Taipei: Thousands of signs providing directions and marking locations, along with improved mobile network coverage, have been introduced in Taiwan’s forests and mountains due to a rise in accidents involving hikers in recent years, the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency announced on Thursday.
According to Focus Taiwan, the increase in accidents has been observed since the government relaxed restrictions on access to over 80 forestry roads that were previously reserved for logging and local residents in mountainous areas. These changes, implemented in late 2019, included the streamlining of entry permits into restricted areas, allowing them to be obtained through a single online portal.
Data from the National Fire Agency indicates a significant rise in accidents in mountainous regions requiring rescue services, with figures more than doubling from 207 incidents in 2019 to 454 in 2020, and reaching 513 in 2023. The agency highlighted that getting lost and sustaining injuries are the two most prevalent types of accidents. To address these issues, 3,420 directional signs have been installed as of January.
The road signs, designed in yellow and diamond-shaped, display coordinates using the World Geodetic System 1984 (WGS84) and Taiwan’s TWD97 system. They also feature the name of the path or trail, key locations along the route in Chinese, and two numbers indicating the total length in kilometers. These signs are strategically placed every 100 meters.
Additionally, 1,381 signs have been installed at spots with mobile network coverage in mountainous and forest areas as of February. These yellow signs are provided by Taiwan’s three telecom companies, whose staff ensure network reception in remote areas, as stated in the agency’s announcement.
The signs are located in 19 forestry recreation areas and along trails maintained by the agency responsible for forest-related affairs, which encompass approximately 60 percent of Taiwan’s land. Furthermore, telecom companies collaborate with national park headquarters to place signs indicating mobile service coverage in locations like Taroko in Hualien and Yushan in central Taiwan, an agency official informed CNA on Thursday.
The agency also recommended that visitors download maps from the government portal (https://data.gov.tw/en/) or use the Rudy Map, developed with the free and open map database MOI. OSM-Taiwan TOPO, which contains the same information as the signs and can be accessed offline.