Formosa Forum Links Global Dialogue to Conservation Action for 2027 — Team National Park Unites Global Partners, Businesses and Youth for Sustainable Mountains and Seas

TAIPEI — The Formosa Sustainable Conservation International Forum & Exhibition, organized by the National Park Service, Ministry of the Interior, concluded successfully today (October 3) at Songshan Cultural and Creative Park in Taipei. Held over two days under the theme “The Peak on the Tropic, Mountains and Seas in Harmony: Nature Conservation and Sustainable Tourism,” the forum brought together representatives from government, academia, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), businesses, and younger generations in Taiwan and abroad. Focusing on conservation achievements relating to national parks, coasts, and wetlands, as well as biodiversity, protected area governance, diverse cultures, and ecotourism, participants engaged in exchanges and dialogue across two parallel tracks covering four themes: “Resource Conservation and Environmental Management,” “Diverse Cultures and Humanistic Aesthetics,” “Ecotourism and Local Revitalization,” and “Public Education and Environmental Learning.” The event brought together a total of over 50 experts and scholars from Taiwan and abroad, moving conservation from international dialogue toward collaboration across sectors and bringing international experience and local practices in Taiwan into subsequent discussions on substantive cooperation.

Photo Credit : National Park Service, Ministry of the Interior

From Global Conservation Governance to Practice in Taiwan: Bringing Formosa to the World

On the first day, former United Nations Assistant Secretary-General Satya Tripathi delivered remarks by video to open the dialogue on global conservation governance. Donya Lynex Francis, Ambassador of Saint Kitts and Nevis to Taiwan, and Gaafar J. Uherbelau, Ambassador of the Republic of Palau to Taiwan, joined the exchanges to share key issues concerning conservation and sustainability. Harvey Locke, Vice Chair of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA), delivered a keynote address entitled “National Parks and the Fourfold Contribution to a Nature Positive Future,” explaining the vital role of national parks and protected areas in global nature conservation in the context of global biodiversity governance and the movement toward Nature Positive.

The forum offered a broad international perspective on the experience of different countries in governing conservation areas. Tung Chien-hung, Political Deputy Minister of the Interior, said that, in addressing shared challenges such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and tourism development, Taiwan has a full range of natural environments extending from high mountains, forests, rivers, wetlands, and coasts to the ocean. Through diverse local partnerships and conservation practices, Taiwan’s national parks are aligning with global trends in nature governance. Experts, scholars, and practitioners from Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia, the United States, Greece, and other countries also shared practical experience in protected area governance, coral and marine conservation, wetland restoration, Indigenous knowledge, cultural landscapes, local revitalization, natural capital, and sustainable tourism. These exchanges demonstrated that international nature conservation has evolved from protecting individual species and sites toward cross-sector collaboration through other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs), integrating ecosystem governance, cultural heritage, local development, corporate participation, and environmental education.

Photo Credit : National Park Service, Ministry of the Interior

2027 Marks the Inaugural Year of the Tropic of Cancer Initiative: Moving from Exchange to Action

The afternoon of the forum’s second day focused on “From Knowledge to Action,” with the “Team National Park | International Action Roundtable for 2027, the Inaugural Year of the Tropic of Cancer Initiative” bringing the two-day event to an action-oriented conclusion. Youth observers from Palau and India first synthesized their observations from the two-day forum and exhibition, presenting key insights on nature conservation, participation across generations, and follow-up action from a youth perspective. This was followed by “2027, the Inaugural Year of the Tropic of Cancer Initiative: A Dialogue on Nature Conservation between Taiwan and the International Community,” which drew on international experience in nature governance and participation by multiple stakeholders to explore how nature conservation can progress from government-led governance toward a Whole-of-Society Partnership.

The roundtable then brought together representatives from corporate sustainability, industry organizations, academia, and the public-interest sector. Considering conservation sites, corporate capabilities, professional support, and evidence of outcomes, participants explored pathways for cooperation to help businesses move toward Nature Positive, creating opportunities for nature conservation to extend beyond advocacy and develop a public–private partnership model that can be sustained over time. The forum concluded with closing remarks by Wang Cheng-Ji, Director-General of the National Park Service, bringing two days of international exchanges to a close.

Photo Credit : National Park Service, Ministry of the Interior

Team National Park Expands Its Partner Network to Advance Conservation through Collective Action

Wang Cheng-Ji, Director-General of the National Park Service, said that the National Park Service has continued in recent years to connect Indigenous partners, local communities, NGOs, and businesses through the public–private partnership model of “Team National Park”, expanding nature conservation from the work of government into collective action involving society as a whole. The forum further brought Taiwan’s accumulated local practices to an international platform for exchange. By sharing experience from different countries and sectors, participants explored additional opportunities for cooperation among protected area governance, biodiversity, cultural preservation, and sustainable tourism, reflecting the spirit of Team National Park promoted by the National Park Service.

The National Park Service will continue to strengthen its partner network, connecting national parks and national nature parks, wetlands, coasts, Indigenous peoples, and local communities, while maintaining links with international conservation partners, businesses, and younger generations. These efforts will connect Taiwan’s nature conservation experience with the international community and establish Taiwan’s national parks as a calling card to the world, enabling international audiences to see more of Taiwan’s achievements in sustainable conservation practices and cooperation.

Photo Credit : National Park Service, Ministry of the Interior

Bringing the Forum into Everyday Life: “Formosa: An Island of Mountains and Seas” Showcases the Vitality of Taiwan’s Mountains and Seas

The National Park Service noted that, across a land-and-sea span of approximately 220 kilometers, Taiwan encompasses an elevation gradient from sea level to 3,952 meters, connecting diverse habitats including high mountains, forests, rivers, coasts, and the ocean. This concentration of mountain and marine ecosystems and diverse cultures constitutes both a precious natural asset for Taiwan and an important foundation for conservation exchanges with the world. Accordingly, the special exhibition “Formosa: An Island of Mountains and Seas” was held concurrently with the forum at Songshan Cultural and Creative Park. Taking Taiwan’s distinctive geography along the Tropic of Cancer as its narrative framework, the exhibition brought together high mountains, forests, wetlands, coasts, the ocean, offshore islands, and diverse cultures to form a sustainability belt, showcasing to international audiences the achievements of sustainable coexistence between Formosa’s mountains and seas. Reflecting the forum’s four themes—“Resource Conservation and Environmental Management,” “Diverse Cultures and Humanistic Aesthetics,” “Ecotourism and Local Revitalization,” and “Public Education and Environmental Learning”—the exhibition covered conservation in national parks, wetlands, coasts, and marine environments; Austronesian cultures and Indigenous knowledge; landscape showcases and presentations of 10 low-carbon routes; and environmental education achievements. It enabled visitors to explore Formosa’s achievements in sustainable practices from multiple perspectives, spanning nature, culture, tourism, and everyday action.

From international dialogue at the two-day forum to the special exhibition bringing sustainability into everyday life, the National Park Service will continue to connect nature and culture, and local and international communities, through the Formosa Tropic of Cancer Sustainability Belt. These efforts will progressively translate nature conservation, cultural heritage, and sustainable tourism from concepts into tangible action through cross-sector cooperation and public participation, allowing the world to see, through Formosa, Taiwan’s strength in protecting its mountains, seas, and biodiversity.

Photo Credit : National Park Service, Ministry of the Interior