Abstract
Since the 1990s, interest in using mountain trails has increased in Japan, with some mountain trails regenerated for forest recreation, but the management system for many mountain trails still embraces ambiguity. This paper investigates actual conditions of maintenance and management for mountain trails in the former Owashi Town, Mie Prefecture, focusing on the Kumano Kodo Iseji and the Owase Trail, based on interviews with those involved. We found that the former, as a city road, is under the de jure management of the Owase City Board of Education, and various stakeholders such as local conservation groups and patrolmen are involved in its maintenance; however, there is a lack of cooperation among them. On the other hand, the latter trail regenerated by a local volunteer group, is not covered by the Road Act and the manager is unknown due to the nonexistence of the cadastral maps; therefore, the volunteer group became the de facto manager and continues to de facto maintain with the users, without the consent of the landowners or cooperation with administrative agencies. The differences in the maintenance and management systems
of these two can stem from the existence of the applicable laws and the presence or absence of a manager based on them. The Owase Trail has moved to a stage where the required level of maintenance has increased with the growing publicness of the trail. It is desirable to establish a system in which administrative agencies undertake coordination with landowners and legally support the maintenance.
