Hot Recommendations

How to Turn Crisis into Opportunity and Return to Nature’s Embrace at Taroko

After the April 3 earthquake in Hualien, Prof. Lee Kuang-Chung of the National Dong Hwa University (NDHU) and the moderator of the Taiwan Partnership for the Satoyama Initiative (TPSI), started thinking about how to return to the embrace of nature in Taroko from a professional point of view, and exploring the coexistence of human beings and nature. Taroko is affected by plate tectonics and the subtropical ocean climate, which has resulted in the rapid uplift of the earth’s crust and the rapid downcutting of Liwu River. In addition, the many typhoons, heavy rains, floods, earthquakes, landslides and other powerful forces of nature have greatly raised tourism safety risks. At the moment of the 0403 earthquake, A Wei, a resident of Dali, took pictures of the mountains on the northeastern boundary of Taroko.The oscillating landscape from the Triangular Cone Mountain System to the Qingshui Mountain System. (Provided by Taroko National Park Management Office) Prof. Lee suggests that the “adaptive capacity” of operations and management should be considered based on the framework of “ecological disaster prevention and mitigation” and “resilience”. Ecological disaster prevention and mitigation is the concept of disaster risk reduction based on the ecosystem, with the main focus on enhancing resilience towards sustainable management, conservation, and restoration of the ecosystem in order to reduce the risk of disasters. The safety risks to visitors can be considered in terms of “vulnerability”, which is derived from the geological “sensitivity” of the canyon slopes and the “exposure” of the visitors. Reducing the exposure to the risk of roadside landslides and rockfalls requires new adaptive capabilities. Based on past experience, the National Park competent authority can identify the geologically high-sensitivity areas of the Taroko Gorge for the application of “long tunnels and short elevations”, which will be the focus of future adaptive operations. For the necessary tourist attractions, the three-pronged approach of “governance”, “protection”, and “management” is required. Governance refers to the use of open tunnels, shotcrete, pitons, rockfall netting and other slope works; protection refers to the wearing of helmets and using rockfall umbrella barriers, and the setting up of protective scaffolds and emergency shelters in areas with dense rockfalls; management refers to measures such as timely park closure or crowd diversion. In the past, tourists have ignored the threats and risks of nature, but now an opportunity presents itself. Prof. Lee believes that we can learn from the experience of the Sanriku Fukko (reconstruction) National Park, which was set up after the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami in Japan. The Taroko National Park can take the lead in linking the two major national scenic areas of the East Coast and the East Longitudinal Valley in a north-south vertical direction. Furthermore, work together with the Hualien and Taitung county governments to carry out integrated planning and management of the “Forest-Village-River-Sea” restoration, sustainable tourism, and the sixth industrialization of townships and villages. In the restoration project after the earthquake in Japan, great emphasis was placed on the importance of rebuilding and accumulating “Satoyama capital”. It is one of the key goals of the Taroko National Park to rebuild its leadership in regional sustainable development. It can be achieved by the government guiding local residents to give full play to in the spirit of the Satoyama Initiative, strengthen the close symbiotic relationship between the rural residents’ livelihood and land resources, and help them to move toward the goal of the sixth industrialization (the industrial development model of agricultural production (first level), agricultural processing (second level), and marketing (third level)). Professor Li suggested overcoming the situation through engineering and reducing the possibility of tourists stopping briefly on the way. To avoid being exposed to the risk of rockfall and collapse. This picture shows the situation of disaster investigation after the 0403 earthquake. (Provided by Taroko National Park Management Office）Professor Li believes that improving social and economic capabilities and allowing the land to play its natural regulating role will restore health.It also improves the livelihood of local residents and restores the close connection between people and nature.It will be the key to the future reconstruction of Taroko! This picture shows Du Muen of the Taroko tribe. Ma Shao teacher inherits his father's skills and conducts rattan weaving teaching courses. (Provided by Taroko National Park Management Office)