Taiwan's National Parks to Adopt International Management Assessments by End of 2027

Central News Agency (Taipei, June 2) - Interior Minister Liu Shyh-fang attended an international symposium on national parks today, stating that she hopes to enhance the international visibility of Taiwan's national parks and play a key role in international mechanisms. Wang Cheng-chi, Director of the National Park Service, said that there are still five national parks that have not undergone the international 'Management Effectiveness Evaluation' (MEE), and all will be completed by the end of next year. The Ministry of the Interior held the '2026 International Symposium on National Park Management and Effectiveness' this morning. In her speech in English, Liu stated that Taiwan has nine national parks and one national nature park. Given the current situation of intensifying global climate change and rapid loss of biodiversity, simply establishing protected areas is no longer sufficient to respond to challenges. Ensuring that protected areas are effectively managed has become a key issue in international conservation. She stated that the Management Effectiveness Evaluation (MEE) long promoted by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an important tool used globally to examine the quality of protected area governance and is closely aligned with international mechanisms such as the IUCN Green List. Liu pointed out that in recent global conservation policy development, there is an emphasis on not only achieving area targets for protected areas but also improving management quality and governance effectiveness, highlighting the importance of MEE. She said that the National Park Service completed the first MEE for a large-scale protected area in Taiwan at Shei-Pa National Park in 2020, and has since completed assessments for Yangmingshan, Yushan, and Taroko National Parks, as well as Shoushan National Nature Park. This has helped management staff understand park resources, build consensus on management, and facilitate interaction with stakeholders. Today's symposium invited nine international experts to share experiences in institutionalized management, biodiversity monitoring, and local governance. Liu also told the media that she hopes Taiwan can play an important role on the Green List to increase the international visibility of Taiwan's national parks. Wang Cheng-chi added that there are still five national parks that have not used this international MEE system, including Taijiang, Kenting, Kinmen, Dongsha Atoll, and South Penghu Marine National Park, and all will be completed by the end of next year.