本期內容簡介

National Parks of Taiwan in Global Trends

Live Up to a Sustainable Future

Yellowstone National Park—the world’s first national park—was established in 1872. As we all know, this was a starting point for the development of national parks worldwide. However, the U.S. National Park Service (NPS), which officially began operation 44 years after Yellowstone National Park was established, has been just as instrumental for the development of each country’s national parks. Upgrading the national parks’ governing agency to a “Service” not only increased the amount of resources that could be invested in nature conservation and cultural heritage protection, but also further mainfested the country’s attitudes and future visions in terms of relevant issues. Taiwan’s neighbor, South Korea, also established a National Park Service in 1987 to facilitate the integration of relevant operations.

The official unveiling of Taiwan’s National Park Service indicates that Taiwan’s nature conservation and cultural heritage protection are about to reach new heights. This issue’s cover story invites readers to probe into the meaning of the three verbs : See, Build, and Achieve. First, see the vision and direction of the National Park Service’s future development, then learn how national park staff creatively build mutual understanding and collaboration between parks and the public. Lastly, through stories shared by national park senior staff, readers can visualize the process of happiness and bitterness through which national parks endeavored to achieve the ideals of safeguarding Taiwan’s mountains and seas over the past 40 years. The spirit contained within shall serve as an important road sign on the journey toward the future.