Who Are One Brown Planet?

Mark Blackburn

Born in Australia, brought up in the North of England and now living in Taiwan, Mark has always been an avid traveler. Now, after visiting over 70 different Countries across 5 continents he has had the opportunity to experience a vast spectrum of life from around the world. However, it was on a trip to Raja Ampat in Western Papua in 2008 when he began to realise how unsustainable people’s lives had become and the impact is was having on the planet. Read about his story here.

Annie Hsiao-Wen Wang

An artist, abstract painter and photographer. Born in Taiwan and raised in Australia, Annie sees the impact that pollution is having on the planet and uses her talents to create art to help raise awareness of issues such as plastic pollution in the oceans. She is the creator of the world’s largest crochet plastic turtle and also an established artist with works showing worldwide. For more details on her art please see her website at

Nate Maynard

Nate Maynard consultants with the Chung-hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER). There, he researches ocean economics, analyzes alternative energy development, and promotes circular economy policies. He also manages Link and Loop, a platform for circular projects bringing together top international brands, such as Dell, Apple, and Carbon Trust with Taiwanese companies. Nate was a Fulbright researcher based in Kenting for two years. While there he developed a tool to quantify the economic benefits of coral reefs.

Always evolving, he started as a freshwater fish ecologist before transitioning to policy, then economics and now business. He has worked with NOAA, the World Bank, and various international NGOs. You can often find him looking at garbage or riding along Taipei’s riverside bike trails, sometimes simultaneously.

Nate also writes for The News Lens