Image of Ramsar sites in Japan : results of an Internet survey <Articles>

Japan has joined the Ramsar Convention since 1980. Up to now 46 wetland sites in Japan have been registered as the Ramsar sites as of the September 2013. Though the Ramsar Convention aims at not only conserving wetlands but also "wise-use" of wetlands, discourses on Ramsar sites seem to be focused on conservation rather than "wise-use". Particularly in Japan, registering a wetland to the Ramsar Convention hardly contributes to regional economies and/or tourism as a model of "wise-use". This paper attempts to give a clue on why "wiseuse" as an objective of the Ramsar Convention has rarely been realized in Japan. To answer this question, we conducted the questionnaire survey through the Internet on the impression of wetlands as tourist destinations as well as the perception toward the Ramsar Convention. The results are as follows. 1) Registration to the Ramsar Convention in Japan does not necessarily contribute to increasing tourists in wetlands. This is partly due to low-level recognition to the Ramsar sites of Japan. 2) The Ramsar Convention tends to be perceived as a regulation for environmental conservation. It is not widely recognized as a tool for sustainable development. 3) Tourist activities in wetlands are not diverse. 4) Those who were willing to participate in wetland conservation activities were the minority. 5) Those who wanted to actively participate in wetland conservation activities tended to have strong interests in "nature" and most of them had volunteer experiences for environment conservation. 6) Those who wanted to indirectly participate in wetland conservation activities tended to regard registration to the Ramsar sites as one of global brands