Professor Chen Meihui from our Forestry Department, in collaboration with the Forestry Bureau, has jointly established Taiwan’s first “Community Forestry Center.” After four years, it has connected a total of 6 collaborative network points and produced 5 series of community forestry technical manuals and videos. Today (12/10), an event titled “Community Forestry Technical Manual and Partner Site Achievement Presentation” and a “Plaque Unveiling Ceremony” were held at our university’s Big Data Center.
President Dai Changxian stated, “Through the Community Forestry Center established by the Forestry Bureau at National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, and under the leadership of Professor Chen Meihui, cross-disciplinary collaboration within the university has been facilitated. This allows faculty and students to step out of the campus, collaborate and coordinate with the Forestry Bureau, various levels of units, and the community, providing better teaching and industry services, and creating a better economic return to society.” Professor Chen Meihui from the Forestry Department added, “The era of ‘Community Forestry 2.0’ is now here. To assist in policy promotion and respond to social development needs, the Community Forestry Center addresses current important local revitalization issues such as community building, advocating for mountain villages, new agriculture, organic agriculture, rural circular economy, six-level agricultural industry value chain, ecological tourism, and under-forest economy. It actively cultivates talent through education, workshops, seminars, skill training, and international exchanges. In addition, the Community Forestry Center has been working with the Forestry Bureau to accompany local community development for many years, supported by the Ministry of Education’s University Social Responsibility (USR) program. To date, it has organized 42 talent cultivation activities, with a total of 1410 trainees nationwide. This initiative not only takes root in various parts of Taiwan but also accelerates rural development in environmentally friendly environments.” Chief Luo Youjuan from the Conservation Section of the Forestry Bureau said, “In addition to promoting community forestry projects, the Community Forestry Center also shoulders the important spirit of advocating for mountain villages. In addition to publishing printed manuals and a series of videos, we also provide information about various ‘exemplary communities’ and ‘demonstration communities’ on the ‘Community Forestry Project Application Information Network’ website for future partners who want to join community forestry. This serves as a reference and learning resource, and we facilitate easy access and learning through various channels.”
The event presented a series of community forestry technical manuals, and guest speakers included Tang Guangyou, the author of “Community Forestry Technical Manual – Monitoring and Selection of Honey Source Plants” from SoilRocks Ecology Co., Ltd.; Mr. Nakamura Shin, President of the “Japan-Taiwan Mountain Village Exchange Meeting,” who pre-recorded videos; and Mr. Yeh Zhengjie, founder of Ladder Image Co., Ltd., which documented the event.
Through the establishment and networking of community forestry center points, the event aimed to provide empowerment and consulting services to communities nationwide, expand the professional service capacity of the Community Forestry Center, and showcase achievements. The network points presented at the Community Forestry Center include: “Community Industry Network Point/Kaohsiung City Baolai Cultural Association” – providing resource investigation and inventory to train interpreters for development, and assisting in the promotion and marketing of local agricultural products; “Social Enterprise Point/Hualien County Ox Plough Community Exchange Association” – guiding and assisting more communities in community forestry projects through a community-led model; “Environmental Education Point/Yong’an Community Development Association, Luye Township, Taitung County” – establishing an environmental education center through sustainable development and promoting ecological tourism; “Forest Patrol Point/Promote Aboriginal Rongan Cultural and Educational Promotion Association, Taitung County” – participating in the “National Ecological Conservation Green Network Construction Project” to implement shallow mountain ecological conservation and conserve the biological and cultural diversity of mountain and sea areas; “Underforest Economy Beekeeping Point/Mingde Community Beekeeping and Rehabilitation Center, Miaoli County” – promoting a friendly environment while creating a community bee product brand; and “Underforest Economic Golden Thread Point/Pub Xing Community Development Association, Fanlu Township, Chiayi County” – cultivating the alternative economic benefits for local small farmers by planting golden thread, among others.
In addition to the presentation of network points, a “General Introduction to Community Forestry Technical Manual” was also presented. This overview allows communities and forestry personnel to comprehensively and rapidly grasp the essence of community forestry projects for effective knowledge management and application. The event covered various topics such as “Community Forestry Technical Manual – Underforest Beekeeping,” which fosters the skills of young students in underforest beekeeping, benefiting the economic development of mountain villages. Other topics included “Community Forestry Technical Manual – Monitoring and Selection of Honey Source Plants,” which was based on long-term field observations of bee flower visits, contributing to a better understanding of native honey source plants by beekeepers. Additionally, the event featured the “Community Forestry Technical Manual – Introduction to Japanese Satoyama Case Studies,” co-authored by Mr. Nakamura Shin, Daisuke Sakamoto, Junpei Omori, and Tsuguo Kawai, practical workers who jointly wrote about their on-site practices in Satoyama. The event also introduced a series of videos on community forestry technical manuals, providing the public with a dual
