Hehuanshan (合歡山) in Nantou County has been designated as the nation’s first international dark sky park by the International Dark-Sky Association thanks to its efforts to protect its nighttime environment.
Dark sky parks are spaces protected for natural conservation that implement good outdoor lighting and provide dark sky programs for visitors, the association said.
The certification is “a model case of cooperation between the local civilian community and governmental entities,” association executive director Ruskin Hartley said in a statement.
Photo courtesy of the Taitung County Government
The nonprofit group Taiwan Dark Sky Protection Alliance in 2014 started campaigning for the establishment of the park. It was eventually able to convince the Nantou County Government to pursue the idea and secured cooperation from Taroko National Park and the Forestry Bureau to help create the necessary conditions for a dark sky park bid.
Nantou County and four other parties sent a formal proposal to the association last year, and it was approved on Sunday by e-mail.
The Taipei Amateur Astronomers Association was happy about the decision, saying that the certificate was the product of nearly four years’ effort by the astronomy community and Hehuanshan’s tourism authorities.
The Cing Jing Tourism Association said that the dark sky certification is only the beginning of a larger local initiative to reduce light pollution while building up infrastructure and furnishing more guides for visitors to the area.
In related news, Booking.com yesterday named Taitung County’s Chenggong (成功) and Taimali (太麻里) townships among the top five stargazing destinations in Taiwan, citing users’ data collected by its Web site.
The county government in a statement said that it has since last year been working to promote the county’s night sky as a tourist attraction.
The Taitung Starry Night Concert is to take place at Guanshan Waterfront Park (關山) on Aug. 24 and at the Kararuan Recreational Area (加路蘭遊憩區) on Aug. 31, it said, adding that it has planned a total of seven nighttime concerts and trained tour guides for 72 other events that are being held this year.
Additional reporting by CNA
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