Based on the fact that Japan's National Parks are designated irrespective of the status of land ownership, the cornerstone of Japan's National Parks has been laid down through such activities as environment protection at the local level and the management of secondary natural environments. Park Volunteers and others also provide support for certain aspects of park management. In this manner, our National Parks are protected thanks to the actions and cooperation of a broad array of parties.
Supporters of National Parks
Ministry of the Environment has established Regional Environment Offices and other local offices throughout the country. These offices are staffed by Park Rangers who administer the National Parks along with other duties. In addition, Park Volunteers, Natural Park Advisers, and others work together with Park Rangers to help support our National Parks.
Park Rangers
Park Rangers are employees of the Ministry of the Environment posted in the field at our National Parks. They are charged with undertaking procedures pursuant to the Natural Parks Law as well as with formulating plans for protecting and utilizing parks, patrolling parks, carrying out surveys on the natural environment in parks, providing information and establishing facilities in order to promote the use of parks, engaging in the management of land held by the Ministry of the Environment, and more.
Active Park Rangers
Active Park Rangers are part-time employees of the Ministry of the Environment and are charged with assisting Park Rangers, going on patrols in National Parks, carrying out surveys, providing nature interpretation programs, coordinating with Park Volunteers, and more.
Park Volunteers
Park Volunteers are registered with each National Park and are engaged in providing nature interpretation programs, participating in clean-up operations, undertaking simple repairs of facilities, carrying out nature surveys, and otherwise doing whatever they are capable of doing to support Natural Parks. At present, there are approximately 2,000 persons registered as Park Volunteers nationwide.
Natural Park Advisers
Natural Park Advisers remind visitors to Natural Parks of the rules that must be followed and engage in patrols and other actions to prevent accidents from occurring. In addition, they provide status reports on such matters as the ascertainment of damages caused to park facilities.
Junior Park Rangers
Junior Park Rangers is a program designed to allow elementary and secondary school children to go on patrols of National Parks and other locations, carry out simple surveys of fauna and flora, and acquire other experiences made possible by the guidance and cooperation provided by Park Rangers and Park Volunteers.
Park Management Organizations
The Minister of the Environment designates general corporation, general foundation, non-profit organizations, and others with respect to our National Parks as Park Management Organizations in order to promote the voluntary protection and management of natural landscapes by private-sector groups and citizens.
Partnerships with residents and private-sector organizations
Initiatives through partnerships formed with local residents and private-sector organizations have been launched in order to promote the conservation of the natural environment and upgrade the accessible areas of our National Parks.
Natural Parks Clean-Up Day
The first Sunday of every August is Natural Parks Clean-Up Day. Large-scale beautification and clean-up activities targeting all National Parks and other Natural Parks across Japan are conducted.
Green Worker Program
The Green Worker Program has been deployed with the aim of improving the management of our National Parks by encouraging rapid, finely tuned environmental conservation actions tailored to local circumstances to be undertaken by local residents' groups and other local organizations that are highly familiar with the state of the local natural environment and social conditions.
Grants for upgrading mountain lavatories
A program to provide assistance to cover the costs of building mountain hut lavatories was begun in 1999 in response to the environmental problems occurred in the late 1990s at Mt. Fuji caused by the huge amount of trash and human waste deposits.
This assistance program provides grants equal to half the costs of constructing mountain hut lavatories to prefectural governments, municipal governments, and private-sector businesses that build and equip mountain huts.