Camping has become increasingly popular over the past two decades, and even more so in the past few months amid COVID-19 travel restrictions and the resulting economic downturn.
However, while it is beneficial to spend more time outdoors, enjoying the beauty of Taiwan, camping getaways can pose a major threat to the environment and in some cases the safety of campers.
Hundreds of campgrounds, ranging from basic campsites to “glamping” in yurts or wooden cabins, along with campgrounds offering a variety of sports facilities, are available nationwide. The problem is that, according to Tourism Bureau data, just about 8 percent of the 1,985 camping areas in the nation are legal, a situation comparable to the soaring number of illicit bed-and-breakfast and hostel operations in popular scenic areas.
It is not as if the central and local governments are unaware of the issue, but a confusing maze of agencies with regulatory oversight and authority — the bureau, the Ministry of Education, the Council of Agriculture, the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the National Property Administration — has led to lax enforcement and weak punishments for those found flouting the rules.
Far too many campsites have been built in illegally developed hillside areas and water reserve areas, and few have had their soil and water conservation plans reviewed. Calls by lawmakers for the bureau to take over all oversight of campgrounds has run into opposition from the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, which oversees the agency. It says that land registry changes would be required to legalize campsites, but the council has been unwilling to allow agricultural land to be redesignated.
As a result, illegality runs rampant. For example, all 15 campgrounds that the Executive Yuan’s Department of Consumer Protection inspected in late 2016 failed to meet safety standards, including four in dangerous areas, one of which is in an area prone to landslides.
The owner of the latter site, in Pingtung County, was fined just NT$60,000 for breaching the Soil and Water Conservation Act (水土保持法), which is hardly a deterrent. Two years later, the Taoyuan City Government fined the Mountain King Leisure Farm near Shihmen Reservoir (石門水庫) the same amount for operating illegally, but it remains in business.
Even in national parks, the money to be earned appears to outweigh conservation ethics.
Wuling Farm in Shei-Pa National Park last week made headlines after complaints that scores of camper vehicles were allowed to park illegally in grassland reserved for recreational use by farm visitors. The deputy head of the farm said that a group reserved 80 parking spaces, but more than 100 vehicles turned up, in addition to those of individual tourists, exceeding the camping area’s available space.
Rather than turn away the overflow, the farm thought it would be better to allow them to use the grassland “to reduce the impact on the surrounding environment and for the safety of the visitors,” but in the future it would turn excess vehicles away, he said.
However, the farm also plans to seek permission to turn another grassland area into a parking area. There is no word yet on what kind of fines, if any, the farm would have to pay under the National Park Act (國家公園法) for its unwillingness to favor nature over paying customers, but they would assuredly be minor.
It is wonderful that more people want to enjoy the great outdoors, but they should be respectful of nature and not patronize illegal operations. In the meantime, government officials at all levels need to develop a backbone to stand up to commercial interests and pressures.
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