National Parks of Taiwan

The 18^th Cross-Strait National Park and Nature Reserve Conference shared valuable experience in national park management

The two sides across the Taiwan Straits share certain similarities in biodiversity, culture, and historical background. Honorary Professor at National Dong Hwa University, Mr. Hsu Kuo-Shi is the pushing hand behind the Cross-Strait National Park and Nature Reserve Conference exchange forum. Advocated by International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA), environmental protection groups and cross-strait experts and scholars, the first Cross-Strait National Park and Nature Reserve Conference was held in China in 1994. This conference marked the beginning of  the exchange of experience between Taiwan and China.

Taiwan’s highly developed networking and mobile computing technologies provide the national parks with innovative ICT application services. Particularly, mobile apps brought by the rapid development of smart phones have provided visitors informative guides while they enjoy nature’s beauty inside the parks. This year, we shared the ICT service experience at the conference. Representatives from China found it very interesting. Representatives from Taiwan also presented volunteer service promotions, tribal patrols, and ecotourism partner programs at the conference, as well as several theses discussing the issues of nature and ecology in China and Taiwan. This conference aims to facilitate experience sharing between experts and scholars from Taiwan and China and to advocate joint efforts for environmental protection and conservation.

This annual Cross-Strait National Park and Nature Reserve Conference will be hosted by Taiwan and China on a rolling basis. Activities will include site visits, observational tours into the management of national parks, park guides and quality of services, as well as exchanges regarding management mechanisms, experiences, and academic studies. The goal of this conference is to map out the future of national parks in Taiwan and strategies for sustainable development. The different views in policies and strategies are highly valuable. Through experience sharing, we will bring the national parks in Taiwan into a broader scope and promote sustainable development.