Regional management and biodiversity conservation in GIAHS: text analysis of municipal strategy and tourism management

Abstract

Purpose of the research: To identify the gaps between the rhetoric and reality of the role of citizen participation and its role in maintenance and monitoring of heritages and resources (including biodiversity monitoring), we analyzed the discourse of Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS) at municipality level. Methods: As an analytical framework, text mining is applied to interviews of officers at the municipal level of GIAHS in Noto which was amongst the first sites in Japan. The identification of such gap is critical for sustainability and to prevent conflicts from tourism, agriculture or educations. Results: The results reveal that (1) there is a gap between the official goals of that designation at the international level and local needs, (2) role of citizens is emphasized in the applications and action plans at rhetorical level but remain rather limited in practice and that (3) municipalities composing the GIAHS often have different priorities, even within the very same GIAHS sites, some municipalities even calling themselves “just a transition point to other destination municipalities.” Conclusions: It is critical for municipal officers to collaborate with various stakeholders, especially citizens. As such, citizen science is a bottom-up approach to promote biodiversity conservation and facilitate GIAHS managements.