Can Dongsha Island open up ecotourism? Participants suggested opening from the boat dive
On October 26th, PDIS held a collaborative meeting with the IOC and the Ministry of the Interior in the Kaohsiung Seas Committee Office to discuss issues related to the opening of Dongsha Island and further discuss possible ecotourism programs. Participants suggested that ecotourism could be opened from boat dive.
On August 6, 2018, the Ocean Commission opened a government liaison to promote the proposal "Do Dongsha Island should open sightseeing?", through the collaborative meeting to understand the current situation of Dongsha Island and evaluate the open eco-tourism Feasibility. After the monthly meeting voted, the case became the topic of the collaborative meeting. On October 26, PDIS held a collaborative meeting with the IOC and the Ministry of the Interior in the Kaohsiung Sea Committee Office to discuss issues related to open tourism in Dongsha Island and further discuss possible ecology. Travel plan.
Re-education, the Marine Department has assessed the Dongsha Island eco-tourism plan
When the Executive Yuan approved the "Dongsha Atoll National Park Project" in 2004 letter, in the future, priority should be given to resource rehabilitation, monitoring and ecological research. After the re-education reaches certain results, consider promoting the follow-up ecology. Tourism and environmental education work; Dongsha Atoll National Park project book also established five years before the establishment of the conservation and re-cultivation period, temporarily not open the general public sightseeing, for resource investigation and research, environmental rehabilitation and related facilities planning and other management work After five years, based on the results of its management, it will assess whether to implement small-scale ecotourism and environmental education.
In 2017, the results of relevant surveys and monitoring show that the average atoll reef coverage in Dongsha is over 50%, the highest coverage rate has reached 80%, and the re-education has achieved certain results. Therefore, the Marine National Park Management Office began to evaluate the development of eco-tourism. The program was issued in 2009 and 2017 respectively. Professor Ou Shengrong presided over The Dongsha Atoll National Park Ecotourism Development Plan In the future, we will implement a total amount of control and develop a small and beautiful exquisite ecological journey.
The motives for opening up eco-tourism include local re-education and development of eco-tourism, so that more people can understand the importance of local ecological conservation; after the opening of sightseeing, the increase of local tourists and eco-tourists can help to scare The problem of overfishing of local cross-border fishing vessels. At the same time, increasing domestic and foreign tourists through eco-tourism can increase China's influence in the South China Sea.
Through the inventory of the issues, we found that many of the work including local facilities enhancement, eco-tourism, etc. are already in the planning of the Marine Department. How do you deal with these issues in this collaborative meeting? Through internal discussions, we have re-assured HMW Challange from the double-diamond image. "How do we make domestic and foreign tourists understand the importance of ecological conservation in Dongsha under the goal of conserving local ecology or increasing the influence of the South China Sea? It is also assumed that "open eco-tourism" is a solution to focus on "whether the current planned eco-tourism can meet ecological conservation or increase the influence of China's South China Sea".
To develop eco-tourism, it is necessary to improve the construction of the island and improve relevant regulations.
At the beginning of the meeting, IOC pointed out that Huang Huanghui, the chairman of the IOC, was asked by an interview with the Central News Agency. The ocean is as public money as the sun, the air and the water. Everyone should abandon their selfishness and let the public money work the most. I hope that we can plan to let the relatives of the East and Nansha garrisons go to the island to visit relatives and open short-term leisure sightseeing.
The Marine Park Management Office of the Ministry of the Interior of the Ministry of the Interior pointed out that the distance between Dongsha Island and Hong Kong and Shantou is closer than that of Taiwan. In the past, there were often mainland iron-shell vessels crossing the border to catch fish. Hong Kong yachts also dive to this place. . There are many special species in Dongsha Island, such as coral reef ecology, F. striata, sharp-toothed lemon shark, and ferocious round crab.
At present, there is a civil aircraft in Dongsha Island that can carry 70 people every week. The military aircraft only has one shift per month. The main purpose is to let the officers and staff on the island use the upper and lower islands; the materials needed by the officers and staff on the island , necessities and related facilities, equipment parts, all by the ship to be replenished, although the ship can travel to the periphery of the atoll, but because the water depth in the atoll is relatively shallow, it is still necessary to rely on the platform ship to connect to Dongsha Island Pier. The maximum amount of energy that can be replenished now is 17 tanks per voyage, including some low-temperature refrigerated containers. In order to strengthen the local transportation, the maritime patrol office hopes to dredge a channel, but it may have some impact on local species, and the patrol station is further evaluating it. Under the premise of functional compatibility and ecological load capacity, the Marine Management Department hopes to make Dongsha a sustainable ecological island with high quality recreational service quality. The whole development strategy hopes to improve the existing island on the principle of low impact development. Facilities, improve the living functions of the island. In the short-term, a professional agency will be entrusted with the task of eco-tourism. Participants can participate in activities such as planting corals, alien species removal, clean beaches, environmental education experiences, stargazing, etc., and hope to use ecological experience and work holiday mode. To expand the number of service people and the number of people to prepare for the development of medium and long-term; the short-term part is set to the trial period, which is about three years; the medium-range is to expand from the land to the waters, providing more recreational experience. It includes various experiences such as diving, underwater photography and boat diving. In the long-term part, we hope to promote the entire Dongsha Island to quality recreation and service quality, innovative island landscape and sustainable island development. The projects that can be developed include international sailing and boarding. Diving, glass boat experience, semi-submarine and beach activities can be used to plan offshore floating islands, develop underwater bicycles, water walks and more. However, the development of eco-tourism may face some problems. In order to develop eco-tourism, it is necessary to set control of carrying capacity, assessment indicators of eco-tourism, and set up permanent monitoring areas. At the same time, it is also necessary to properly separate the scope of ecological protection and provide a range of recreation. After the relevant regulations are finalized, a professional manufacturer is required to handle it, and the facilities on the island need to be continuously improved.
