The Ministry of Agriculture plans to roll out a forest therapy certificate program in 2025 at the earliest in a boost to the development of sustainable tourism, it said on Tuesday.
Forest therapy benefits a person’s mental and physical health due to the naturally occurring phytoncides and negative air ionization in forests to which people are exposed, Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency Director-General Lin Hua-ching (林華慶) said.
Taiwan in 2021 launched a forest therapy training platform, which is a six-month course consisting of online classes and real-world exercises with a test at the end, he said.
Photo courtesy of the Taiwan Forest Therapy Society
Lin said that 3,402 people had enrolled since its establishment, adding that the next step is to upgrade the program to a vocational certificate system.
The qualification test does not require test takers to have any other degrees or diplomas, he added.
The agency’s policy is to facilitate the Taiwanese forest therapy profession’s integration with international standards as part of a drive toward meeting environmental, social and governance goals, and growing an “under-forest” economy, Lin said.
Venues that qualify to be used for forest therapy must be larger than 0.5 hectares and be populated by trees that are at least 10m tall, with the forest canopy covering no less than 10 percent of the area, he said.
Forest therapists and guides must organize events and design activities to meet clients’ needs, Lin said.
Taipingshan (太平山), Dongyanshan (東眼山), Basianshan (八仙山), Aowanda (奧萬大) and Shuangliu (雙流) are among the eight national parks and forest recreational areas that are to serve as demonstration areas for forest therapy, he said.
Taiwanese forest therapist certificates are recognized in China, Japan, South Korea and the US, Society for Wildlife And Nature chairman Lin Chia-min (林家民) said.
This means Taiwanese certificate holders can practice in China and attend academic conferences in Japan and South Korea, where forestry therapists must be government workers, he said.
Lin Chia-min said he is to lead Taiwan’s delegation to the world’s first international forest therapy conference in Gyeongju, South Korea, today.
The majority of Taiwan’s forest therapists are part-timers who are mainly employed as psychiatrists, aromatherapists and national park workers, while some indigenous Taiwanese who live in cities have also taken part in the program, he said.
Forest therapists typically receive clients in groups, and their rate is about NT$6,000 for a three-hour session, Lin Chia-min said, adding that they can earn them about NT$50,000 per month, but as much as NT$100,000 per month during the summer.
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