Abstract
As part of terraced paddy field conservation, urban-rural exchange activities are practiced throughout Japan to secure supporters. However, Japan’s aging rural population has led to a lack of activity leaders, which has created a problem with continuity. Therefore, it is becoming critical for these organizations to attract new supporters in order to fulfill their intermediary support function in corrodinating activities both within and outside the community. In this paper, we report on a questionnaire survey of terraced paddy field conservation activities throughout Japan in order to clarify the current status of these activities and how they fulfill their intermediary support function. Three main points were illuminated. (1) Approximately 70 percent of respondents stated that there were problems with the continuity of their organizations, with the main reason being the aging of existing members and the lack of new members. (2) About 90 percent of respondents indicated that the intermediate support function is fulfilled through the cooperation of multiple entities, with conservation groups the main agents. (3) Cooperation between conservation groups and other entities can be divided into three categories: cooperation with local farmers, cooperation with government agencies, and cooperation with specialized organizations. While all this cooperation was characterized by government agency involvement in their activities and support internal and external publicity activities, the specific roles played by conservation groups were different. These results indicate that the role of government agencies, with an intermediary support function common to all groups, is important in the current situation in terms of the continuity issue. In order to secure human resources and effectively match them with cross-departmental support programs for their activities, conservation groups must cooperate extensively with multiple departments of government agencies.
