As spring approaches, the migratory birds that winter in Taiwan are preparing to return to their birthplaces, which may be hundreds or even thousands of kilometers away. Migratory birds are not the only creatures with habitats spanning national and maritime borders. Most of the world’s species move about unconstrained by human boundaries. Therefore, while our national parks may have boundaries, our strategies and perspectives have never been confined to just one national park.

This year, National Park Quarterly will focus on the theme “Grand Perspectives with no Boundaries” to present important transnational, transregional, and trans-national-park

exchange and digitalization achievements in the four aspects of operation and management, conservation and research, recreation and tourism, and sustainable utilization. As the National Park Service nears the anniversary of its establishment, these historic achievements serve as an important foundation for the journey ahead.

The Spring Edition invites all readers on a journey starting with experience sharing among national parks in Taiwan, then traversing the border to witness international collaboration between national parks of different countries. A special article focuses on the experiences of Yangmingshan National Park Headquarters personnel who visited Korea’s Gyeongju National Park for observation and training. Additionally, readers will be introduced to the digital technologies that are being applied by various national parks to enhance operations and management efficiency and connect with the public.

Cover Story 1National Parks Annual Seminar and International Exchange Events

Article/ Chih-Ya Cheng

Interviewee(s)/ Tai-Ying Wu, Technical Specialist, Conservation and Research Section, Marine National Park Headquarters Hsiu-Yi Lai, Appointed Interpreter, Interpretation and Education Section, Yangmingshan National Park Headquarters Ssu-Yu Lai, Officer, Genernal Affairs Office, Yangmingshan National Park HeadquartersKai-Fang Cheng, Chief of Conservation Research and International Collaboration Section, National Park Servic

Since the National Park Law was officially passed in 1972, Taiwan has established nine national parks and one national nature park. They span from mountain to sea, each with their own diverse and unique ecological characteristics. Taiwan has long been known around the world for its biodiversity. This naturally means that the tasks undertaken by the different national park headquarters are also quite diverse. As they carry out their duties, how can national parks interact and exchange experience with each other? The borders of each national park are well-marked, but how can staff ‘think outside the borders’ when need be? Two recent events – the 2023 National Park Conservation Achievements and Management Seminar, and the memorandum of understanding begun in 2022 between national parks in Taiwan and South Korea – have shown us all the possibilities for crossing borders between parks, and even between countries. And through these possibilities, we can all explore new frontiers in conservation, together

The Meeting of the Minds, from the Mountains to the Sea

Taiwan’s ninenational parks and onenational nature park are located all around the country.The parks have accumulated rich experience and fruitful achievements through their daily and regular operations;and through the annual National Park Conservation Achievements and Management Seminar, staff members can cross borders, share experiences, and explore other parks’ ‘secrets to success’.

The theme for 2023’s seminar was “Exploring the Borders Between Ocean and Land”. This theme, sure to get any mind racing with ideas, was set by the seminar’s hosts: Marine National Park Headquarters(MNPH)’s Conservation and Research Section. Technical Specialist Tai-Ying Wu, the coordinator for the event, explains that these seminars – which have been held for many years – aim to facilitate meaningful interactions between national park management personnel from a wide variety of different specialties. This way, ‘the mountains and the seas’ can come together to work.

“Each national park has its own designated scope of management and operations,” explains Wu. “ For example,Marine National Park’s purview is sea areas, while Yushan National Park’s is mountains and forests. The two park’s characteristics are different. But fish swim where they want; and Formosan black bears travel all over, too. These animals know no ‘borders’;or,to think about it another way, their borders are vast. That’s why we came up with this theme. We hoped that discussion and exploration of this theme could build linksacross borders, between all the national parks. After thetheme was set, we created three sub-themes: Marine areas,land areas,and humanities. Then we invited participants to present their own topics to connect with those themes.”

