The tranquil surroundings of Oze played host to a group of one hundred distinguished trampers on September 11 as the fourth Oze Summit was held in the National Reserve. An annual event devoted to preserving the fragile beauty of the Oze area, the summit this year featured not only the governors of Fukushima, Gunma and Niigata prefectures, but also environmental preservation expert Barbara Curtis from New Zealand, who had been invited to Fukushima Prefecture as part of an ongoing environmental exchange between the two regions. Other guests included representatives of the Tokyo Power Company, which owns a large proportion of the Oze Wetlands, local and national government officials and staff from the Oze Foundation. This year's summit covered some controversial topics including the possibility of introducing a user pays system to park users. With the numbers of visitors to Oze increasing every year, human impact has been a major issue with those concerned about maintaining the fragile ecosystem of the area. User pays was suggested as a way of limiting numbers entering the park, and Canada, Pakistan and the Himalayas were quoted as examples of where such systems have been successfully operated. This was countered with the argument that Japanese people have a right to visit their mountains and parks, and enjoy their natural treasures without having to pay for the privilege. The other major topic of discussion was the announcement of the decision to close off access to the national park between Nanairi and Miike to all buses except designated shuttle buses. This thoroughfare has consistently had problems with traffic jams due to the bottleneck effect caused by the narrowing of the road on nearing Miike. Furthermore, apart from shuttle buses, all traffic is to be halted between Miike and the entrance to Numayama, the closest possible entrance to the park by road. To facilitate this new policy, a new carpark has been constructed at Nanairi which will accommodate both buses and private cars. It is hoped the move will not only eliminate the frustrating traffic jam problem, but also decrease the harmful effects of car-related pollution in the area. Ms Curtis began her talk by congratulating all parties involved in the management and preservation of the Oze area for the wonderful job they have been doing in cooperation with each other. The revegetation programme currently in progress and the well maintained boardwalk system were two areas singled out for special praise. In commenting on the problems faced in Oze, in particular the difficulty of balancing human impact with environmental protection, she described the way her own conservancy in the Tongariro/Taupo region in New Zealand was addressing the issues, and offered a range of ideas for management officials to ponder. Ms Curtis gave strong support to the decision to restrict traffic flow from Nanairi but added that perhaps banning all traffic from the area may be something to consider in the future. She added that park management would not find easy solutions to their problems, and encouraged them to have the courage to make hard decisions in the future, which, although they may not be popular with everyone, will have to be made to protect Oze. The Oze Summit was successful in encouraging dialogue and the exchange of ideas about the future direction of the management of this protected area. It is hoped that the good work of the many parties involved in keeping alive the beauty of the region will continue for generations to come.