Taiwan Yacht Industry Association shares the way of yacht eco-tourism. They point out that the yacht itself is a self-sufficient vehicle and tool. It is recommended that the Dongsha eco-tourism can be operated by yachting and diving.
When the issue is clarified, ecologists hope that the relevant public sector information of the conference will be made publicly known to the public. After discussion, it is suggested that the Marine Department can raise the "draft" and then disclose the relevant information.
The issue is clarified, focusing on the supporting measures of eco-tourism in Dongsha Island
There are many reefs near Dongsha Island. If there is no light map of the relevant waters, it is likely to hit the rocks. Unfortunately, this information is a business secret. He hopes to make effective use of this information to make the local boat safer. He also shares that the local area is affected by the northeast monsoon and may be more suitable for sightseeing from May to September.
Another teacher shared that before Boracay was over-loaded due to excessive cruising, it caused the island to reopen after half a year and restricted the activities of many related activities. It is suggested that Dongsha Island should be targeted at climate change changes. The assessment of the detailed areas and seasons will be better for the future sustainable management.
In the boat dive, some participants suggested that five to ten boat dive boats can be opened and operated at the same time. You can go to Kaohsiung Port to pick up dive tourists, board the ship and go to Dongsha for recreation. The Kaohsiung City Government also expressed its support for the view of the Yacht Association. You can test it out to Dongsha for boating and diving. The Kaohsiung City Government pointed out that Dongsha Island is a good diving spot. In addition, Taiwan's yacht manufacturing quality is very high. If it is used for boat diving, it will also help Taiwan's yacht industry. The Kaohsiung City Government suggested that Dongsha Island could be used to set up a project to pilot a dive in Dongsha Island.
The Kaohsiung City Government also shared that there are currently two private yacht marinas in Kaohsiung City. Currently, the operation is already on track. The equipment at the terminal is sufficient for use, and it is hoped that the test of boarding and diving will be carried out as soon as possible.
Some participants are worried about the opening of eco-tourism. Some people reminded that if the planning and management personnel do not know how to do eco-tourism, there will be great risks. For example, due to improper wastewater treatment, the waste village of Sipadan Island in Malaysia. It has also been shared that many foreign open diving places have charges in addition to the total amount of control. For example, some national parks collect ecological taxes, and the funds are earmarked for local ecological conservation. When ships enter, they will see the number of tons of restrictions. The ecologists attending the meeting pointed out that in some places, the strength of citizen scientists will be introduced to conduct regular physical examinations of coral reefs, and it will be closed when coral reefs are in poor condition. Some participants also said that they should refer to the concept of "no trace of mountains and forests", let professional guides do eco-guided, commentary, and guide tourists to bring back their own garbage.
About the status of the Dongsha Island Lagoon, it is also the focus of discussion at the venue. The participating teachers shared that about 3 meters of lemon sharks return to the lagoon every year to produce small sharks, and there are also a large number of squids. The local area is a habitat where small sharks and squid can feed. This is an important highlight. . He mentioned that the circulation of the small lagoon is not very good. If there is a ship staying, or even a motorcycle on the water, there will be maintenance oil or related heavy oil, which will inevitably have a great impact. I hope to carefully evaluate the dredging. Action to avoid serious impact on the local area.
The Marine Department pointed out that in Dongsha, not only the lemon scorpion was seen around Dongsha Island, but also a lot of lemon mites were found in the outer atoll. However, the warships of the sea management department are that the iron-shell vessels in China, Vietnam and other places weigh 200, 300 tons, and use the bottom trawl in the local area to cause comminuted damage to the local coral reefs; Ships can't deal with these iron-hull ships, and it is difficult to board the ship, which is dangerous. Therefore, it may be necessary to make a certain degree of sacrifice to dredge the Dongsha waterway so that large ships can come in and park to prevent Chinese and Vietnamese fishing vessels from invading the border to protect the local ecological resources. The Marine Department said that the maritime patrol department has tried its best not to affect the ecological environment of the area. It hopes that the minimum space will be exchanged for future law enforcement energy.