The two-day agenda included both indoor informative lectures and outdoor onsite visits.This meant that all the different forms of headquarters expertise could be presented not just through display son projectionscreens, but also through concrete in-person exchange and communication.Wu furthe rexplains,“This seminar was held August 23 and 24. We chose those dates because that’s the period when marine conditions are relatively stable; we planned to charter boats to South Penghu Marine National Park’s Dongyuping, so the seminar participants could do onsite survey activities such as snorkeling, tr ying Eco-craft tails, and doing surveys in the intertidal zones.” Through different fields’ hands-on operations, participants can temporarily get outside their comfort zones, experience other fields’ ways of working, and can come up with more creative ideas when they return.

The seminar is aimed at providing opportunities for experience exchange between different national park headquarters, so it is not open to the public. However, even without public promotion, it still attracts people from all over every year to get together. And such a big event is always going to require a great deal of time and effort. Normally, the park headquarters hosting a seminar starts planning for it around the end of the previous year. However, the situation was a bit different in 2023. MNPH was originally scheduled to be in charge of the 2027 seminar;however, due to a change in schedule, MNPH took on the 2023 seminar instead. From February to August of that single year, they steadily built up the seminar agenda; like ants constructing a nest, they put together two days’ worth of impressive contents. Wu says with a smile that although she had lots of experience in organizing activities, when faced with the preparation of this seminar, she still needed to pay attention to many details ranging from lecture topics to meal boxes. It was like being a tour guide, needing to get every little thing precisely prepared.

A Trick to Planning a Seminar

Tai-Ying Wu explains that the annual seminars follow a set sequence, in which each national park takes turns hosting based on the order in which they were established. Before organizing a seminar, the host will first collect the ecological and environmental issues that have been globally highlighted in recent years, and then draft several proposals based on the collected information. Next, based on their particular work focuses, the host will choose an issue that is of greatest concern as the core theme for the seminar. The host will also choose a time that matches the theme. After the theme is determined, the host will send invitations out to invite scholars and experts to join panel discussions, while also asking personnel from other headquarters to respond. The host then determines the order of speeches and presentations based on what the various headquarters report back. And then next up is coordinating all the details like transport , meals, accommodations, etc.

A Journey of Professional and Spiritual Cultivation

So, then, what are the most significant features and influences at the National Park Conservation Achievements and Management Seminar? Wu explains that, actually, staff from different headquarters do sometimes meet each other during the course of their regular work. However, those kinds of meetings may be limited to narrow focuses and specialties – for example, all the participants at a meeting may be from different headquarters’ Conser vation and Research Section. These kinds of small-scale meetings also usually don’t offer much time to discuss topics in-depth or exchange ideas. When the meeting is done, participants will get at most just a rough understanding of what other headquarters are working on.

Compared with these kinds of meetings, the annual seminar provides a more open and deeper channel for discussion and communication. The annual seminar encourages participation from staff in every headquarters and every section. This event helps give members of the national park family a broader understanding of services in conservation, interpretation, technologies, facilities, education, promotion, and more. It also helps everyone better understand how other sections’work is going, and how the divisions themselves are doing. The seminar allows bringing in more complete, detailed, and practical information. By participating in the National Park Conservation Achievements and Management Seminar, staff can expand their interpersonal networks, and absorb practical knowledge. It’s like constantly adding new skills for yourself, and cultivating a lush ‘skill tree’. Wu explains it with this example: “After we return to our regular work following a seminar, andwe encounter some unfamiliar situation, there’s a common experience of remembering, ‘Hey, soand-so shared something like this in the seminar’. We can immediately contact that person and ask for advice about how to handle the situation, what measures to take, etc.”

That’s why, even though the seminar-planning process may be painstaking, ever y time a headquarters starts planning a seminar, they always put their best efforts into it. This large, annual event full of precious nuggets of wisdom is not just a trip for staff to hone their abilities; it’s also a gathering full of inspiring, uplifting energy. “Whether you’re there as an audience member or one of the hosts, you get to observe the details of how other people plan activities, and learn from other people’s work skills. It inspires your own awareness of issues related to ecological conservation. Every time, we come back full of different, useful ideas.”

