What is the purpose of national parks? What are their roles beyond environmental conservation?

This series features insights from various experts on achieving the SDGs. Our guest this time is Mr. Takahiro Okano, Director of the National Park Utilization Promotion Office at the Ministry of the Environment.

Currently, Japan has 34 national parks.

Do you know why national parks exist?

"National parks are places where you can truly feel how society and the economy are built upon nature," says Mr. Okano. In this interview, we discussed the relationship between biodiversity, local communities and economies, and national parks.

Mr. Takahiro Okano served as a national park ranger in Aso-Kuju National Park and Iriomote National Park (now Iriomote-Ishigaki National Park). He currently serves as Director of the National Park Utilization Promotion Office, National Park Division, Nature Conservation Bureau, Ministry of the Environment.

National parks are places where pristine nature and human activities coexist.

──Many people may have heard the term "national park" but don't know what kind of place it is. First, could you explain the criteria and purpose for selecting national parks?

Okano: The selection criteria are areas within Japan that are particularly rich in nature and possess beautiful landscapes. That said, it includes not only forests, rivers, and seas where pristine nature remains, but also places shaped by human activity, such as villages and farmland. The purpose of national parks is to preserve this nature and scenery for the future.

National parks are designated by the Minister of the Environment under the Natural Parks Act and managed by the national government (Ministry of the Environment). However, the national government doesn't handle everything alone. Management and operation involve cooperation with local governments like prefectures and municipalities involved in the lives of the designated areas, private businesses, and even the residents themselves.

──Preserving pristine nature is listed as a goal of national parks. Does that mean protecting biodiversity?

Okano: While biodiversity is often perceived as protecting endangered species, it encompasses more than that. National parks play a crucial role by designating protected areas and safeguarding the ecosystems essential for diverse life to thrive. Protection, simply put, means regulating changes to nature, such as development, through national laws.

For example, the Iriomote cat on Iriomote Island requires ecosystems like forests, rivers, and coastal mangroves to survive. Currently, nearly all of Iriomote Island is designated as part of Ishigaki-Iriomote National Park. By protecting these ecosystems—forests, waterways, etc.—and maintaining the prey and habitats they provide, we safeguard the Iriomote cat.

──Besides protecting wildlife, what other roles do national parks fulfill?

Okano: Some national parks contain landscapes shaped by human activity that have become landscapes worth preserving. For example, Kyushu's Aso-Kuju National Park features the towering Aso Mountain and Kuju Range within a large caldera, surrounded by vast grasslands. In fact, these grasslands are not a natural landscape.

People in this region have long lived by raising cattle and horses. Since cattle and horses graze on grass, controlled burns in spring have been conducted to ensure the grass grows properly, maintaining the grasslands. If left untended, trees would grow, turning the area into thickets. This would destroy the grand landscape and reduce the wildlife that thrives in the grasslands. Therefore, Aso-Kuju National Park actively works to protect these grasslands. For instance, to support local livelihoods, the park assists in selling cattle raised through grazing and trains volunteers involved in grassland conservation.

Cows and horses graze leisurely in Aso-Kuju National Park.

Okano: We also intervene by controlling populations of species like deer and wild boar, which have proliferated rapidly due to changes in human activities, considering their impact on nature. While our fundamental principle is to avoid altering nature, we actively intervene to preserve elements that would otherwise be lost.

──That balance seems incredibly difficult to strike.

Okano: That's right. The goals of what we pass on to local communities and future generations determine the approach of the national park. Especially when considering human intervention, we've always worked by listening to the opinions of local residents and researchers, discussing together, and deciding on a direction collectively.

──Is there sufficient understanding from local residents?

Okano: Some areas have strong cooperative frameworks with local communities, while others lack sufficient ones. One reason for this gap is that local residents sometimes question the benefits for their community—why we must protect landscapes or endangered species, for instance. Therefore, clearly explaining the value of preserving nature is crucial.

In fact, local livelihoods and industries have long been supported by the region's nature and biodiversity. Reevaluating this value leads to considering the region's resources and new approaches to community development. While conservation of nature and biodiversity will become increasingly important, it's vital to work together with local residents, aligning these efforts with the social and economic goals of the community.

Using national parks as a starting point to create a sustainable economic cycle

──Could you tell us about the relationship between national parks and local society and economy?

Okano: National parks protect beautiful landscapes and biodiversity, but their purpose is also for many people to see them, be moved by their magnificence, and feel the significance of preserving them for future generations. Therefore, tourism is important, but a quick visit where people just look around, stay overnight, and leave—a mere sightseeing trip—doesn't allow them to fully experience the charm of a national park.