About the strengthening of local hardware facilities, the Marine Management Office said that only the new tourist center, sewage treatment plant and waste disposal site are planned, which is necessary for the development of eco-tourism and the maintenance of the ecological environment of Dongsha Island. .
The tourism industry suggests that in the future, it is possible to tie a public anchor ball in a place with high stability and suitable for diving, so as to avoid damage to the coral reef when the ship is docked for diving. They also mentioned that when they traveled to the local area in the future. If we see that Chinese fishing boats cross the border, they will be reflected to the patrol agency to assist the maritime patrol department in law enforcement and reduce the burden on the patrol station. However, they believe that the Ministry of Defence's current 45-day review period for personnel going to Dongsha may be too long, which may be a big limitation and needs to be adjusted. The Ministry of National Defense responded that the matter needs to be reported to the chief to see if there is a chance to adjust in the future.
Group discussion, suggesting to increase marine conservation energy
After the morning discussion, the afternoon will be divided into two groups for group discussion on the topic of whether the current planned ecotourism can meet ecological conservation. . In order to train the official colleagues to learn the hosting skills, this group discussion was chaired by the CDD colleagues and assisted by the PDIS members.
After discussion, the first group believes that the management regulations can be made more sound in the future unified issuance of the sea management office, and eco-tourism can take into account the needs of ecological conservation; in addition, it can also benefit from some indigenous people. How to get along with nature. Although participants strongly recommended planning ecotourism from the area of boat dive, it is difficult to manage the boat diving at the sea management office.
The second group talks about the problem of diving insurance, because there is currently no insurance for diving activities in the country. Although there is insurance to bring to the diving, it is handled in the post-delivery, not for diving. Insurance. In the aspect of overfishing, the second group believes that after 2000, with the assistance of sea patrols and sea pipes, there are still many fishing boats crossing the border, but the situation of overfishing has been reduced a lot. He felt that the problem of overfishing should be removed. The second group also mentioned the problem of local garbage and conservation. If it is to clean up the floating garbage on the sea, it needs to take a boat. The cost is much higher than the removal of garbage on land. However, the allocation of funds may be averaged, resulting in insufficient funds. It is difficult to achieve marine conservation. The second group also specifically discussed the issue of local 4G signal enhancements, suggesting that it can be enhanced using satellite mobile phones. The IOC finally shared that in 2000, after the establishment of the Sea Guard, the deployment of maritime energy in Dongsha was carried out. The situation of over-fishing has been greatly improved. At present, it has already had a deterrent effect under long-term law enforcement. The patrol agency believes that the ship lodgers can assist in photographing, searching for evidence and assisting the maritime patrol department in carrying out relevant enforcement. However, there are still insufficient funds. The sea patrol agency pointed out that the plastic waste in the ocean can only be cracked and cannot be decomposed. After the shellfish or fish are eaten by eating, they will enter the food chain and may be eaten by high-end fish or humans, which has a great impact. "Although the fish does not have Voting rights, but we must pay attention to it." In the future, the IOC will build a marine fund to maintain and conserve the marine environment through the establishment of the Ocean Sustainability Management Fund in accordance with the Basic Law of the Sea. After a full day of discussion, Tang Feng’s political committee reported the results of today’s discussion at the government meeting next week, allowing the president and relevant heads of the ministry to serve as a reference for future governance and policy planning. [Question Manual] related to the issue (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1S2SWMqjaiz2rmMj83t2P0eRLPcwOIo1dWRv456_SbL0/edit), Mind Map with verbatem record will also be made available on the Internet for the public to understand the issue.
The small table is performing well, and the interested people can have more yuan
It is mentioned that some important figures of the ministry today did not attend, such as the relevant contractors of the Ministry of National Defense, resulting in Some of the issues were put on hold; some participants pointed out that some participants still stayed on land planning and could not understand the thinking of ocean recreation. They should let other participants experience the boat diving and discuss it in order to discuss the specific situation.
Some participants felt that the CDC colleagues who served as the table chief performed well. Sometimes the discussion was divergent. The table leader would still assist in pulling back and clarifying the opinions to be expressed. The relevant plans would also be included to assist in the discussion. Focus. The form of the mind map can also help you to think comprehensively, but unfortunately there is no Action Item, it is difficult to draw conclusions in a short time.
The official colleagues pointed out that in fact, some discussions have been predicted before the meeting, and all the things that these different stakeholders have considered need to be included in the discussion. However, it is now in the feasibility assessment, and the opinions of this collaborative meeting can be incorporated into some subsequent adjustments, and some psychological preparations for the future can be done. However, he also reminded that the yacht operators themselves are very concerned about safety. However, in the position of the public authorities, not everyone is concerned about safety. Some operators are not high enough to enter the threshold and may not be responsible for safety. This may be appropriate when discussing. Clarify the issue.
It was pointed out that only the ship-seekers were found this time. As a result, the discussion direction will be easy to focus on the eco-tourism plan for boat dive; perhaps it is also possible to think about whether there are more interested parties, such as eco-operators. Wait, let more opinions come together for discussion.