ENVIRONMENT-JAPAN: Pawning Natural Wealth for Tourism Revenues

By Suvendrini Kakuchi Reprint | | Print |

Suvendrini Kakuchi

TOKYO, Aug 17 2006 (IPS) - Shiratoko peninsula, home to a stretch of pristine forests, lakes and wild life, is facing an environmental crisis thanks to crowds of tourists attracted by its inclusion in UNESCO’s World Heritage list last July.

”This summer we are witnessing a ten percent increase in the number of visitors that average 2.5 million per year, a growth we attribute to Shiratoko gaining its new international status. The place is choking with cars, garbage and human beings, causing damage to the natural surroundings,” said Hirostubu Masumoto, a tourism official in the Hokkaido municipality.

Masumoto says that the status accorded by the United Nations’ educational and cultural body is not the only culprit ad points to a lack of stringent national park laws. ”The situation in Shiratoko illustrates an important dilemma in Japan – how do we balance the economic benefits of tourism while protecting the environment in popular resorts?”

Since last July, Shiratoko has been transforming into a bustling tourist spot, with parking lots and hotels constructed close to key scenic spots, such as its famous lake.

Officials say that the UNESCO status carries stipulations to protect the area’s wildlife including deer and sea lions. This has resulted in the numbers of these animals multiplying and upsetting the natural ecosystem. Visibly, with hunting stopped, the deer have been playing havoc with the trees.

Local fishermen have also begun to register complaints about sea lions destroying their fishing nets, a situation that is forcing the national government to develop a new management plan for Shiratoko.

Yet, another example of a UNESCO natural heritage site facing similar problems is Japan’s Yakushima island in southern Japan that was notified in 1993. Tourism has more than doubled since then.

Yakushima is known for a cedar tree that is estimated to be over 7,400 years old. But today, park officials are struggling to contain the damage caused to its delicate wild habitat with large number of visitors trampling over the moss and undergrowth that help to retain soil nutrients.

”Nature has become the hottest theme in tourism as the Japanese population ages and is affluent enough to travel to famous sight seeing resorts. Japan needs to urgently enact a responsible “wise use” regulation that includes conservation into tourism as stipulated by international conventions,” said Hisashi Okura, an officer at the Japan World Wildlife Fund for nature.

Okura said as small towns face dwindling populations and economic decline, tourism assumes greater importance with revenue collection winning over environmental protection.

The environment ministry revised the natural parks law in spring 2003 to add a new clause aimed at restricting visitors to natural parks, but officials acknowledge that nothing has been done yet towards enforcement.

”Restricting tourists is difficult because Japan’s national park law stipulates that park management must adhere to gaining approval from all parties that own the land,” said Mai Yamamoto at the environment ministry. National parks in Japan, she told IPS, come under the control of the forestry and environment ministries, private landlords and local assemblies.

But for Masumoto, there is no time to lose as the UNESCO label stipulates that conservation reports are filed soon.

”Rather than wait any longer, we are using a loophole in the new national law that refers to ‘usage adjustment districts’. This clause will enable us to control the number of visitors to protect further damage,” he said.

Such a step, to restrict the number of visitors on weekends or during peak season, is planned for July 2007. If enacted, the law will make Hokkaido the first in Japan to legally restrict the number of visitors, he pointed out.

Environmentalists blame Japan’s entrenched system that puts emphasis on tourism over conservation, in spite of some bitter lessons.

Oze marshlands in Fukushima prefecture, west of Tokyo, designated as a national park is now losing tourists – 31,7000 in 2005, down from the 320,000 the previous year following environmental degradation and people preferring quieter locations.

”The number of tourists is steadily decreasing because of other natural parks that are more pristine and also because the human traffic flow in Oze has become too heavy,” said Masanori Sasaki, official in charge Oze management.

During the peak seasons in the fall, when the marshland and surrounding mountains turn gold and red, Oze is filled with backpackers who wait for hours to enter the trails in the park. Moreover, the area’s famous mountain cottages are fully booked years ahead.

”We realise now that while earning national or U.N. status provides the parks with a higher status, this is not exactly a guarantee to boost tourism. Rather, the designation make us work harder to protect the environment of the park,” said Sasaki.

Japan has 28 national parks and 55 quasi-national parks. The Diet (parliament) is scheduled to address a new eco-tourism law next January that will include conservation in the industry.