Such tourism involves short stays, contributes little to the local economy, and no longer meets contemporary needs. As a result, large-scale lodging facilities standing empty can be seen in many places. With tourism struggling to thrive, we must work together to create a better form of tourism for both local communities and national parks.

To achieve this, we are advancing the "National Park Enjoyment Project" to upgrade tourism from merely viewing landscapes to experiencing nature and engaging with history and culture to gain deeper appreciation. By allowing visitors to feel the diverse charms of national parks, we aim to extend their stay duration, increase the number of places they visit, and thereby invigorate the local economy.

If national parks are seen as having no role for the region, the mindset becomes that simply protecting nature is pointless. Therefore, using tourism as one approach, the major challenge is how to make the local economy sustainable.

Regarding sustainability and carbon neutrality, we also consider it vital to power lodgings with renewable energy, utilize geothermal heat for heating, minimize plastic and PET bottles, and promote local production for local consumption by sourcing ingredients for restaurants and lodgings from the region. This ensures money circulates within the community, creating highly effective economic activity for the area.

Historically, the environment was often seen as conflicting with the economy. However, we are now in an era where the environment serves as a catalyst for transforming economic society, which is precisely what the SDGs aim to achieve. Therefore, it is crucial to tackle regional economies, national parks, and biodiversity conservation as an integrated set of priorities.

National parks themselves faced intense pressure from large-scale resort development in the past. At that time, the focus had to be on protecting nature, with conservation as the primary goal. However, as the concept of the SDGs has spread and understanding of the importance of the environment and nature has deepened, the kind of reckless development seen in the past is no longer occurring. Consequently, national parks are now adopting a stance that involves not only protecting nature but also utilizing it wisely. Visitors to national parks can also learn about sustainable practices during their travels, which may lead them to reevaluate their own daily lives.

Society and economic activities are built upon nature.

──Could you share your outlook for national parks going forward?

Okano: In terms of tourism, adventure tourism is currently gaining attention overseas. This is essentially a travel format where a guide accompanies a small group, allowing them to learn about nature and culture through experiential activities. We would like to develop this in Japan's national parks as well. There's a profound sense of wonder to be gained not just from viewing natural landscapes, but from understanding the story behind them: how they transformed over long history to reach their current state, how the flora and fauna inhabiting them have evolved, and how humans have interacted with them. Learning these stories should help people realize that human life is fundamentally based on nature.

Regarding tourism, we also need to address the issue of overtourism. For example, within Towada-Hachimantai National Park, there is a place called Tsutanuma, renowned for its exceptionally beautiful autumn foliage. The view from the Tsutanuma observation deck in the early autumn morning is truly magical, drawing large crowds that crowd the deck. People set up tripods outside the deck boundaries to take photos, roadside parking increases, traffic congestion worsens, and concerns about the impact on the surrounding environment are growing. Visitors also end up viewing the scenery amidst the crowds, which isn't a good experience.

Therefore, starting in 2020, the local community implemented a reservation system for early morning access to the observation deck during the autumn foliage season, along with a cooperation fee upon entry. This change has allowed visitors to enjoy the scenery in a calm atmosphere, savoring the ever-changing views as the sun rises.

Tsutanuma Pond in Towada-Hachimantai National Park. In autumn, the water reflects the colorful foliage, creating a fantastical landscape.

Okano: For this kind of high-quality experience, storytelling, guidance, and clear rules are essential. By incorporating these elements, we aim to create a system that provides travelers with a more valuable experience, increasing their satisfaction. This also allows us to properly charge for the experience, providing financial support for the conservation of the natural environment.

──Finally, what do you think is essential for people to understand the appeal of national parks?

Okano: For me, the SDGs concept that resonates most is the "SDGs Wedding Cake Model." This structural model represents the SDGs concept: the base is the environment (natural capital), with society above it, and finally the economy.

Image diagram based on "The SDGs Wedding Cake" (Stockholm Resilience Center).

Okano: The environment is absolutely the foundation. We are supported by the environment to carry out our social and economic activities. I feel it's most important not to get this order wrong. Furthermore, I believe Goal 17 of the SDGs, "Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development," exists to help us work together on the environment, society, and economy. I think the same applies to national parks.

National parks involve rangers and active rangers working collaboratively with local communities to preserve nature for future generations. This foundation supports the local society and culture. I believe the role of a national park is to build attractive tourism on top of this base. To enhance tourism value, improving both the natural environment and the local community is essential. We call this a virtuous cycle of conservation and use: visiting the national park improves the region and the environment. This, in turn, deepens the visitor experience. We want to create such a virtuous cycle.