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Chapter 6 Natural Landscapes and Natural Monuments
Article 78
Natural landscape shall be categorized as natural reserves or geoparks, depending on their characteristics. Natural monuments include valuable and rare plants, minerals, and special topographic and ecological phenomena.
Article 79
The competent authorities shall periodically conduct general surveys of, or accept reports from individuals or organizations on, any sites and scopes deserving of the designations of natural landscapes or natural monuments, and shall review, record and trace in accordance with the procedures stipulated by law.
The competent authorities may review the traced natural landscapes or natural monuments under the preceding paragraph according to the procedures set forth in Article 81.
Article 80
The competent authorities shall set up complete files of the investigation, research, preservation and conservation of natural landscapes and natural monuments.
The competent authorities shall implement commemorative plans for education and preservation of natural monuments.
Article 81
Natural landscapes and natural monuments shall be graded as national, municipal, county or city natural landscapes or natural monuments, depending on the level of their competent authorities, and shall be reviewed, designated and announced as such by their competent authorities. Where a natural landscape or natural monument is designated by the municipal, county or city government, it shall be reported to the central competent authority for recordation.
Owners of places deserving of the designations of natural landscapes or natural monuments may apply to the competent authorities for designation of the places as natural landscapes or natural monuments. The competent authorities shall review such applications according to the procedures stipulated by the law.
In the event that a natural landscape or natural monument is destroyed or its value diminishes or increases, the competent authority may revoke the original designation of the natural landscape or natural monument or reclassify it, and announce such revocation or new classification. Where such revocation or reclassification is made by a municipal, county or city government, it shall be reported to the central competent authority for approval.
The regulations for designation criteria of natural landscapes or natural monuments or revocation of designations, the procedures for applying for designation of natural landscapes or natural monuments, and the procedures for reviewing such applications under the preceding three paragraphs, the conditions for granting assistances, and other compliance requirements shall be stipulated by the central competent authority.
Article 82
Natural landscapes and natural monuments shall be managed and conserved by their owners, users or managers, and the competent authority may provide necessary assistance to manage and conserve private natural landscape.
Agencies (institutions) having jurisdiction over natural landscapes or natural monuments, or other relevant agencies (institutions), or duly registered organizations or individuals may be commissioned to manage or conserve such natural landscapes or natural monuments.
Anyone who manages and conserves natural landscapes and natural monuments shall draft management and conservation plans for the natural landscapes and natural monuments and file the plans with the competent authority for recordation.
Article 83
Article 28 shall apply mutatis mutandis when a natural landscape or natural monument is likely to be destroyed or its value is likely to diminish as a result of improper management.
Article 84
Places undergoing the review procedure for designation as natural landscapes or natural monuments shall be deemed interim natural landscapes or natural monuments.
In the event of an emergency, the competent authority may announce a place deserving of the designation of a natural landscape or natural monument as interim natural landscape or natural monument, and notify its owner, user and manager of such announcement.
Article 20 shall apply mutatis mutandis to matters relating to the effectiveness of an interim natural landscape or natural monument designation, the review period, compensation and other required procedures.
Article 85
Natural monuments shall not be destroyed by picking, plucking, chopping, felling, excavating or any other means, and their ecological environments shall be conserved. Nevertheless, this Article shall not apply if any of the foregoing acts is necessary for indigenous peoples' traditional ceremonies or religious rites, or for research, display, or international exchange by research institutions after approval has been obtained from the competent authority.
Article 86
Any alteration of or damage to the natural status of a natural reserve is prohibited.
In order to conserve the natural status of a natural reserve, no one is allowed to enter the designated zone of the reserve without the permission of the competent authority, unless otherwise provided in other laws. The qualifications of applicants, admission terms, operational procedures and other compliance requirements shall be stipulated by the central competent authority.
Article 87
The competent authority shall be consulted before a regional plan or urban plan is established or amended for the locale where a natural landscape or natural monument is located.
No major construction project contemplated by any government agency may obstruct the preservation or conservation of any natural landscape or natural monument. Before the commencement of such a project, investigation shall be made to ascertain whether any site deserving of the designation of a natural landscape or natural monument is located at the site of the project. If any potential natural landscape or natural monument is discovered, the competent authority shall follow the review procedures under Article 81.
Article 88
Any discovery of a site deserving of the designation of a natural landscape or natural monument shall forthwith be reported to the competent authority.
If a site deserving of the designation of a natural landscape or natural monument is discovered in the course of a construction project or other land development activities, such construction or development work shall be immediately suspended and the discovery shall be reported to the competent authority.