National Park Law

NATIONAL PARK LAW Taiwan, Republic of China Promulgated June 13, 1972 Article 1: Be it enacted for the purpose of preserving the nation's unique natural scenery, wild fauna and flora and historic sites and providing public recreation and areas for scientific research, that there is hereby created the National Park Law. Article 2: The administration of the national parks shall be sub ject to this law. The provisoins of other laws shall be applicable to those subjects not covered by this law. Article 3: The Ministry of Interior is the responsible authority for national parks. Article 4: The Ministry of Interior may establish a National Park Planning Conunission to designate, alter or abolish areas for national parks. The Commission may review national park management plans. The members of the Corrrrnission shall not be paid for their duties. Article 5: A headquarters shall be established for each national park. General rules of administration shall r~ enacted for all national parks. Article 6: The criteria for the selection of national parks shall be as follows: 1) Areas which represent the natural heritage of the nation, including unique natural scenery, landscapes, landforms, fossils, living fossils, and fauna and flora in naturally evolving communities. 2) Areas which have educational significance for the perception of nature and which include important pre historic and historic sites and their surroundings which require long-term preservation by the nation. 8 J National Park Law 3) Areas which possess outdoor recreation resources and unique scenery which are of easy access for public use. Article 7: All decisions pertaining the establishment and abolition of national parks and the declaration and alteration of their boundaries shall be submitted by the Ministry of Interior to the Executive Yuan for approval. These decisions shall be subject to public notice. Article 8: Major terms in this law are derined as follows: 1) "Wildlife" refers to the fauna and flora naturally growing in an area without any artificial feeding, raising or cultivation and which constitute a major component of the natural scenery. 2) "National park plan" refers to a comprehensive manage ment plan prepared to guide the administration in the protection, utilization and development of the whole national park area. 3) "National park concession" refers to the operations which pr"'ovide necessary and appropriate visitor support for recreation and tourism and which adequately protect the park's resources. 4) "Existing use area" refers to the land and water within the national park which does not belong to the other management zones and which includes existing towns and other land uses that may be allowed to continue. 5) "Recreation area" refers to the area in which recrea tion facilities and limited resource uses shall be permitted. 6) "Cultural/historic area" refers to the area which is designated for the preservation of important pre historic sites and monuments of historical value. 7) "Scenic area" refers to the area possessing signi ficant natural features which cannot be restored by man and this area shall be strictly protected from development, 8) "Ecological protection area" refers to the area where the natural biotic communities shall be strictly protected from development and shall be used only for scientific research. Article 9: Within the boundaries of the national park, public land necessary for the execution of the national park plan may be appropriated in accordance with the law. Private land within the park may continue in its present use when the use is in accordance with the national park plan. Private land may be appropriated in accordance with the law to achieve the execution of the national park plan. Article 10: The Ministry of Interior or its designated agency, for the purpose of investigating the national park area or altering the national park plan, may assign qualified individuals to enter private and public land to conduct studies and surveys. Prior notification of this entrance must be given to the landowner. Damage to crops, trees, bamboo o~ other structures which belong to the landowner and which are caused by this entrance, shall be compensated. The amount of compensation shall be based on an agreement by both parties or arbitrated by a superior authority. Article 11; The Ministry of Interior shall regulate the national park concessions in accordance with the national park plan. The responsible authority of the national park shall regulate concessions. When necessary, the con cessions may be invested in and operated by tae local government, quasi-public corporation or other public or private group after the approval of the responsible authority of the national parks and under the supe.r vision of the national park headquarters. Articl~ 12: In accordance with the existing land use and the characteristics of the resources, a national park may be divided into the following zones for management: 86 National Park Law 1) Existing use area 2) Recreation area 3) Cultural/historic area 4) Scenic area 5) Ecological protection area Article 13: The following activities shall be prohibited within the national parks: 1) Burning vegetation or setting fires to clear land. 2) Hunting animals or catching fish. 3) Polluting water or air. 4) Picking or removing flowers of any other vegetation. 5) Engraving, sketching or defacing trees, bark, stones or signs. 6) Littering of fruit skins, paper or any other materials. 7) Driving outside of designated areas. 8) Any conduct prohibited by the responsible authority of the national park. Article 14: Within existing use areas or recreation areas, the following activities may be allowed after obtaining permission from the national park headquarters: 1) Building or demolishing public or private structures, roads, or bridges. 2) Filling, draining, altering or expanding the water surface or waterway. 3) Prospecting or exploring for minerals; earth or gravels. 4) Clearing land and farming. 5) Fishing or grazing livestock. 6) Constructing aerial cable systems. 7) Making use of water and hot springs. 8) Advertising or erecting signboards or similar objects. 9) Expanding, increasing or altering equipment in existing factories. 10) Any permission given under the above sections which effects a large area or is of particular importance shall be submitted by the national park headquarters to the Ministry of Interior for approval and shall be decided by the deliberation of the Ministry of Interior together with the other authorities concerned. Article 15: Within cultural/historic areas, the following activities shall be subject to prior permission from the Ministry of Interior: 1) Repairing artifacts or historic monuments. 2) Repairing or reconstructing buildings. 3) Making artifical alterations to original landscapes or landforms Article 16: Within cultural/historic areas, scenic areas, and ecological protection areas, the activities specified in sections (1) through (10) shall also be prohibited except that the activities specified in sections (1) and (6) may be allowed after obtaining a permit from the nation al park headquarters. Article 17: Within scenic areas and ecological protection areas, the following activities shall be permitted to meet specific needs after approval by the national park head-quarters: 1) Introducing exotic animals or plants. 2) Collecting specimens. 3) Using pesticides and herbicides. Article 18: Ecological protection areas shall be established pre ferably on public land. Within these areas, the collection of specimens, the use of pesticides and herbicides or the construction of man-made facilities shall be prohibited. However, exceptions may be granted with the permission of the Ministry of Interior for the special needs of scientific research, public safety and park management. Article 19: Entrance to ecological protection areas may be allowed only after obtaining a permit from the national park headquarters.