This year (2024), on December 12th, the Taiwan Ecotourism and Regional Revitalization Alliance (TERRA) was jointly established at the Taipei NGO House by ecotourism counseling teams and tribal communities from across Taiwan. Over 150 distinguished guests from industry, government, academia attended the event to witness this historic moment, including Legislative Yuan members Ariel Chang and Hsu Fu-kuei, Control Yuan members Tien Chiu-chin, Shih Chin-fang, Acting Director CJ Chen of the National Parks Services, Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency Deputy Director Hao-Chen Lin, Secretary of the Tourism Fang Cheng-kuang, Technical Superintendent Li-Ju Song of the Council of Indigenous Peoples, President Chin-Lung Chang of the National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, and representatives of 44 ecotourism organizations, 65 community tribes, and 10 counseling teams from around Taiwan.
The core philosophy of the alliance is based on “improving professional knowledge”, “maintaining brand value”, “promoting industrial development” and “promoting domestic and international exchanges”. The alliance has also formulated seven guiding principles to cover cooperation and exchange, talent cultivation, resource integration, marketing & promotion, policy participation, and international exchange. Hopes are that through the joint efforts of the alliance, they will be able to push ecotourism to the next level.
In her speech, Acting Director CJ Chen of the National Parks Services said that “ecotourism emphasizes a harmonious relationship between man and nature. Through guided tours, tourists are able to learn about the beauty and importance of ecology and recognize the significance of ecological protection and the inheritance of cultural resources. The establishment of the alliance will allow for effective integration of resources so that we can achieve an all-around-win situation for tourism, conservation, and local development, while also cooperating with national policies to develop low-carbon tourism”.
NPUST President Chin-Lung Chang said: “National Pingtung University of Science and Technology has long been engaged in educational research related to environmental sustainability and ecological conservation, and is committed to practicing university social responsibility. We will continue to exert our academic strengths to support the development of the alliance, and will work with all sectors to help Taiwan’s rural areas to become suitable for happy living. “