The Marine National Park Headquarters (MNPH) held the “Seeing Penghu South Four Islands – National Park Conservation Lecture” today (October 17) at the Penghu Living Museum, conveying to the public the precious natural resources and conservation value of the South Four Islands and their surrounding waters. The event concluded successfully with enthusiastic participation from Penghu County Magistrate Wang Chien-fa, partner agencies, and members of the public.
Director Yang Mo-lin of MNPH stated that Penghu South Four Islands National Park is Taiwan’s second marine national park, bringing together unique and valuable geological, ecological, and cultural resources with significant conservation importance. Throughout the promotion process, numerous rounds of communication, discussion, and planning reviews were conducted with local residents, the Penghu County Government, and local NGO groups. Encouragingly, the “Penghu South Four Islands National Park Plan” was officially approved on March 10 this year and promulgated on World Oceans Day (June 8). This achievement was made possible through the collective efforts of all sectors.
MNPH further explained that Penghu South Four Islands National Park possesses a healthy coral reef ecosystem, serving as an important marine biodiversity reservoir for Penghu. The islands are basalt tableland islets featuring distinctive coastal landforms, unique island ecosystems, traditional vegetable terrace landscapes, and classic Penghu-style courtyard houses. Therefore, this lecture focused on three main themes: basalt geology, coral reef ecology, and traditional architectural settlements. Through this event, MNPH aimed to share its research成果 and conservation理念 in promoting the Penghu South Four Islands National Park.
MNPH emphasized that, building upon its management experience from Dongsha Atoll National Park, it hopes to provide an even better national park service environment in Penghu South Four Islands in the future. The agency also seeks to invite local residents to join conservation efforts, creating a win-win situation for both resource protection and local development, and jointly developing the park into a high-quality marine environmental education platform while realizing the vision of a sustainable ecological island.
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| Figure 1. Group photo at the opening ceremony of the “Seeing Penghu South Four Islands” conservation lecture (Front row from left to right: Director Chen Chen-jung, Professor Kuo Chiung-ying, Mr. Chen Kuang-fu, Councilor Cheng Ching-fa, Director Yang Mo-lin, Magistrate Wang Chien-fa, Researcher Cheng Ming-hsiu, Director Lin Chin-jung, Commander Chao Yung-feng; Back row from left to right: Professor Huang Yao-wen, Director Lu Teng-yuan, Director Chen Mao-chun, Director Yu Teng-liang, Director Lin Tse-min, Counselor Cheng Ming-yuan, Captain Lu Wei-wen). |
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| Figure 2. Local residents of Penghu enthusiastically participating in the conservation lecture. |
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| Figure 3. Basalt tableland islets scattered across the sea, serving as important navigation markers for ancestors crossing the “Black Ditch” centuries ago (Dongji Islet above; Chutou Islet below). |
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| Figure 4. Healthy coral reef communities surrounding Dongyuping Islet provide an excellent habitat for fish populations. |