Inter national MOU Activates Collaboration from Systems to Talent Cultivation

Domestic seminars are not the only thing the national parks are doing to link up and enhance staff operational expertise. The parks are also continuing to reach out internationally. During the recent pandemic years, nothing has been more exciting and refreshing than the memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed by Taiwan’s Yangmingshan National Park and South Korea’s Gyeongju National Park.

Hsiu-Yi Lai, senior appointed interpreter with Yangmingshan National Park Headquarters (YMPH)’s Interpretation & Education Section, paints a detailed picture. It was a fantastic event that took place at the right time, in the right places, and with just the right people. “The story begins in 2022, when South Korea’s Gyeongju Overseas Chinese Association invited Chen-Fu Lin, director general of the Busan Office of the Taipei Mission in Korea, to join them in visiting the well-known Gyeongju National Park. Director Pak Youngjoon of Gyeongju National Park gave the visitors a very warm welcome, and even hung Taiwan’s national flag at the office door. Director General Lin introduced their host to what makes each national park in Taiwan special. He also invited the Korean side to establish friendly relations with Taiwan’s national parks.”

Soon after that, Director Pak of Gyeongju National Park submitted a proposal to their central management authority, Ministry of Environment. Once Taiwan’s Construction and Planning Agency was notified, they nominated Yangmingshan National Park as the point of contact for this international exchange mission. In October 20, 2022, facilitated by Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Busan Office of the Taipei Mission in Korea, and with the support of the Korea National Parks Corporation and Taiwan’s Construction and Planning Agency, South Korea’s Gyeongju National Park Office and YMPH officially signed a 3-year MOU covering areas such as sharing practical experiences and resources, talent exchange training, and more.

In 2022, with the COVID-19 pandemic beginning to slow down, the two national parks were communicating more and more. In March 2023, Duk Gu Yun, the new director of the Gyeongju National Park Office, led a delegation to visit Taiwan.As they did an onsite survey at Yangmingshan National Park’s Erziping Trail, the South Korean visitors gained a strong appreciation for the design of distance markers, phenological monitoring along the trail, expedite trails and visitor-friendly facilities, etc. They were also constantly amazed at the unique geological landscape of Xiaoyoukeng and Qingtiangang Grassland. Following on from this, in October 2023, NPS and YMPH formed a fivemember taskforce to visit Gyeongju National Park, Jirisan National Park, Hallyeohaesang National Park, etc. Some personnel were designated to stay in South Korea for two more weeks to receive local training and get a deep grasp of Gyeongju National Park’s operations. They then brought their precious experiences back to Taiwan.

How South Korean National Park Management Is Structured?

There are 23 national parks within South Korea, each with its own “office”. The hierarchical level and responsibilities of these offices are equivalent to those of a national park’s headquarters in Taiwan. Hallasan National Park is managed by Jeju Special Self-Governing Province; the other national parks are all managed by the Ministry of Environment’s Korea National Park Service (KNPS). The KNPS governs a vast territory, so in recent years they have developed four different headquarters governing different geographical regions. Gyeongju National Park falls within the purview of the Eastern Headquarters.

Systematic Learning Through Thinking and Action

Hsiu-Yi Lai’s description of this visit makes clear that, since Gyeongju and Yangmingshan are both characterized as urban national parks, each has many strengths that the other can learn from. For example, Gyeongju National Park has built up detailed, accurate inventories of its resources and management methods.

Lai adds that , in Gyeong ju National Park , “attractions that have been registered as cultural assets are controlled and managed by dedicated agencies. For places that have not yet been registered as cultural assets, the park has corresponding maintenance facilities and methods. This includes listing things one by one in detail, and then introducing all of it on the park’s website. The onsite staff all had a thorough understanding of these cultural assets; they knew everything, like the background, history,characteristics, and more from the literature, and they knew it all backwards and forwards. They realized that even if these precious assets haven’t been officially registered yet, that doesn’t mean they are without value. That means that, before these assets get officially designated and registered, they still need to be continuously, actively maintained. And that’s the only sustainable way to manage cultural assets. That’s why, when you visit Gyeongju National Park, you feel like you’re in a living, breathing museum of history. And this example is really worthy of emulation.”

