List of national parks in Taiwan

The Republic of China (on Taiwan)'s National Park Act was passed in 1972 to protect the nature, wildlife, and history in its territory. [ [http://www.kmnp.gov.tw/english/establishment.htm Reference on Act Title from Kinmen Park website] ] There are seven national parks in the ROC:
* Kenting National Park (332.69 km²), the oldest and southernmost national park in Taiwan, with tropical coral reef and migratory birds.
* Kinmen National Park (37.8 km²), has historical battlefields in Kinmen (Quemoy). The one park not on Taiwan Island.
* Shei-Pa National Park (768.5 km²), located in central north part of Taiwan island in Hsinchu County and Miaoli County.
* Taroko National Park (920 km²), marble gorge, east Taiwan.
* Yangmingshan National Park (114.55 km²), the smallest national park on Taiwan Island; it has a volcanic landform and the northernmost. It is located near Taipei.
* Yushan National Park (1054.91 km²), the largest national park and located on central Taiwan it contains Jade Mountain (3952 m) which is the highest peak in East Asia.
*Dongsha Marine National Park(25 km²), it is the first oceanic national park, there are only about 72 species of Native plants ,and 125 species of insects. The total area of these seven national parks is more than 3,228,70 km² (about 797,749.995 acres), approximately 9.0% of the total area of territories currently under ROC administration.

National Parks under Japanese rule

During Japanese rule, the Governor-General of Taiwan designated in Taiwan three national parks of the Empire of Japan in 1937:

* Daiton National Park (大屯国立公園): including what is now Yangmingshan
* Shintaka (New Highest) Arisan National Park (新高阿里山国立公園): now Yushan and Alishan
* Tsugitaka (Second Highest) Taroko National Park (次高タロコ国立公園): now Taroko National Park and Shei-Pa National Park

The administration of these national parks was no longer in force when Japan withdrew from Taiwan in 1945 after World War 2.

Additional National Parks

The Council for Economic Planning and Development of the Executive Yuan finalized the name of the first oceanic national park – the Dongsha Marine National Park (東沙環礁國家公園) – to protect Dongsha’s marine ecology and its landscape features. [ [http://e-info.org.tw/node/18896 New ocean park] ] Wu Hsiang-jen, director of the organizational committee for the oceanic park in Dongsha, said that research and long-term monitoring were the foundation for effective management and sustainable operation of the protected area. In the future, a resource survey, ecological research, determining the environmental impact of infrastructure and the overall planning for Dongsha will be top priorities.

An eighth national park based on the Taiwan Strait and an ancient lagoon (now filled) near Fort Zeelandia (台江黑水溝國家公園) is being planned by Tainan City.

Three other national parks were proposed but the plans of formation were halted due to opposition:

* 馬告檜木國家公園 ("Magao National Park for "Chamaecyparis formosensis", opposed by local indigenous peoples)
* 能丹國家公園("Neng-Dan National Park", opposed by the Bunun people)
* 蘭嶼國家公園 ("Ponso no Tao National Park", opposed by the Tao people)

References

External links

* [http://np.cpami.gov.tw/en/ National Parks of Taiwan en]