2022 Volume 2022 Issue 56 Pages 71-82
Geoparks are UNESCO programs that promote sustainable development of areas with geologically valuable sites and landscapes through conservation, education, and geo-tourism activities. One of the characteristics of Japanese geoparks is that the entire Japanese Islands are located in the mobile belt, and many geoparks have the theme of “Dynamic Earth.” Active faults, along with active volcanoes, symbolize the movements of the ground in the Japanese Islands, and it is of great significance for researchers of active faults to support geopark activities. In the present study, we reported the results of the questionnaire survey conducted by the Committee on Education and Outreach of the Japanese Society for Active Fault Studies to consider future policies for support for Japanese geoparks. As a result, we found that about 41% of the geoparks use active faults as geosites, and about 62% of the geoparks explain active faults in some way. In addition, it was found that about 81% of the geoparks have been working on disaster prevention against earthquakes or active faults. On the other hand, there are some geoparks where active faults are distributed within the area but are not utilized as geosites, and the most common reason for this is that there are no appropriate observation sites. For these geoparks, support by experts of active faults is considered necessary.
