Mt. Fuji's new UNESCO Heritage status worries some in Japan
They trudge up the cinder paths by the thousands, headlamps glowing in the dark, and then settle in to await the sun's blazing ascent over the horizon. Climbing Mount Fuji, Japan's most iconic landmark, is a group activity: Seldom is it climbed in solitude. The recent recognition of the 3,776-meter peak as a UNESCO World Heritage site has many in Japan worried that it will draw still more people, adding to the wear and tear on the environment from the more than 300,000 people who already climb the mountain each year.
Safety is another concern. At least seven people died and 70 were hurt climbing Fuji in 2012, and traffic jams of climbers in the pre-dawn darkness can add to the risks, said Shomei Yokouchi, governor of Yamanashi, the area to the west. The official climbing season runs from July to August, and the trek — a nine-hour round trip in good weather — is especially treacherous at other times of the year.
Pilgrims have been climbing Mount Fuji for centuries. It towers over the Pacific coast, ringed by lakes, national parks, temples and shrines that are also part of the World Heritage site. The new status, granted in June, will likely help local businesses. Local authorities are puzzling, however, over how to preserve the mountain's natural beauty while improving traffic access and other facilities to accommodate the anticipated increase in visitors.
Some have suggested limiting access by raising tenfold the 1,000 yen (approximately NT$300) climbing fee. But that might lead climbers to risk hypothermia by roughing it outdoors instead of staying in the 16 huts along the top of the trail, which charge up to US$100 (approximately NT$3,000) a night for communal accommodations. "With more foreigners visiting, we will need to think of improving the facilities," Gov. Yokouchi said. Then there's the litter.
Each year 40,000 to 50,000 volunteers clean up garbage on the peak. Groups collected nearly 900 tons to prepare for June's World Heritage vote by UNESCO, the United Nations cultural organization. The designation is something to be proud of, said Hisataka Kurosawa, a 16-year-old high school student who recently joined a group of volunteers who climbed part of a trail and then scrounged a car park near a visitor center for trash. "It's getting polluted and so many people are running around. I'm a bit disappointed about that," he said.
富士山的聯合國教科文組織世界遺產新地位，令部分日本人感到憂心
數以千計的人步履蹣跚地沿著火山灰小徑往上爬，額前的照明燈在黑暗中照射，接著他們安頓下來，靜待耀眼的太陽從海平面升起。在日本，攀登富士山是集體活動，很少人獨自進行。富士山最近獲得承認成了聯合國教科文組織的世界遺產地點之一，但這卻讓不少人擔心這樣會吸引更多人，使富士從每年逾卅萬人攀登而帶來更雪上加霜的環境耗損。
安全是另一項顧慮。富士山西邊山梨縣的縣知事橫內正明表示，在二○一二年，至少有七人在攀登富士山時喪生，另有七十人受傷，而且拂曉時分登山者在黑暗中人滿為患的情形，也提高了風險。富士山的正式攀登季節是七、八兩個月，在好天氣時合計九個鐘頭的上下山路程，在一年當中的其他時段卻是格外艱險的。
朝聖者多個世紀以來不斷攀登富士山。富士山俯瞰日本太平洋海岸，四周有湖泊、國家公園、廟宇和同為世界遺產一部分的神社環繞。富士山在六月份取得的新地位將對當地商業有幫助。但地方當局卻苦思如何維持富士山的天然美麗，同時改善交通以及其他設施，以滿足預期增加的遊客的需求。
有人主張把一千日圓（約新台幣三百元）的登山費調高十倍，但這樣做卻有可能導致登山者甘冒低體溫症的風險而在野外露宿，而不入住登山小徑頂端的十六家小屋。這十六個休息站集體住宿收費高達每晚一百美元（約新台幣三千元）。橫內知事表示：「在更多外國人前來之際，我們得想想改善設備的問題。」此外還有垃圾問題。
每年約有四到五萬名志工清理山上的垃圾。為了應付六月份聯合國的文化部門教科文組織的表決，各團體收集了近九百噸的垃圾。十六歲的高校生黑澤久高最近和一群志工沿著一條小徑攀登了部分路程，然後在一個遊客中心附近的停車場找垃圾，他表示，世界遺產此一稱號是讓人感到自豪的。但他也表示：「這個地方開始受到污染，很多人到處跑。對於這一點，我感到有點失望。」
全通翻譯引用 http://chinapost.com.tw/guidepost/topics/default.asp?sub=12
留言列表
