In the face of global climate change and net-zero carbon emissions challenges, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology (NPUST) and Taiwan Sugar Corporation officially signed a “Memorandum of Cooperation on Low-Carbon Agriculture and Sustainable Land Use” on June 20th (2025). Under the MOC, which was signed by NPUST president Chin-Lung Chang and Taiwan Sugar Chairman Ming-Chang Wu, the two parties will combine academic research and practical experience with “low-carbon production and sustainable use of resources”. More specifically speaking, they will use Taiwan Sugar Corporation farms as test platforms for water resource management, energy-saving irrigation, low-carbon farming and other technologies developed by NPUST. A standardized operation model will be used to build a demonstration field for low-carbon agriculture, and together they will promote research and technological innovation, carbon management strategies, the reuse of resources and green circular economies.

Factors such as poaching and demand for traditional Chinese medicine have caused global pangolin populations to declined rapidly or even disappeared in some parts of the world. However, thanks to conservation efforts in Taiwan in recent years, its local pangolin populations have become much more stable. Nevertheless, since pangolin habitats are mostly distributed in low-lying mountain areas, they still face many threats to survival, including intrusion by stray dogs, habitat degradation, or traps set for other animals. Therefore, with the support of the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) and the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA), a research team headed up by Assistant Professor Ching-Min Sun of the NPUST Institute of Wildlife Conservation has been deeply engaged in research on the pangolin’s unique way of life so that they can provide more specific conservation recommendations to concerned parties. Through their work, a radio tracking network and community reporting mechanism has been established, and the team has been able to gain valuable insight on the pangolins’ range of activities, population size and reproductive status. Also, for the very first time, the team has been able to evaluate the pangolin’s ability to raise offspring after losing a tail and observe the challenges it faces in the process.