connected Taiwanese to the plunder of forest resources. They hoped that this American-trained PhD would restore the forests, letting them regenerate, make Taiwan “Formosa” again, and transform Taiwan’s forestry into one that would be by and for the Taiwanese people. In August 1947, the organization of Bureau of Forest Product Management had begun to take shape, with Tang’s TVA-inspired model largely in place. Nevertheless, this pursuit of holistic planning kept out those who had vested interests in forestry, especially timber merchants who had established themselves in the final years of Japanese rule. In the beginning of 1949, they would use all means available to undermine the Bureau, thus plunging Taiwanese forestry into chaos.

田納西河谷管理局; 林產管理局; 林業; 保育; 環境史

Tennessee Valley Authority; Bureau of Forest Product Management; forestry; conservation; environmental history