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The Taiwan, China Satoyama Map takes you across the whole island

General News By Emily Carter 0 views

In Japanese, satoyama refers to a mixed landscape located between high mountains and plains that includes communities, forests and agriculture. The Satoyama Initiative aims to improve existing mixed landscapes that have been overdeveloped or left derelict, creating a sustainable management model that balances life, production and ecology, and realizing the ideal of harmonious coexistence between society and nature.

This ideal vision has attracted the attention of many people, who also believe it is worth promoting. Therefore, in 2010, the 10th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity of the United Nations adopted the "Satoyama Initiative" declaration, jointly promoted by the Japanese government and the United Nations University Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNU-IAS). Cases of practicing the satoyama spirit also began to appear around the world, and Taiwan, China has taken part as well.

Below is a summary of the current global progress of the Satoyama Initiative, as well as the current status of satoyama-spirited efforts in Taiwan, China, covering 23 communities, agricultural and academic units, for reference.

The Global Satoyama Initiative

After the Satoyama Initiative was adopted at the "Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity," the Japanese government and the United Nations University Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNU-IAS) further proposed establishing The International Partnership for the Satoyama Initiative (IPSI), promoting the spirit of the Satoyama Initiative to participating member organizations through studying cases and organizing experience.

From its founding to March of this year, IPSI's membership has grown from 51 to 167, spanning national government agencies, non-governmental organizations, academic organizations, educational institutions, indigenous and local community organizations, enterprises and private organizations.

Image source: http://satoyama-initiative.org/en/casestudies/

Taiwan, China's only IPSI-approved research case: the "Gihalahai" rice terraces

The only research case in Taiwan, China approved by IPSI as conforming to the Satoyama Initiative was proposed by National Dong Hwa University, taking the rice terrace production landscape of "Gihalahai" in Fengnan Village, Hualien County as its research subject. The research team was stationed there for 2 years, and through observation and interviews with local tribal residents, integrated into data the way local residents opened irrigation channels according to the natural environment and still adhere to traditional natural farming, helping local community residents and public agencies engage in dialogue, and successfully having Gihalahai registered as a cultural landscape in mid-2012 under the Cultural Heritage Preservation Act, becoming the first of Taiwan, China's 37 cultural landscapes to include rice terraces.

Gihalahai file: The Gihalahai cultural landscape is located in the Shicuogou Creek watershed within the Biexi River basin of Fengnan Village, with an area of about 1000 hectares; nearby landmarks include Maladaw Mountain (Xingang Mountain), the highest peak of the Coastal Mountain Range. The middle and lower reaches of Shicuogou Creek form the core area of a continuously organically evolving agricultural cultural landscape of rice terraces, irrigation channels and settlements; the rice terraces cover about 20 hectares, and there are six irrigation channels with a total length of about 4100 m.

Taiwan, China Satoyama Map

Japan has promoted the Satoyama Initiative for as long as 20 years; official government agencies in Taiwan, China began to follow suit around 2007. Guan Lihao, head of the Conservation Section of the Forestry Bureau, Council of Agriculture, said that at the time scholars were commissioned to study the current rise and fall of water snakes in the northern water terrace areas, and it was found that compared with 3 years earlier, the number of water snakes was only one-tenth as many, so efforts began to focus on promoting water terrace restoration, namely today's Bayan settlement in New Taipei City, the Gongliao water terraces and the Gangkou tribe in Fengbin Township, Hualien County.

The concept and practices of the Satoyama Initiative were formally introduced to Taiwan, China around 2010. In addition to the Forestry Bureau of the Council of Agriculture, the Ministry of Culture, agricultural research units and academic units around the country, the national park headquarters under the Construction and Planning Agency of the Ministry of the Interior, and civil groups all took an active part, including farmers adopting friendly farming methods, all of which embody the spirit of the Satoyama Initiative.

Recently the Forestry Bureau compiled communities across Taiwan, China with a satoyama spirit, special agricultural methods, and organizations and academic units promoting the satoyama spirit. Below is the Taiwan, China Satoyama Map, produced by NewsMarket, and everyone is welcome to follow the map and pay a visit.

Forestry Bureau, Council of Agriculture:

