In recent years, the research related to protected areas has focused on the interaction between people and the environment. Ecologists and natural resource managers in public and private sectors want to generate people’s interest in the natural environment and environmental problems. However, scant literature mentions the gaps between ideal and practical conditions. Considering public involvement, this study examined issues facing national parks, carrying out a quantitative analysis to discuss the differences between public and professional perspectives for national parks, including their understanding, judgment, and expectations.
As environmental ethics and standards have shaped common sense, interviews might lead to some standard answers. In order to prevent interview bias, this study collected blog articles and online news items to represent public viewpoints. Furthermore, experts’ and scholars’ comments in official judgments and discussion meetings were recorded to represent professional viewpoints.
The analysis of public viewpoints determined that primary attitudes toward national parks included four paradigms: environmental ethics, environmental challenges, environmental education, and environmental experience. People connect with environmental education through on-site visits, making it closely relative to environmental experience. The context suggests that national parks currently provide unsatisfying experiences for people except those concerned with environmental challenges. For people concerned with environmental ethics, the conservation of natural and cultural resources is not sufficient as people concerned with environmental experiences hope to gain more comfort and convenience, which significantly counters professional viewpoints. The comprehensive analysis not only defined the functions of national parks, but also suggested a development policy.
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