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National parks of Taiwan
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Taiwan has 9 national parks and 1 national natural park, which are administered by the Ministry of the Interior.
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National parks of Taiwan are protected spaces for the nature, wildlife, and history under their current jurisdiction. The national parks cover 7,489.49 square kilometres (2,891.71 sq mi).[1] The 3,103.76-square-kilometre (1,198.37 sq mi) total land area constitutes around 8.6% of the entire land area of the country. After World War II, calls for protecting the natural environment were met with opposition due to the prioritization of economic development.[2] The National Park Law was passed in 1972, and the first national park was established in 1984.[3]
National parks should not be confused with national scenic areas. The national scenic areas are administered by the Tourism Bureau of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications.[4] There are also different philosophies that govern the development of the two types of areas. For a national park, the emphasis is on the preservation of natural and cultural resources, with development for human utilization being a secondary priority.[4]