Abstract:
Increasingly serious environmental degradation has given new emphasis to the need for
sustainable development. Such development take the community acts as the basic unit
for holistic implementation. One emerging development approach is referred to as the
“eco-museum” strategy which seeks to strengthen a community based on its unique
resources, create economic benefits, and protect local heritage. This study describes the
application of the eco-museum strategy to 36 communities in Tainan, Taiwan, in an
attempt to identify elements of best practice and to develop a model for other the
development of eco-museums in other communities.
In a multidimensional scaling analysis, the study uses landscape, culture, lifestyle, and
human resources as items to build the research framework. A questionnaire was
applied to survey 36 communities in Tainan to identify community characteristics which
lend themselves to the successful implementation of the eco-museum approach.
The results suggested that the Chi-Chih community could serve as a model for ecomuseum
development. Through cognitive map analysis, the distribution points of each
community type are found to impact development feasibility and controls. It is expected
that the eco-museum strategy will increase local residents’ interaction with their
distinct cultural and environmental resources, and facilitate the development a “think
globally, act locally” Mindset.
