Reported by: electronicnewsletter edition team, National Parks of Taiwan
Photos provided by:teamof National Parks of Taiwan

The Construction andPlanning Agency of the Ministry of the Interior sent participants to attend theAsia Parks Congress in Japan in 2013 and initiated the possibility ofcross-national cooperation with Chief Committee of Congress, Professor Kumagai,Yoshitaka from Akita International University. He is also the representativefor Japan in The International Union for Conservation of Nature and NaturalResources and is in charge of implementing international cooperation relatedmatters. Construction and Planning Agency, Ministry of the Interior invitedProfessor Kumagai to Taiwan during the 30^th Sino-Japanese ModernEngineering and Technology Symposium in 2013 to share the establishment andmanagement structure of Japan’s national parks. In 2014, we also sentparticipants to attend the World Parks Congress where Professor Kumagaisuggested further cooperation of national park management and conservation jobsby both sides. Through signing the agreement for cooperation, Chief Zhan fromNational Park team as representative of Construction and Planning Agency,Ministry of the Interior and Principal Norihiko Suzuki of Akita InternationalUniversity co-signed the agreement on December 21^st. From there, across-national cooperation and exchange on conservation for national parks began.

To establish theexchange and learning mode of both parties, Professor Kumagai recommended thatfifth-year student from undergraduate school at Akita International University,Yano Keisuke, intern under the Yangmingshan National Park Management Office. Yanosan had been an exchange student at Dickinson College for two semesters andparticipated in a research cooperation project between The USA and Japan. Now,he has been accepted to enter the Graduate school of Kyoto University master’sin agricultural, natural resources and economy and will study further on forestpolicy and economy related research starting April 2016. He would like tocontribute what he learnt from school to Ministry of the Environment or relatedconservation units in order to advance his conservation practice andinternational cooperation experience, Yangmingshan National Park ManagementOffice helped to arrange his internship schedule from January 25^th to March 4^th, 2016.

Cross-national Exchange Impact

On his first day at YangmingshanNational Park Management Office, it started to snow. He was surprised to see atremendous number of people coming into the national park. During theinternship, he also found that there are many residents within the scope ofpark, but there is not enough restriction or control of tourists entering thegeneral restricted or recreational areas. Therefore, he was quite worried aboutthe environmental threat borne by Yangmingshan National Park and the capabilityof the environment to take it.

When the Administration office conducting asatisfaction interview with the visitors, some people’s feedback also affected Yanosan greatly. Regarding to the environment’s capability, there are strictregulations enforced on park tourists in Japan. For example, Kan-HakusanNational Park, protected as a World Heritage site, does not have toilets installedon the mountain. All tourists must carry portable toilet facilities bythemselves.

Engage Locally, Feel the Value of Environment

Yano san thinks thatthe scope of management between national parks and local people should proceedwith the goals and plans that are worked out together. Therefore, regarding howto properly manage national parks, he raises the example of Oze National ParkAssociation, which is a bridge between people and government and involves threeparties, such as experts, the public and government authorities, a total of 30people. There are two meetings held each year. The 30 people from the groupresearch together on how to improve further. On the other hand, the associationalso undertakes removal of external species on a yearly basis for the executionof preservation. Over time, the schools nearby also learn from it and join inthe job of removal. This is the power and effective result of local education.

Are Japanese residents so rational and neveragainst with the policy by government? Yano san states that in the example ofOsaka city, people actually do disagree with Osaka city government’s policysometimes. However, after the communication and negotiation through theassociation, they could finally reach harmony and consensus.

Yano san said that infact, there are people questioning the necessity to keep on building publicfacilities considering the reduction of population in Japan. He further bringsup the example of his internship for the implementation of Osaka park. Sinceall the documents were consolidated by him, he witnessed that the associationand citizens came up with the direction together through comments exchange.Then, it establishes the construction structure based on citizens’ expectationwith the sponsorship of almost 53 business enterprises and pushes the park toperfection through cooperation with the public.

As per Yano san,parks are not just parks. The interchange and cooperation between park andpeople are also an important part of management. Therefore, he suggestsreinforcing participation of people from local areas or neighborhoods to therelated management jobs at national parks in order to feel the valuableresources we get in our national parks and understand the concept ofconservation and life style at national parks.

Yano san share internship experience	Chief Zhan awarded with marketing gifts
Director Chen awarded with internshipcertificate	Chief Zhan、Director Chen and Yano sangroup picture