Taiwan, the largest island on the Tropic of Cancer, enjoys both subtropical and tropical climates and provides a thriving natural environment for a myriad of creatures. Although it only occupies 0.02% of the world’s surface, Taiwan is home to more than 46,000 species (out of approximately 2 million species in the world) of flora and fauna, which is more than 100 times of the world average. Over the centuries, immigrants of manifold origins arrived on this picturesque island to fish, hunt, and farm. People go out of their way to cultivate and enlighten one another, work together through the division of labor, and govern collectively. Taiwan has thus become a melting pot of multiple cultures.

The NDAP came into being through the integration of various resources available in both the public and private sectors. Because of the academic and professional qualifications of the research teams, the program is able to dedicate an enormous amount of effort to establishing high quality and effective digital contents. In addition to archiving priceless biological and cultural assets, a value-added academic and educational knowledge network has been established. Through an effective mechanism for critical evaluation and periodic appraisal, the program continues to collect manifold items of data from various museums, libraries, colleges, research institutes, and communities, and transform them into digital content that can be shared. A popular knowledge network, with multifaceted themes ranging from nature, archeology, languages, and geography to ethnology, history, arts and esthetics, and folklore, has been established to showcase the beauty and splendor of Taiwan’s diverse ecology, languages, and culture.

Photos courtesy of Academia Sinica、National Central Library、National Taiwan University、Taiwan Historica、Hsing Kuo College of Management