Gyeongju National Park’s wildfire prevention and rescue measures were also very impressive. Lai explains, “Lots of national parks are ‘afraid of fire’. Whether it’s the natural environment or cultural heritage, a wildfire can devour it in an instant. South Korea has a high-latitude dry continental climate, so Gyeongju National Park always pays extra attention to the risk of forest fires during the dry season. For example, they print educational materials to raise public awareness of fire prevention. They have monthly calendars that list possible causes of wildfires for each season, suggestions on how to prevent them, and things like that.”

Ssu-Yu Lai, officer at the YMPH Genernal Affairs Office and one of Taiwan’s representatives who received training in South Korea, adds to this. “They’ve placed monitoring devices at all trail entrances, to let you see what each area’s current risk level is for fires. Volunteers do regular patrols,and a control room in the office collects the risk data. And as soon as they see so much as a wisp of smoke, even in the middle of the night, all working staff in that administrative area will be deployed at the office and on-site. Then they split up to find and deal with the smoke source.”

Ssu-Yu Lai also shares her valuable training experience. “They tried to let me try all kinds of work in Gyeongju National Park’s different divisions, so I needed to clock in and clock out at the same time as their staff did every day. I had different missions each morning and afternoon to carry out.” Lai explains that the local trainings were of four main types: 1. Cultural resource survey; 2. ecological resource survey; 3. safety and disaster-prevention equipment maintenance and drills; and 4. observing the implementation of environmental education course plans. During the ten-plus days of training, she walked along the park’s trails to inventory Gyeongju National Park’s cultural resources, and also went deep into the conservation areas to do observation, collect data, and more. “The whole process was like working off-site, interesting and practical”, she adds with a smile.

No Borders in Ecological/Cultural Preservation

This collaboration with Gyeongju National Park is the National Park Service’s first MOU in the East Asia region. It constitutes a significant milestone. Both Hsiu-Yi Lai and Ssu-Yu Lai were impressed by the top-down system adopted in South Korea’s national park organizations, particularly the introduction of business management modes of thought. “They’ve done integrated planning for the concept of the ‘National Parks’. Staff at all 23 national parks wear the same uniform, and all national parks share the same logo. But all the parks have their own mascots, to highlight each national park’s unique characteristics.”

With consistent Corporate Identity System (CIS) Design, a sense of identity and the cohesion within national parks can be effectively reinforced, and the public’s initial understanding of national parks can also be significantly improved. The development of mascot IPs can encourage people to visit national parks in person, and form an emotional connection with the parks, thereby sparking the public’s desire to proactively participate in educational promotion activities, and attracting more people to support the principles and actions promoted by the national parks. These examples can serve as a reference for Taiwan’s future national park development.

2023’s National Park Conservation Achievements and Management Seminar was held before the National Parks Division was official upgraded to become the National Park Service. The seminar’s theme thus served to nicely bridge the Service’s past missions and future vision. Tai-Ying Wu adds that conservation research and promotion require immense investments of time and effort; hopedfor results might not be realized after five years or ten years of investing resources; and the process often involves lots of obstacles that can be hard to explain to someone who wasn’t there in person. That’s why an empowering seminar like this one can help participants not only learn from each other’s strengths and exchange resources, but also deeply share experiences with kindred spirits. It’s good to know that you’re not alone on the long journey, and to gain additional spiritual support and strength.

“For example,” says Wu, “general tourists are usually only interested in parts of what we’re explaining. However, when we present a topic to our fellow headquarters colleagues, we can sense their enthusiasm for the details of every part of the research, interpretation, educational promotion, etc. They can also resonate with the problems and challenges we’ve faced. When we have these moments of high interaction, it really is a pleasure to be able to work together!”

These two modes – seminars and MOUs – are helping National Park Service staff upgrade their expertise and share resources. They are also hugely enhancing fellowship among members of the ecosystem workforce. Transregional exchange is bringing forth diverse, rich, new perspectives on the overall development of national parks.

