Great Efforts Made for Registration 〜誘致までの努力〜
2013/8/17
The news that Mt. Fuji has been chosen as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site excited Japanese across the country. But do you know how many people had worked hard behind the scenes to make that possible? Indeed local governments around Mt. Fuji, the Agency for Cultural Affairs, an NPO and many others had joined hands in bringing about the fete. We will see some of what they had actually done.
富士山の世界遺産登録に日本中が沸いたが、その陰には富士山周辺地域、文化庁、ＮＰＯ法人の長年にわたる涙ぐましい努力があった。その一部を紹介する。
It was in 2007 that Mt. Fuji was registered on UNECO's world heritage temporary list. Preparations for this were made by the “Shizuoka-Yamanashi Joint Council for Mount Fuji World Cultural Heritage Registration”. This organization, launched in 2005 by Yamanashi and Shizuoka prefectures and 17 cities, towns and villages located around Japan's highest peak, researched and evaluated its assets step by step. It began drawing out a draft document for temporary registration in May the following year and submitted it to the Agency for Cultural Affairs six months later. Its work didn't end there. Council members spent years after that continuing their investigation and examination to prepare evidence of “outstanding universal value” and “common heritage of humankind” as required by the registration standards set by UNESCO. In 2011, the council handed in its original recommendation to the Japanese government, which filed its official application with UNESCO the following year. While the process was in progress, the council was busy trying to keep Mt. Fuji beautiful and comfortable. What it did included putting lavatories on the mountain in better shape and organizing a campaign to appeal for climbers' better manner.
富士山がユネスコの暫定リストに登録されたのは２００７年であるが、その素案をつくったのは誰かご存じだろうか。静岡県、山梨県および富士山関係市町村によって構成される「富士山世界文化遺産登録推進両県会議」である。０５年に発足し、資産の調査や評価などを地道に行ってきた。同会議が暫定リスト素案づくりに着手したのは０６年５月。約半年を費やして１１月に文化庁に素案を提出した。その後も「顕著な普遍的価値」「登録基準」を証明するためにさらなる調査を続け、１１年に推薦書原案を国に提出、翌年正式書類をユネスコに提出した。また、問題となっていた富士山の汚染解決のため、トイレなどの整備、清掃活動やマナー啓発も並行して行ってきた。
In the same year when the joint council started its activity, an NPO to push the registration of Mt. Fuji made its debut. “NPO National Council on Mount Fuji World Heritage” helped the Shizuoka-Yamanashi joint council prepare the necessary documents for submission to the Agency for Cultural Affairs, sent an observer to a UNESCO session and organized various events to promote its project. Among those was a symposium to which some foreign professors were invited to speak. At the symposium, NPO members were given a lot of valuable advice. For example, they were told, “No site has ever been registered as a World Heritage simply because it is a national symbol” or “The value that combines people to people (such as tradition, culture, etc.) is very important though they are not written in the (UNESCO) convention.” Still more, the NPO has sent its members to some registered World Heritage sites to learn what they should do before and after the registration.
この「富士山世界文化遺産登録推進両県会議」発足と同じ０５年、「富士山を世界遺産に」をスローガンに「富士山を世界遺産にする国民会議」というＮＰＯ法人も誕生していた。文化庁提出書類の手伝いやユネスコ会議へのオブザーバーとしての参加、イベント企画などを継続してきた。ユネスコに関係する海外の教授を招き、シンポジウムも行っている。そのシンポジウムで「その国の象徴だからというだけで登録になった例はない」ということや、「人と人を結びつける価値（伝統・文化など）は条文には書いていないが、重要」など、さまざまなアドバイスを得ている。また、先に登録されている遺産への訪問を通して登録までそして登録度どのような課題があるか具体的な流れを探っている。
(Written By Sakurako Ogami)