** Recently, eco-tours have become established and popular as a new fashion style of travel that harmonizes tourism and the environment. Eco-tour is a new form of travel that aims to observe, understand, and enjoy nature with minimal impact on the natural environment. It also includes traditional cultures unique to the region, where travelers interact with local people and gain knowledge and awareness of them, thereby increasing their interest in nature conservation. For the host community, it is also attracting attention as a regional development measure that replaces the conventional development approach that prioritizes building structures and leads to the destruction of nature.

** Recently, eco-tours have become established and popular as a new fashion style of travel that harmonizes tourism and the environment. Eco-tour is a new form of travel that aims to observe, understand, and enjoy nature with minimal impact on the natural environment. It also includes traditional cultures unique to the region, where travelers interact with local people and gain knowledge and awareness of them, thereby increasing their interest in nature conservation. For the host community, it is also attracting attention as a regional development measure that replaces the conventional development approach that prioritizes building structures and leads to the destruction of nature.

Ecotours began in Scandinavia in the 1960s and are now quite widespread in Europe and the United States. In Japan, the Japan Committee of the Japan Union for Conservation of Nature (JUCC) created guidelines in 1994 that clearly define the ideal form of eco-tourism. Various eco-tours are now being planned by various tourist agencies.

The hosts of eco-tours are also active in this endeavor, as it can help promote regional development. However, there are also many examples of people who are too careless to call eco-touring a "dabble" in nature. Many guides do not understand the concept of eco-tourism, and the current situation is that nature protection and management systems are not sufficiently implemented in eco-tours led by tourist agencies. Damage caused by littering and destruction of nature is also not uncommon.

In addition to the need for local understanding and cooperation, there are many other issues that need to be addressed, such as how to utilize existing facilities and how to continuously train guides with expertise. To promote ecotourism in earnest, the Ministry of Transport, in cooperation with the Environment Agency, the Okinawa Development Agency, and the Forestry Agency, selected model areas in Okinawa, Tohoku, and other regions in the fall of 1998 and began preliminary surveys. The Ministry of Transport, in cooperation with the Environment Agency, the Okinawa Development Agency, and the Forestry Agency, began preliminary studies in the fall of 1998, selecting model areas in Okinawa, Tohoku, and other regions in cooperation with the Environment Agency, the Okinawa Development Agency, and the Forestry Agency.

Against this background, eco-tours led by local governments are attracting attention. Among these, green tourism, in which urban residents spend their vacations in nature-rich farming and mountainous fishing villages while gaining hands-on experience in farming and other activities, is spreading rapidly. The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries (MAFF) has been subsidizing municipalities since fiscal 1993 to formulate model concepts for green tourism, and there are now more than 280 municipalities nationwide that are working to formulate such concepts. The Ministry of Education's aggressive promotion of hands-on classes as part of the "comprehensive learning" program is also providing a tailwind.

In Miyazu City, Kyoto Prefecture, the "Earth Design School," an eco-park creation project that makes the most of nature, has been underway since 1997, opening land that was planned to be a resort park during the bubble era to citizens. Using a wooden school building of a closed elementary school, environmental education programs are held throughout the year, making use of the nature of the satoyama. The school is also involved in satoyama conservation activities in cooperation with local residents.

Ecotourism and green tourism are expected to play an important role in regional development and environmental protection in the future, but it is essential to improve the quality of guides and the understanding and cooperation of local residents. **