It’s been ten years since the of the Typhoon Morakot disaster decimated the villages along the No. 24 highway in Sandimen and Wutai township in Southern Taiwan. Since that time, the local communities have been partnering with government, industry and academia to restore the area

National Pingtung University of Science and Technology (NPUST) is committed to sustainable development and circular economies. With the support from the Taiwan Forestry Research Institute, since 2018, NPUST has been implementing a project to assess biochar production processes for agricultural and forestry surplus materials, looking for ways to improve techniques and allow for greater benefits. This year (2019), it established the Center for Agriculture and Forestry Auxiliary Materials Recycling and Value Creation to further the cause. Agricultural and forestry auxiliary materials are generally referred to as agricultural and forestry wastes. The purpose of this center is to turn that so called waste into products of value. Currently they are using agricultural and forestry wastes to develop various biomass pellets or biochar pellets that can be used for different purposes, such as “aquaculture environment improvement”, which is currently being evaluated. Other projects such as “Evaluation of Biochar Applications in Urban Forest Soil” and “Reuse of Mushroom Bag Waste from Mushroom Farming Industry” are tackling agricultural and forestry wastes problems which are costly difficult to process. The opening ceremony for the new center was held on May 7th at the NPUST Wood Processing Technical Service Center.

Landslides induced by the torrential rains of Typhoon Morakot forced the Ali Tribe of Pingtung to relocate and start afresh in another location. They left the mountains behind to rebuilt on the neighboring plains; however, they did not leave behind their cultural heritage. Every year tribe members get together for the celebration of the Homeyaya

Director and professor at the Department of Plant Industry, Dr. Chong-Ho Wang, has been invested in research on organic agriculture, soil productivity, re-use of agriculture waste and rationalized fertilization for many years now and the results of his research and develop can be read about in the 700 plus literary

NPUST’s Department of Forestry director, Dr. Meihui Chen, has been working in Taiwan’s tribal areas for many years, and on May 11th, she led a group of NPUST’s international students on a trip to Wutai to take part in a Rukai Tribe cultural class and experience some of Taiwan’s aboriginal cultural