Dongsha Marine National Park-Building the Pure Marine Paradise / 東沙環礁國家公園─構築純淨的海洋新樂園
◎Photo Courtesy：Marine Bureau, Ming-siou Jheng
◎By Jessica Lin
Taiwan's first Marine National Park, Dongsha Atoll National Park is going to be established in Kaohsiung.
Known as the Pearl of the South China Sea, the Dongsha Atoll is a valuable ecological and national treasure because of its coral sediments which have developed through millions of years. In the waters nearby, numerous creatures live there and many historical remains can be found. Meanwhile, adjoining other Southeast Asian countries, Dongsha islands contain many marine resources which are worth protecting in every respect.
Considering the deteriorating marine resources, the concept of building a Marine Reservation area has became a worldwide trend since this idea was first brought up in the World Conference of National Parks in 1962. Our neighboring countries, including Philippine, Indonesia and Malaysia have signed an agreement to set up an Ecological Reservation area in the Sulu-Sulawesi waters and to enforce strict protection and management over this area. Similar protection plans have also been launched by European, Latin American, Asian countries as well as Australia.
During the fourth conference of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas of East Asia in 2003, participants recommended Taiwan's central under the authority of the Cijin District of Kaohsiung City. Therefore, the city government is planing to put up an Office and Visitors' Center to be the information point and operation base. At the same time, taking into account that most of the public might not be able to visit Dongsha Atoll Marine National Park personally, the Visitors' Center will also be in charge of the exhibition of Dongsha's marine resources as well as the promotion of public awareness in the hope that everyone will be able to experience the beauty of Dongsha Atoll.under the authority of the Cijin District of Kaohsiung City. Therefore, the city government is planing to put up an Office and Visitors' Center to be the information point and operation base. At the same time, taking into account that most of the public might not be able to visit Dongsha Atoll Marine National Park personally, the Visitors' Center will also be in charge of the exhibition of Dongsha's marine resources as well as the promotion of public awareness in the hope that everyone will be able to experience the beauty of Dongsha Atoll.
◎文／林昀熹 ◎圖片提供／海洋局．鄭明修
台灣第一座海洋型國家公園──「東沙環礁國家公園」，即將在高雄誕生！
享有「南海之珠」美譽的東沙環礁，其環礁是由珊瑚礁經過千萬年生長堆積而成，是十分珍貴的生態與重要國家自然遺產；附近海域中孕育著豐富生物，也有許多古沉船遺跡，同時由於鄰近東南亞各國，具有許多海洋文史資料，不論在景觀、生態、文史方面，都有由國家加以保護的必要性。
由於海洋資源逐漸枯竭，設立海洋保護區的觀念，從1962年在世界國家公園大會（The World Conference of National Park）中被提出後，至今已成為世界潮流所趨。與我國鄰近的菲律賓、印尼與馬來西亞在2004年便共同簽署協定，將蘇露─蘇拉維西(Sulu-Sulawesi)海域劃成生態區域，實施嚴格保護管理；類似的海洋保護計畫在歐洲、中南美洲、亞洲、澳洲等地的許多國家也都積極進行中。
因此2002年「國際自然保育聯盟世界保護區委員會」東南亞地區第四屆會議中，與會各國人士建議我國政府將東沙海域建立為海洋保護區。內政部營建署經評估並報請行政院同意後，便開始推動此計畫，預計在今(2007)年中，就可成立「海洋公園國家管理處」，正式啟動「東沙環礁國家公園」的建設。
「東沙環礁國家公園」的環礁面積共有35萬餘公頃，在這個環礁生態中，就有250種珊瑚、531種魚類，同時還有130種鳥類與125種以上的昆蟲，生物資源相當豐富。
全區分為「生態保護區」、「特別景觀區」、「史蹟保存區」及「一般管制區」等四區。而其建設主要分為兩期，前五年為第一期，以生態研究與復育為主，第二期(第六至十年)則在評估後，計畫以總量管制或小額團體的方式開放參觀。
由於「東沙環礁國家公園」的行政區域隸屬高雄市旗津區，因此也計畫於旗津設置聯絡處與遊客服務中心，作為聯繫與轉運基地，同時考慮到大部分民眾因為交通或總量限制無法親臨「東沙環礁國家公園」，日後也規劃讓遊客服務中心肩負起東沙環礁海洋生態資源展示與教育功能，讓大家都能輕易體驗東沙環礁之美。