First marine park established after budget approved

This article was written by June Tsai and published by the Taiwan Journal on December 1, 2006. It reports that Taiwan's first marine park, the Dongsha Marine National Park, would soon be created after the passage of the necessary US$20 million 10-year budget.

The Dongsha Marine National Park will be located around Dongsha Island, or Pratas Island, in the South China Sea, about 240 nautical miles southwest of Kaohsiung. The park will become Taiwan's seventh national park and its first marine park. Covering around 80,000 hectares of atolls and around 350,000 hectares in total, it will be by far the largest national park to date. Indeed, it will occupy an area roughly one-tenth the size of Taiwan proper.

According to the Construction and Planning Administration under the Ministry of the Interior, the plan to set up the Dongsha Marine National Park was proposed in order to conserve the area's unique ecology and natural environment, which consists mainly of coral atolls and reef flats. The priorities of the plan are to undertake a thorough survey of the area's marine ecology and resources, to revive coral reefs and to protect the ecosystem and the environment. Such conservation efforts are becoming increasingly urgent, due to climate change that causes bleaching of reefs. Destructive fishing methods used by Taiwanese and foreign vessels are further threatening the area's fishery resources.

The budget for the 10-year project was passed by the Council for Economic Planning and Development. It will cover research and surveying, monitoring facilities, transportation and safety equipment, education, and environmental preservation. It will also cover other amenities needed to help make Dongsha Island self-sufficient, such as desalinization equipment to provide water and solar- and wind-powered generators to produce electricity. Finally, the budget will cover the setting up of an underwater research station in preparation for long-term scientific research and monitoring.

Due to Dongsha Island's distance from Taiwan proper and its political sensitive status (as the island is also claimed by China as its territory), Taiwan's Coast Guard Administration will be responsible for repelling fishing boats that use destructive fishing methods. The administration will also assist in coral reef revival work.

However, those tourists who wish to visit the park's natural beauty will have to wait at least 10 years. So far, tourist facilities are not a focus of the project. Environmental impact of tourism will also need to be carefully considered before any tourist developments can go ahead.