A Study on Area Management through the Promotion Council to Utilize Disaster Wreckage for Regional Development after Volcanic Disaster Recovery - Case Study of the Toya Caldera and Usu Volcano Global Geopark in Japan -
In order to mitigate damage from natural disasters and restore impoverished economies to health, it is necessary to establish a system based on a public-private partnership to provide education on disaster prevention and to promote tourism so that people can learn about and experience the ferocity of nature and the history of disasters. Geoparks are establishing such a system through a “promotion council” in Japan. This study aims to utilize disaster wreckage for education on disaster prevention and for tourism promotion by building a network of disaster wreckage and a promotion council that will carry out geopark activities. This initiative is referred to as “area management through the Promotion Council.” This study aims to clarify the purpose of the Promotion Council, as well as its role and management method, in utilizing the disaster wreckage for regional development through geopark activities based on public-private partnership in stricken areas after recovering from a volcanic disaster. It identifies the benefits of providing education on disaster prevention and promoting tourism through the Promotion Council and also identifies issues to be addressed when multiple local governments plan and implement wide-ranging area management. The study covers the Toya Caldera and Usu Volcano Global Geopark Promotion Council in Japan. In addition to university researchers, this council comprises representatives from four local governments, a prefectural government, two ministries, tourism associations, private companies and citizen groups. The study involved a review of relevant literature followed by interviews with local government officers, researchers, and representatives of citizen groups, as well as visits to related sites for direct observations. The results of the field studies are as follows: 1) Taking into account changes in the relationship between public and private sectors, the purpose of the Promotion Council is to create a new communities contributing to the sustainable development of areas affected by disaster. 2) Taking the relationship among universities, citizen groups, private companies, and local governments and the Promotion Council into consideration, the role of the Promotion Council is to utilize the disaster wreckage and museums for education on disaster prevention and tourism promotion, coordinate with local governments and citizen groups, and form a system for the public/private sector partnership. 3) Based on income and expenditure reports included in the general-assembly materials, it can be seen the management method of the Promotion Council is to secure stable financial resources supported by public funds. The benefit of planning education on disaster prevention and promoting tourism through the Promotion Council is the forming of close partnerships between local governments, universities, private companies, and citizen groups. When several local governments plan and implement wide-ranging area management, the prefectural government is to establish the direction of the recovery plan and to be involved in the establishment of the Council. The Promotion Council is set up by local governments and citizens to find stable resources supported by public funds.
Global Geoparks Network and Geoparks in Japan
According to the guideline of the Global Geoparks Network (GGN) supported by UNESCO, a geopark must be an area that has geoheritages and other natural and cultural heritages with clearly defined boundaries and a large enough in area to serve local economic and cultural development through geotourism. A geopark must integrate sites of significant geoheritage in a strategy for sustainable regional socio-economic development and must be based on strong local community support and professional management structures. The GGN was established in 2004 with the support of UNESCO. Since then the concept of the GGN has received global acceptance and it now has 77 members from 25 countries including four geoparks in Japan as of April 2011. Activities to establish geoparks in Japan started in 2005 and accelerated in 2007 with cooperation from academic societies related to earth sciences and local municipalities. The Japan Geopark Committee (JGC) was established in 2008 to have aspiring geoparks in Japan evaluated by academic societies. The JGC decided the first three candidate areas in Japan to apply for the GGN in October 2008 and endorsed the first seven national (domestic) geoparks including above-mentioned three candidates for the GGN in December 2008. The Japanese Geoparks Network (JGN) was established in February 2009 by the seven national geoparks. Four more geoparks were endorsed by the JGC and joined the JGN in October 2009. As of May 2011 JGN has fourteen geoparks including four global geoparks, namely Itoigawa, Sanin Coast, Toya-Usu, and Unzen. Geoparks in Japan play important roles in educating people about the earth sciences and disaster mitigation. Support given by scientists and the local people themselves to local communities is crucial for fostering education on the earth sciences in geoparks.
Geoparks---geological attractions： A tool for public education, recreation and sustainable economic development
Within the framework of an international meeting, held at UNESCO headquarters in Paris on 13 February 2004, the “Operational Guidelines for National Geoparks seeking UNESCO's assistance” and recommendations were presented in their final version.