(JP) Visitor limits considered for nature parks

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http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn20020117b1.htm

 

Visitor limits considered for nature parks

 

The Environment Ministry unveiled a new bill Wednesday

to tighten rules on the use of national parks,

quasi-national parks and other natural preserves to

help protect wildlife and habitat.

 

The bill, an amendment to the nature parks law, would

allow the government to designate " restricted " areas

in nature parks and put an upper limit on the number

of visitors.

 

While the limitation would also apply to public parks

that are regulated through government ordinances, the

immediate target is Shiretoko National Park in

northeastern Hokkaido, a park known as Japan's last

unexplored natural preserve.

 

The bill is expected to go to the Diet next month. The

Environment Ministry hopes to get the bill into the

books and enforce it on April 1 next year.

 

The proposed legislation also contains provisions to

protect wildlife on private land located inside nature

parks by authorizing private nonprofit groups or local

authorities to set up nature protection zones with the

landowners.

 

Private nonprofit groups and local authorities would

also be allowed to manage nature parks on behalf of

the state.

 

The current nature parks legislation allows the

government to ban motor vehicles and motorcycles from

entering designated park areas.

 

However, pedestrians and canoeists, for example, fall

outside the regulation, something the Environment

Ministry wants to remedy under the proposed law.

 

Under the bill, the environment minister or

prefectural governor can limit the number of people

allowed entry into the park areas on a day or limit

the number of days one person can stay inside a park.

 

At Shiretoko National Park, local authorities have

sought to limit the number of visitors to the park in

order to protect the wildlife, but the number of

visitors has kept rising because the restrictions are

not backed by law.

 

The Japan Times: Jan. 17, 2002

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