2007 Volume 60 Issue 3 Pages 1-16
This study is to clarify influences of registrations of the world natural heritage on the system of natural resources management, in case of Satochi and seaside regions of Yakushima Island, a part of which was designated as the world natural heritage in December 1993. This study also prospects what the management system of Yakushima Island should be in the future. There happened constructions of recreational facilities in Satochi after the registration, and its maintenance cost increased by 6.3 times from 8.93 million yen in 1992 to 54.26 million yen in 2002. On the other hand, that cost of the seaside region rose by only 2.8 times during the same period. Consequently, there was a growth in the maintenance cost for whole Yakushima by 6.5 times from 21.02 million in 1992 to 137.52 million yen in 2002. Constructions of recreational facilities in Satochi, however, do not effectively mitigate overuse in mountainous region. To make the matters worse, overuse issues expands to a part of the seaside region such Inakahama. So as to resolve intensive use of congested regions, comprehensive management plan for whole Yakushima must be established. Furthermore, direct regulatory policies such as control of number of visitors may be effective. Participation of local residents in the planning of resource management may lead to improvement of environment in Yakushima, too.
