Japanese horseradish cultivation will soon be banned in Alishan

High-end Japanese restaurants frequently offer freshly-ground Japanese horseradish -- also known as Wasabi -- to accompany the sushi or sashimi they serve. In Taiwan it is hard to find the right environmental conditions for Wasabi to thrive. Alishan is one of the very few places in Taiwan suited to its cultivation. Wasabi produced in Alishan is both of high quality and of high price and it has become Alishan’s main cash crop. However, the Forestry Bureau is expected to completely eliminate its cultivation by the end of the year on the grounds that Wasabi farmers have been illegally occupying state-owned land, and its cultivation has created problems with soil and water conservation. Visitors to Alishan are attracted to this store display rack featuring mountain products advertised as genuine Alishan Wasabi. However, many of these products contain cheap Western Wasabi. Where can genuine, fresh Alishan Wasabi be found? Most Wasabi fields are located in the Alishan National Forest Recreation Area. According to regulations, cultivation of Wasabi must first be approved and checked by the Forestry Bureau. These days, Wasabi crops are flourishing, with many farmers busy digging it out and carefully separating the roots, seedlings, leaves and stem. Alishan with an altitude above 2000 meters meets the rare environmental conditions needed for Wasabi to thrive. It has become the only place in Taiwan that produces Wasabi. Wu Hsiang-tseAlishan Wasabi FarmerYou see how loose Alishan’s soil is. See how slippery it is. Our soil is so good, it’s so slippery, it can easily turn into a ball when squeezed. The reason why other places, including Hehuanshan and the Central Mountain Range, are not so good is because their soil is different from ours. It is all gravel and rock and water drains too quickly. Alishan’s Wasabi is actually a foreign non-native species. During the Japanese occupation, the Japanese came to Alishan to carry out logging and brought Wasabi from their hometowns. Originally it was cultivated in small-scale areas, but in the 1980s with the opening of the Alishan Highway, large-scale cultivation of Wasabi began. Cultivation of Wasabi yields several times the profit of other vegetables, causing farmers to gradually drop other crops in favor of Wasabi. Huang Chien-mingFarmerIn the past, many people were involved (in this cultivation) probably around 500-600. People farm in Alishan’s high-altitude locations.Most of the Wasabi is exported to Japan, making it still difficult to find in Taiwan. Huang-Lu Shih-yiChef of Japanese CuisineOnly a limited amount is produced here, and it’s quite rare and very expensive. One kilogram is a couple of thousand New Taiwan dollars. While the cost of real Wasabi produced in Alishan is quite high, Wasabi packages are sold commercially throughout Taiwan. They are mostly made in factories with chemical additives. Huang-Lu Shih-yiChef of Japanese CuisineNatural wasabi is a lighter green and has a moist taste. The Wasabi with chemical additives of course will look better and brighter. Much pigment is added and it looks very green. Its taste is also drier. However, although regarded as expensive and exclusive, cultivation of Wasabi is destroying Alishan’s environment. Lai Lung-huei Alishan Station Director When cultivating Wasabi, there’s typically a special ditch created that leads water to runoff. That can also cause soil erosion and damage to the park.To increase the sunlight on the Wasabi crops, branches and leaves from cedars on the mountaintop have been removed, but this is having an impact. Lai Lung-huei Alishan Station Director Rain now falls directly on the ground and can cause the loss of soil and water. It’s probably why the soil is so loose. The canopy down to middle-level shrubs down to the ground with grass cover, prevents the rain having a direct impact on the soil. In addition, these Wasabi fields are in state-owned forestlands and (the farmers) are classed as engaging in illegal occupation. The Forestry Bureau in September 2015, sent a formal letter to inform Wasabi farmers that the government will reclaim all the Wasabi fields by the end of 2016. The Wasabi farmers produced contracts signed with the Forestry Bureau showing that over the past 20-30 years they had obtained the government''s permission to farm this land.Yang Hung-chihForestry Bureau Deputy Director GeneralIn fact, Wasabi cultivation has produced many negative effects. From 2008, we continually tried to encourage these Wasabi farmers to transfer to other work within the forest recreation area.The Wasabi industry is not only related to the farmers’ livelihoods, but is also integral to tourism in Alishan. People are thinking of new ways to balance the conflicting interests of farmers, tourism, and soil conservation.Alishan Wasabi can only grow at areas which have average temperatures of eight degrees and it...