Development of Evaluation Method of Cooperation between Rural Communities to Implement Countermeasures against Agricultural Damage by Wildlife in Mountainous Area

A Case Study in Kozagawa Town, Wakayama Prefecture

Abstract

This study focuses on cooperation between rural settlements to solve the residents shortage in implementation of countermeasures against agricultural damage by wildlife. The possibility of cooperation was evaluated from the points of view of need and difficulty. All combinations of settlements in Kozagawa town, Wakayama prefecture were evaluated with statistics and the results from a questionnaire based on the conditions such as agriculture, social structure, and damage by wildlife and terrain. As a result, strong possibility was indicated in severely depopulated upstream areas. Especially, cooperation in managing uncultivated farmland and ousting monkeys from the settlements could be carried out in those areas. However, in case of ousting monkeys, there was little cooperation in upstream areas due to tight limitation on the distance between settlements.