:::
202411/20
As the weather cools down, Sanliao Bay in Beimen District of Tainan City prepares to welcome a group of treasured visitors from the north. In early November, the Chiayi Branch of the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency (FANCA) was pleased to discover at least 44 black-faced spoonbills resting and foraging in the flooded rice paddies during a waterfowl survey conducted in Luzhugou and Sanliao Bay in Beimen. In Sanliao Bay, shallots are cultivated using a technique that relies on flooded fields. Rainwater is retained in the fields to lower the salinity of the soil, which forms a wetland that is a paradise for waterfowl and attracts a large number of migratory birds every year. It creates a beautiful scene of harmony between farmers and the natural ecosystem as envisioned by the Sato-umi Initiative.
The wide expanses of fields in Sanliao Bay are home to the distinct flooded paddy field culture. Due to the high salinity of the soil in the region, Sanliao Bay has preserved the unique farming techniques for saline fields. To lower the salt level of the soil, farmers make good use of the rainy season in May and June, as well as the Southwest Monsoon and typhoon rainfall from July to September, and skillfully “trap” the rainwater in the fields. Farmers then drain the water around the Mid-Autumn Festival (usually in mid-September to early October) to plant shallots, which are known as “red rubies,” and then harvest them before the Ching Ming Festival (usually in April). Then the fields are prepared for re-flooding once again, and thus the cycle continues. This unique farming method has created wetlands that are a rich source of food, attracting a large number of migratory birds to stop over in the area every year, making Sanliao Bay a popular bird-watching destination in Tainan. Even after the Mid-Autumn Festival where cultivation has begun in most of the shallot fields, the few uncultivated rice paddies still attract many black-faced spoonbills and other waterfowl.
Sanliao Bay and the neighboring Luzhugou community have traditional industries that coexist with the natural environment, including flooded-field shallot farming, fish farming, and the unique suspended oyster culture method. These agricultural activities provide ideal habitats for waterfowl and coastal wetland organisms, making the region an important hub along the Chianan Coast Wetland conservation corridor within the Taiwan Ecological Network (TEN). To maintain the biodiversity around the Beimen Lagoon, the Chiayi Branch of the FANCA has commissioned a team of experts to work in the community to help promote the Sato-umi Initiative. Residents are highly concerned about environmental conservation since the industries on which they rely for their livelihood are closely related to the natural environment. The Chiayi Branch actively works with the community to conduct resilience assessments, take stock of the community’s ecosystem, livelihood and production issues, and promote eco-friendly industries, as well as to help them channel resources from the relevant public and private sectors in order to establish a synergistic mechanism. The aim is to create a sustainable model that supports society, the ecosystem, and production processes in the coastal area, thus achieving the synergetic coexistence of humans and nature within the Sato-umi system. We also hope to welcome back the black-faced spoonbills wintering in Beimen, Tainan, every year.