Represented by the Taiwan Wild Bird Federation (TWBF), the Jacana Ecological Education Park in Tainan’s Guantian District officially joined the International Partnership for the Satoyama Initiative (IPSI) this year, becoming the IPSI’s 279th member as well as the 18th Taiwanese organization to join it. The partnership aims to ensure that landscapes and cultural diversity are not threatened.
Lee Wen-chen, director of the Jacana Ecological Education Park, said that the TWBF is the largest bird conservation alliance in Taiwan, consisting of 21 non-governmental organizations dedicated to bird conservation and the environment. The Jacana Ecological Education Park is managed by the Tainan Wild Bird Society, a member group of the TWBF.
Jacanas inhabit wetlands where floating plants grow. In the absence of natural habitat, water caltrop ponds become alternatives that provide a suitable environment for jacanas to breed and forage.
Photo courtesy of Jacana Ecological Education Park 照片:水雉生態教育園區提供
Most of the remaining jacanas in Taiwan inhabit the water caltrop ponds in Tainan’s Guantian District, so that Taiwan’s main water caltrop producing area is also its most crucial jacana habitat.
Known as the “home of water caltrops,” Guantian is a place where jacanas and water caltrops thrive together, attracting a large number of tourists every autumn.
It is the season when farmers are seen across Guantian busily picking water caltrops and selling them at stalls along the main roads. The Water Caltrop Festival, which will take place on Saturday, is definitely not to be missed.
(Translated by Lin Lee-kai, Taipei Times)
台南市官田區水雉生態教育園區由中華民國野鳥學會(簡稱中華鳥會)代表,今年正式加入「國際里山倡議夥伴關係網路(IPSI)」,成為第兩百七十九個成員,也是台灣第十八個成功加入IPSI的組織,確保地景與文化多樣性不受威脅。
水雉生態教育園區主任李文珍表示,中華鳥會是台灣最大的鳥類保育聯盟組織,由全國二十一個致力於鳥類保育與環境的民間團體所共同組成。「水雉生態教育園區」是由中華鳥會的團體會員台南市野鳥學會所負責經營。
水雉喜好在生長浮水植物的濕地棲息,在缺乏天然棲地的條件下,菱角田也提供適合的環境,讓水雉能夠繁衍和覓食。台灣僅存的水雉大多棲息在台南官田的菱角田,因此這台灣最主要的菱角產地,也成為全台最關鍵的水雉棲息地。
官田區有「菱角之鄉」美名,水雉與菱角相生相伴,每年秋天都吸引大批遊客來觀賞。
現在官田區菱角田四處可見農民忙採菱風光,各主要道路旁也有農民擺攤賣菱角。本週六登場的菱角節產業文化活動,更是不可錯過。
(自由時報記者王涵平)
A: Artificial intelligence technology has been causing controversy lately: a student was caught cheating with AI to win the grand prize in an art contest. B: That’s so absurd. Does this mean that AI paints better than humans? A: Maybe. Luckily, the student was later disqualified. B: And more absurdly, it’s becoming more and more popular to use AI technology to “resurrect” people. A: Yeah, some netizens even posted videos featuring the late singer CoCo Lee, who was “resurrected” by them with AI software. A: 人工智慧的爭議不斷,有學生違規使用AI參加美術展,甚至贏得首獎。 B: 真誇張,這是不是代表AI比人類還強大? A: 或許吧,幸好得獎資格被取消。 B: 還有更誇張的︰讓死者重現的「AI復活」技術越來越熱門。 A: 對啊,還有網友製作已故歌后李玟「復活」的影片呢! (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)
It’s no secret that Japanese people have a deep affection for noodles. Like in the rest of East Asia, noodles are an important staple food, second only to rice. Japanese people have enjoyed noodles for over 1,000 years. The first noodles came from China and were introduced around 800 CE. As time passed, noodles in Japan not only became widespread but also developed some unique Japanese characteristics. The three most popular types of noodles in Japan are ramen, soba, and udon. Ramen, typically made from wheat flour, is usually thin and firm. The dough is kneaded and left to
Rice is an essential ingredient in Taiwanese cuisine. Many foods are made of rice, adding more variety to our cooking, such as rice cake, or “gui.” Wagui is made by steaming rice flour batter in a bowl. The term “gui” refers to a type of food made from rice, while “wa” refers to a bowl. The pronunciation of “gui” in Taiwanese Hokkien is similar to the word for “nobility” in Chinese, so it is common for people to prepare various types of gui, including wagui, as offerings to the gods or ancestors,. 米是台灣重要的主食,用米製成的食品十分多元,豐富我們的飲食,如米做成的「粿」。粿的意思是米做成的糕點,碗粿是將在來米漿倒入碗中蒸熟,因而得名。粿因為音同「貴」,因此碗粿等粿食常用作供品祭拜神明和祖先。 nobility (n.) 高貴,高尚;貴族 offering (n.) 供品 While Taiwan may not be
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