SDG15
NCKU Launches the Satoyama Mace Initiative Project, Aiming for Harmony Between Humans and Nature to Foster Global Sustainability
The United Nations' "Satoyama Initiative" aims to achieve harmonious coexistence between society and nature. National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) is implementing the six-year "Satoyama Mace Initiative" project, which seeks to promote and develop carbon reduction technologies in line with the UN’s biodiversity-focused Satoyama Initiative while integrating rural revitalization and local creative activities. The project aims to achieve a total carbon sequestration of 60 million tons of CO₂ between 2024 and 2030. The launch conference will be held at NCKU on February 5. Andre Mader, Director of the Biodiversity and Forest Conservation Program at the United Nations University Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNU-IAS) and the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), will attend the event, emphasizing the importance of global collaboration toward achieving net-zero carbon emissions and biodiversity conservation by 2050, fostering a sustainable future for the planet.
The opening conference will be held at 10:00 AM on the second floor of the old building of the Department of Resources Engineering at NCKU in Xuecheng Hall. Representatives from government agencies, including the Ministry of Agriculture, Taiwan Space Agency, and Tainan City Government, as well as the Nanhua University Center for Sustainability and business sectors focused on biodiversity and net-zero carbon emissions, will attend the event. Additionally, NCKU faculty and students interested in ecology, carbon reduction, and related topics will also participate in this grand gathering.
Director Hsing-I Hsiang of the Department of Resources Engineering delivered the opening remarks, stating that the implementation of the "Satoyama Mace Initiative" connects Taiwan with United Nations-affiliated organizations, making it a highly significant endeavor for both the nation and resource sustainability. He emphasized that many ongoing projects at NCKU’s Department of Resources Engineering align with key global trends in resource sustainability and ecological integration, which are also closely and critically linked to Taiwan’s future economic development. He expressed hope that all sectors would contribute their efforts to ensure a sustainable and thriving global ecosystem.
Following the opening ceremony, Professor Yen-Hsun Su from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at NCKU delivered a presentation on the Satoyama Mace Initiative. He emphasized that beyond developing carbon reduction technologies, collaboration with rural communities and farmers is essential. By aligning with the Satoyama Initiative and the Global Biodiversity Framework, the initiative seeks to enhance carbon sequestration methods and promote the concept of renewable energy. Through the sustainable use of land and natural resources, the initiative aims to foster carbon reduction lifestyles and carbon sequestration innovation. During his presentation, Professor Su also introduced past projects carried out by his team, including the development of biochar from sorghum stalks in the Chianan Plain and efforts to promote place-based innovation through bioluminescent plants in Tainan’s Yanshui district. These projects exemplify the harmony between humans and nature.
Andre Mader then elaborated on how the United Nations Satoyama Initiative is linked to biodiversity conservation. He discussed how landscapes and environments can be leveraged to protect biodiversity and restore nature’s resilience, ultimately achieving a balance between development and ecology. Following the conference, in the afternoon, Andre Mader, accompanied by Professor Yen-Hsun Su, will visit key project sites, including sorghum and corn rotation farmlands in the Chianan Plain and wetlands surrounding the Shuangchun Coastal Recreation Area. According to reports from the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), managing wetlands and agricultural landscapes through the sustainable use of biodiversity can increase carbon sequestration by over 643 and 80 tons of CO₂ per hectare per year, respectively. This approach is expected to play a crucial role in achieving global net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
The Satoyama Initiative was launched jointly by the Ministry of the Environment of Japan and the UNU-IAS. Its vision is to achieve harmonious coexistence between society and nature by conserving and utilizing ecological landscapes such as agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and livestock farming to generate economic, social, and ecological benefits. Subsequently, the International Partnership for the Satoyama Initiative (IPSI) was established as a platform for organizations to participate. Through interaction and collaboration among its members, IPSI aims to promote research and implementation of the Satoyama Initiative.
