In 1997, Taiwanese academics established the Taiwanese Coral Reef Society, and in 1998 began participating in Reef Check activities. In 1999, Taiwan experienced the largest reef-bleaching incident in history, leading to the destruction of much of the coral reefs in Taiwan's surrounding waters. But with great efforts over the last decade, Taiwanese society has gradually come to understand coral ecology's importance to Taiwan's marine environment.
The establishment of Dongsha Marine National Park this year symbolizes our gradual movement into an era of respecting the ocean and protecting coral reefs. Just as concern over global warming has encouraged people to ride bicycles to work, efforts like these are anything but a waste of energy.
Allen Chen is an assistant research fellow in the Institute of Zoology at the Academia Sinica.
Translated by Marc Langer
RSS