  1. Bayan Settlement
    Link: https://www.newsmarket.com.tw/blog/35509/
    Address: Bayan Settlement, Jinshan District, New Taipei City
  2. Gongliao Water Terraces, New Taipei City
    Link: https://www.newsmarket.com.tw/blog/64558/
    Address: No. 65-2, Neiliao Street, Gongliao District, New Taipei City
  3. Gangkou Tribe, Fengbin Township, Hualien County
    Link: https://www.newsmarket.com.tw/blog/13410/
    Address: No. 43, 9th Neighborhood, Gangkou Village, Fengbin Township, Hualien County
  4. Chenglong Wetland Restoration, Kouhu Township, Yunlin
    Link: https://www.newsmarket.com.tw/blog/22580/
    Address: Chenglong Wetland, Kouhu Township, Yunlin
  5. A-Li Tribe Ecotourism, Wutai Township, Pingtung
    Link: https://www.newsmarket.com.tw/blog/43883/
    Address: No. 265, Rukai Street, Wutai Township, Pingtung County
  6. Pakalongay Interpreter Training, Fengnan Village, Fuli Township, Hualien County
    Link: http://e-info.org.tw/node/101020
    Address: No. 84, Yongfeng, Fengnan Village, Fuli Township, Hualien County
    Those included as cultural landscape items under the Ministry of Culture's Cultural Heritage Act, 5 in total across Taiwan, China:
  7. Shuangxin Stone Weir, Qimei, Penghu
    Link: http://www.phhcc.gov.tw/ch/home.jsp…
    Address: Shuangxin Stone Weir Observation Deck, Qimei Township, Penghu County
  8. Jibei Stone Weir Group, Penghu
    Link: http://www.shihu.org.tw/about/
    Address: No. 182, Jibei Village, Baisha Township, Penghu County
  9. Gihalahai, Fengnan Village, Fuli Township, Hualien County
    Link: http://goo.gl/VNXQ4D
    Address: Neighborhoods 18-19, Siwei, Fengnan Village, Fuli Township, Hualien County
  10. Traditional Territory of Langdao Tribe, Lanyu
    Link: http://www.boch.gov.tw/…/cultureass…/caseBasicInfoAction.do…
    Address: No. 9-2, Langdao, Langdao Village, Lanyu Township, Taitung County
  11. Wan'an Old Field Area, Chishang, Taitung
    Link: http://e-info.org.tw/node/100953
    Address: No. 1, 1st Neighborhood, Wan'an Village, Chishang Township, Taitung County

Agricultural Research Units and Academic Units Around the Country:

  1. Taiwan Blue Magpie Tea Series in Pinglin, New Taipei City (Graduate Institute of Building and Planning, National Taiwan University)
    Link: https://www.newsmarket.com.tw/blog/51376/
    Address: No. 34, Dacukeng Road, Shangde Village, Pinglin District, New Taipei City
  2. Pioneering Research on Invertebrates as Indicators of Agricultural Biodiversity in Rice Paddies, Fuli Township, Hualien County
    Link: https://www.newsmarket.com.tw/blog/68952/
    Address: No. 150, Sec. 2, Ji'an Road, Ji'an Village, Ji'an Township, Hualien County
  3. Fish-Wild Rice Symbiosis at Xingjian Organic Village, Sanxing Township, Yilan
    Link: https://www.newsmarket.com.tw/blog/16896/
    Address: No. 26, Guangfu Road, Xingjian Village, Sanxing Township, Yilan County

National Park Cases:

  1. Black-faced Spoonbill Foraging Area, Taijiang National Park
    Link: https://www.newsmarket.com.tw/blog/42045/
    Address: No. 2, Chengping Road, Anping District, Tainan City
  2. Organic Farming at Xibao Farm, Taroko National Park
    Link: https://www.newsmarket.com.tw/blog/51828/
    Address: No. 1, Xibao, Xiulin Township, Hualien County
  3. Terrace Landscapes of Settlements including Shibafen, Yangmingshan National Park
    Link: http://www.forest.gov.tw/ct.asp?xItem=35088&ctNode=1943&mp=6
    Address: No. 242, Quanyuan Road, Beitou District, Taipei City
  4. Organic Rice Paddies of the Nan'an Tribe, Yushan National Park
    Link: http://goo.gl/dStPRc
    Address: No. 83-3, Zhuoqing Village, Zhuoxi Township, Hualien County
  5. Shoushan National Nature Park Establishes Satoyama School
    Link: http://np.cpami.gov.tw/youth/index.php…
    Address: Shoushan National Nature Park, Gushan District, Kaohsiung City

Civil Groups:

  1. Green Conservation Label (Tse-Xin Organic Agriculture Foundation)
    Link: https://www.newsmarket.com.tw/blog/12823/
    Address: No. 75, Sec. 4, Nanjing East Road, Taipei City
  2. Satoyama Academy (Guan Shu Educational Foundation)
    Link: https://www.newsmarket.com.tw/blog/18894/
    Address: No. 82, 8th Neighborhood, Jiaopu Village, Yuanli Township, Miaoli County
  3. Fuxing Ecological Farm, Ruisui Township, Hualien, "Harmonious Coexistence with Ring-necked Pheasants"
    Link: https://www.newsmarket.com.tw/blog/52694/
    Address: No. 180, Sec. 3, Zhongzheng North Road, Hualien County
  4. Meinong Love Hometown Association
    Link: https://www.newsmarket.com.tw/blog/16256/
    Address: No. 12, Fu'an Street, Fu'an Village, Meinong Township, Kaohsiung City

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