Transnational Perspectives,Partners Around the World

Whether it’s domestic or international, the national park headquarters all stand on the frontline to contribute their particular strengths. But adding to all their strengths, there is an important force behind the scenes: the National Park Service. As the strong supporter and dedicated partner of all the national park headquarters, the NPS uses all the experiences acquired through engagement in diverse exchange and interaction activities to steer the future course for Taiwan’s National Park System.

“Since Taiwan created our first national park, we’ve never stopped having exchanges with the global community”, says Kai-Fang Cheng, Chief with the NPS’s Division of Conservation Research & International Collaboration Section. Looking back on the history of Taiwan’s national parks, Cheng’s heart is filled with joy and pride. “It’s been 50 years since Taiwan’s National Park Law was promulgated. And Taiwan’s first national park has just turned 40”, says Cheng. “That may not be comparable with the century-long history of national parks in some other countries, but we’ve had eye-catching achievements in management, conservation, recreation facilities, volunteer system, and more. We also interactfrequently with partners around the world to share our experience.”

An example of this is Taiwan’s participation in the World Park Congress (WPC), which is held every 10 years. Taiwan also implements a variety of international conservation activities, seminars, and more. At every opportunity to speak internationally, the NPS speaks up for Taiwan. “Understanding global trends and learning from other countries’ experiences are the key purposes for international exchange programs. But we don’t just emulate. Taiwan can also contribute our valuable experiences and many success stories, to demonstrate our determination and value as a member of the global community.”

Cheng points out that it is precisely Taiwan’s ambiguous international status that makes it so important for us to demonstrate our strengths through sharing. “Participating in international conferences, signing MOUs for bilateral visits and collaboration, sending personnel to national parks of the US for training… all these exchanges create opportunities for Taiwan’s national parks to be seen by the world, while at the same time allowing us to see what’s possible around the world.” The recent exchanges with South Korean park personnel have created a lot of inspiration and sparked many ideas.

“In 1967, South Korea enacted the Park Act and established their first national park – Jirisan National Park. Since then, it has gone through many management changes. In 1987, the Korea National Park Service was established under the Ministry of Environment,” notes Cheng. South Korea’s National Park Service, which is equivalent to Taiwan’s NPS, is in charge of sur veying, researching, preserving, and managing national park resources. They are also responsible for constructing and maintaining all park facilities, guiding effective park utilization, and undertaking promotional programs. “When I saw their welldeveloped systems for personnel training and recruitment, volunteer coordination, and resource protection and management, sure, I was a bit envious,” says Cheng. “But looking at it from another side, I realized that it’s taken nearly 40 years for South Korea’s National Park Service to have achieved so much. In contrast, Taiwan’s NPS was only just established in 2023. We still have enormous potential that deserves everyone’s joint efforts to promoteyet to be uncovered.”

Cheng was deeply impressed with the professionalism and enthusiasm that the South Korean national parks personnel demonstrated. Cheng says, “Personnel of South Korea’s national parks are not recruited through national examinations based on civil servant qualifications.Instead, they’re hired based on their familiarity with environmental and national park laws and regulations, and their specialized backgrounds required for the job.” In other words, candidates need to have already equipped themselves with basic national park knowledge before they can begin work in the national parks; they have to have a deep commitment to and identification with the work. “There are big differences between the personnel training and recruitment systems in Taiwan and South Korea,” says Cheng, “but we can still learn much from how South Korea reinforces personnel training, advances nationalpark-related expert knowledge and skills, and maintains personnel’s enthusiasm at work. All that makes colleagues feel like working in the national parks is a job they can keep progressing at, and can be proud of.”

From building links across national park borders, to working across national borders to advance global conservation – different people complete different tasks in different places, but as a member of a national park system, everyone shares the same goals, and the same passion. By sharing unselfishly, they expand horizons and nourish each other. What has been the biggest benefit from these exchanges? There is no benefit more precious or touching than what Kai-Fang Cheng describes: “When we saw how – even so far away – there are so many like-minded people striving for the same goals, we felt inspired and motivated to do even better!”