"From Clean Beaches to Clean Hearts" of the Penghu District was selected as one of the top 100 green destinations in the world this year

From beach cleaning to meditation, the story of Peng Guan Office was selected as one of the top 100 green destinations in the world this year. (Provided by the Peng Guan Office)

This year's "Global Green Destinations Annual Conference" was held in Kranj, the third largest city in Slovenia. During the conference, the "Top 100 Green Destinations Stories in the World" were announced. The Penghu National Scenic Area Management Office of the Ministry of Transportation and Tourism's "From Clean Beach to Clean Heart: A Healing Ocean Journey" was successfully selected for the "Nature and Environment" category award, demonstrating Penghu's outstanding achievements in transforming the adversity of marine waste into sustainable tourism and local resilience.

The Penghu Islands are located at the intersection of ocean currents. Affected by the terrain and the strong northeast monsoon in winter, the Penghu Islands have long endured the severe test of the accumulation of large amounts of cross-border marine debris. Faced with the difficult situation that cannot be cured by traditional mobilization to clean up beaches, the Pengcheng Management Office has shifted the core of its strategy from traditional "clean-up behavior" to "source reduction and behavior change", with the goal of transforming the public from "bystanders" on the issue of marine waste into "active actors" in waste reduction.

In addition, in conjunction with the "Salute to the Sea" policy, the Pengcheng Management Office cooperates with the publicity and implementation of the real-name system for county gill nets, and encourages the tourism and accommodation industry not to proactively provide disposable supplies. From 2020 to May 2026, a total of 11,438.3 metric tons of marine waste has been removed; source reduction measures have reduced the use of more than 150,000 disposable containers every year, and local hoteliers have also fully responded and not proactively provided spare parts.

In order to deepen sustainable tourism, the Pengcheng Management Office established a "Drifting Art Museum" at the Houliao Visitor Center, a hot spot for marine waste accumulation, last year. It serves as the entrance to marine waste tourism. Local youths will lead tourists to kayak to uninhabited islands for beach cleaning, picnics and camping, creating a new business model for "sea waste tourism". The number of participants in the uninhabited island beach cleanup tour increased by more than 300%, demonstrating the sustainable behavior of tourists from a mere "consumption destination" to a "joint protection of the ocean."

The Penghuang Office has become internationally renowned and won an award at this year’s Global Green Destinations Annual Conference. (Provided by the Peng Guan Office)