News--Welcome to National Chiayi University

　　National Chiayi University collaborated with ALI REVITAL COMPANY LIMITED to hold the “Forest Carbon Sequestration Project Training Workshop” starting from March. They recruited 22 trainees who underwent 88 hours of intensive training and on-site practice, and their achievements have been presented at the Sinmin campus of NCYU on June 3rd. A total of 16 trainees received certificates of completion with a pass rate of 72.7%. They are qualified to write project proposals to be verified by the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS), Gold Standard (GS) and other carbon reduction verification organizations, making them valuable contributors to the forest carbon sequestration in Taiwan.

　　Since the government has proposed methodologies for forest carbon sequestration, it is necessary to quantify the actual carbon reduction achieved through related projects and turn them into carbon credits to be offset or traded. There is a need for officially recognized methods for forest carbon sequestration and reduction, as well as professionals who can implement these methods in the forests. However, there is a shortage of professionals with the necessary expertise in generating quantitative data and executing projects. Therefore, no project has been approved in Taiwan since the official announcement of the afforestation and forest carbon sequestration project in 2019. To address this issue, the Department of Technology Management, College of Management, NCYU and ALI REVITAL COMPANY LIMITED have been collaborating in recruiting and training trainees. They invited Jiunn-Cheng Lin, Chief Secretary of the Taiwan Forestry Research Institute, Council of Agriculture, Executive Yuan and his research team to compile teaching materials and deliver lectures. The workshop covered basic concepts of forest carbon sequestration, on-site investigations and data analysis, and writing proposals for forest carbon sequestration offset projects. Through step-by-step detailed instructions, it provides trainees with a solid understanding of forest carbon sequestration projects. The trainees will be able to contribute their efforts to achieving net-zero goals in the future.

　　Prof. Jun-Yen Lee, principal investigator from the NCYU Department of Technology Management, said that the collaboration among industry, academia, and government provides an initiative for these trainees to take actions to promote forest carbon sequestration. He expressed gratitude to Chang Tai, Director of the Chiayi Forest District Office, Forestry Bureau, which provides a domestic forest land for the trainees to conduct on-site practices, making it the first site of domestic forest land in Taiwan with standardized forest carbon credit estimation. According to the results of on-site measurements presented by the trainees, the 5-year-old afforested land for demonstration of the Forestry Bureau’s Chiayi Forest District Office in Jhong Pu Township, which covers about 2.5 hectares, may sequester 633 metric tons of carbon dioxide over the next three decades. After registration and approval through offset projects, they can become carbon credits to be offset or traded.

　　Chen Wei-Lin, Chairman of ALI REVITAL COMPANY LIMITED, attended the ceremony and received a letter of appreciation from President Lin. Chairman Chen expressed that it is very meaningful to co-initiate the first talent training workshop for the carbon sequestration project. He encouraged the trainees to learn from the program and looked forward to working together for the future of Taiwan.
The Agriculture Department, Chiayi County Government, also sent staff to participate in the Forest Carbon Sequestration Project Training Workshop. Hsu Chang-Min, Director of the Agriculture Department, said that the county government is currently planning reforestation of the detention ponds in the area. The objective is create benefits such as carbon sequestration and biodiversity, thus making Chiayi the first local government in Taiwan to voluntarily propose a carbon reduction collaboration project.

　　NCYU President Han Chien Lin, who attended the graduation ceremony, indicated that, in accordance with Taiwan’s national greenhouse gas reduction target, the forest carbon sequestration is expected to reach 10 million metric tons of carbon dioxide. As the vast forests in Taiwan have infinite functions and values, he hoped the forest carbon sequestration professionals nurtured by NCYU to apply their knowledge to contribute to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.