Professor Yen-Hsun Su and his team are members of the IPSI. They proposed and secured approval for the Satoyama Mace Initiative, a six-year project running from 2024 to 2030 under the IPSI framework. The Satoyama Mace Initiative is based on the principles of the Satoyama Initiative and aims to develop agricultural bio-carbon reduction technologies and biodiversity-based carbon credit systems. The project seeks to promote international carbon credit collaboration, advance transnational biodiversity carbon reduction programs, and establish carbon sequestration assessment methodologies.
The opening conference will be held at 10:00 AM on the second floor of the old building of the Department of Resources Engineering at NCKU in Xuecheng Hall. Representatives from government agencies, including the Ministry of Agriculture, Taiwan Space Agency, and Tainan City Government, as well as the Nanhua University Center for Sustainability and business sectors focused on biodiversity and net-zero carbon emissions, will attend the event. Additionally, NCKU faculty and students interested in ecology, carbon reduction, and related topics will also participate in this grand gathering.
Director Hsing-I Hsiang of the Department of Resources Engineering delivered the opening remarks, stating that the implementation of the "Satoyama Mace Initiative" connects Taiwan with United Nations-affiliated organizations, making it a highly significant endeavor for both the nation and resource sustainability. He emphasized that many ongoing projects at NCKU’s Department of Resources Engineering align with key global trends in resource sustainability and ecological integration, which are also closely and critically linked to Taiwan’s future economic development. He expressed hope that all sectors would contribute their efforts to ensure a sustainable and thriving global ecosystem.
Following the opening ceremony, Professor Yen-Hsun Su from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at NCKU delivered a presentation on the Satoyama Mace Initiative. He emphasized that beyond developing carbon reduction technologies, collaboration with rural communities and farmers is essential. By aligning with the Satoyama Initiative and the Global Biodiversity Framework, the initiative seeks to enhance carbon sequestration methods and promote the concept of renewable energy. Through the sustainable use of land and natural resources, the initiative aims to foster carbon reduction lifestyles and carbon sequestration innovation. During his presentation, Professor Su also introduced past projects carried out by his team, including the development of biochar from sorghum stalks in the Chianan Plain and efforts to promote place-based innovation through bioluminescent plants in Tainan’s Yanshui district. These projects exemplify the harmony between humans and nature.
Andre Mader then elaborated on how the United Nations Satoyama Initiative is linked to biodiversity conservation. He discussed how landscapes and environments can be leveraged to protect biodiversity and restore nature’s resilience, ultimately achieving a balance between development and ecology. Following the conference, in the afternoon, Andre Mader, accompanied by Professor Yen-Hsun Su, will visit key project sites, including sorghum and corn rotation farmlands in the Chianan Plain and wetlands surrounding the Shuangchun Coastal Recreation Area. According to reports from the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), managing wetlands and agricultural landscapes through the sustainable use of biodiversity can increase carbon sequestration by over 643 and 80 tons of CO₂ per hectare per year, respectively. This approach is expected to play a crucial role in achieving global net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
The Satoyama Initiative was launched jointly by the Ministry of the Environment of Japan and the UNU-IAS. Its vision is to achieve harmonious coexistence between society and nature by conserving and utilizing ecological landscapes such as agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and livestock farming to generate economic, social, and ecological benefits. Subsequently, the International Partnership for the Satoyama Initiative (IPSI) was established as a platform for organizations to participate. Through interaction and collaboration among its members, IPSI aims to promote research and implementation of the Satoyama Initiative.
Professor Yen-Hsun Su and his team are members of the IPSI. They proposed and secured approval for the Satoyama Mace Initiative, a six-year project running from 2024 to 2030 under the IPSI framework. The Satoyama Mace Initiative is based on the principles of the Satoyama Initiative and aims to develop agricultural bio-carbon reduction technologies and biodiversity-based carbon credit systems. The project seeks to promote international carbon credit collaboration, advance transnational biodiversity carbon reduction programs, and establish carbon sequestration assessment methodologies.
Andre Mader, Director of the Biodiversity and Forest Conservation Program at the United Nations University Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNU-IAS) and the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), made a special appearance
Group photo of the participants
