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Education on oceans important for Taiwan

The oceans are a natural resource that citizens of island nations rely on to survive. They are also an important element of island culture, so the development of a "maritime state" has become one of the government's most important goals.

The Cabinet's 1998 Marine Policy White Paper (國家海洋政策白皮書) and Marine Policy Guidelines (國家海洋政策綱領) have demonstrated the government's resolve to establish the nation as an ocean state.

The marine education policy white paper the Ministry of Education is working on will mark the beginning of the development toward becoming an ocean nation.

Teaching citizens about marine issues is one of the principle duties of marine education.

But in addition to learning, marine education must also foster contact between people and the ocean and marine life, as well as design accompanying curricula.

Therefore, a common characteristic of countries throughout the world developing marine education is that in addition to improving the regular education system in schools and their related curriculum, they are also establishing maritime technology education centers or museums as components of that education system.

They design different curricula for people of all different levels of education -- elementary school, middle school, high school and university, working and full-time students or other members of society -- and hold short educational camps on a regular basis year round.

In 1989, Taiwan began planning the construction of a museum for marine education. The northern branch was named the National Museum of Marine Science and Technology and the southern branch the National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium.

They fall under the ministry's jurisdiction, and their aim is to promote marine education.

The marine biology museum is still essentially a museum and attached to the ministry's Department of Social Education. Its most important duty is to support the regular education system and contribute to social education.

As we consider how to realize universal marine education, we must not forget that biology and technology museums are also important foundations for achieving that goal.

The technology museum's role is as an education center for cutting-edge marine technology, and the biology museum's role is as a teaching center for the latest marine biology research technology.

In addition to educating, they should also imitate similar institutions in the US, which have designed different short-term activities and curricula aimed at students from kindergarten through university.

They should be held year round and incorporate both entertaining and informative education elements to supplement deficiencies in the regular education system.

In addition, the government should have a comprehensive plan for its national resources that is based on the knowledge that fundamental research in marine sciences and marine biology requires maritime facilities and development of related technological industries.

It should effectively use the two museums and their material resources as a base for establishing a marine technology research and development center under the National Applied Research Laboratories. Such a center with properly integrated and distributed resources and labor could rapidly and effectively push forward marine development.

Tsai Chin-ling is a professor in the Department of Marine Biology and Resources at National Sun Yat-sen University.

Translated by Marc Langer
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