Abstract
The Shibetsu River winds through Eastern Hokkaido before emptying into the Okhotsk Sea. The river had many meanders before 1940’s, the mountains at the upper reaches used to be covered with natural forest, and a large wetland extended at the lower reaches. After 1950’s flood control projects by straightening channel significantly contributed to reduce flood hazard, and the whole floodplain has developed into a dairy farming area. The circumstances of the river and its basin have changed over time, and locals today are calling for restoration of the river to its original state and creation of a river environment where agriculture and fishery, the basin’s key industries, can prosper together. In response, the Kushiro Development and Construction Department of the Hokkaido Development Bureau, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, has launched nature restoration projects. For these projects, the Advisory Committee for the Shibetsu River Basin Management and the Shibetsu River Technical Committee were founded. These committees are conducting onsite surveys, planning-related prediction and assessment.
