2014 Volume 60 Issue 1 Pages 14-21
The Japanese National Park System currently faces problems with biodiversity conservation, overuse control, and collaborative management. This paper examines issues in park planning and the management of Japanese National Parks, using the case study of the trail maintenance guideline and the management of other facilities in Daisetsuzan National Park, Central Hokkaido, Japan. We found limited recognition of the trail maintenance guideline, a lack of social scientific data, a lack of facility-development standards and risk management, concerning about management of human resources and budget, and little discussion of fees. The park-planning process should include zoning of visitor experiences and should introduce the concept of carrying capacity. We also pointed out the need for revision of the current zoning system, which has been controlled by the intentions of landowners, to allow biodiversity conservation and to control overuse, and the necessity of social scientific monitoring and human resource development based on the social sciences.
