Idea of Nature Restoration

抄録

　Through the post-war economic miracle, Japan has experienced exceptional growth and remarkable improvement in its living standards. During this period of rapid economic growth, a short time in the eyes of the long history of the country, Japan’s nature, which was once diverse and rich, has been significantly transformed. Sandy beaches and tidal lands have been lost, coastal reclamation has steered people away from the sea, riverbanks and irrigation ditches have been reinforced with concrete and even the once abundant and familiar medaka, Japanese rice-fish, are now endangered. The Japanese, who once felt the changing seasons of nature now recognize them only by looking at the calendar. The idea of society co-existing with nature was advocated by Prime Minister Koizumi, the first prime minister of 21st century of Japan, in his policy speech. This idea prompted a movement for nature restoration and bore fruit in the Law for the Promotion of Nature Restoration. The freshness or innovative visions of this law can be seen in its purpose of restoring natural ecosystems that have been lost, its bottom-up system that allows local councils make decisions on planning, and its prerequisite of adaptive management that supports project implementation with learn-by-doing methods. Since the law is innovative, it possesses some discrepancies which might cause difficulties in its implementation. Possible difficulties may occur in:

– setting simple objectives, because natural restoration addresses the layered structure of time frame and spatial scale,

– focusing on ecosystems which are complicated and sensitive when conducting a specific project, and

– building a consensus by reconciling different values or opinions through open discussions of a committee.

　On the other hand, some advantages have been demonstrated convincingly through projects conducted over the last five years after the law came into effect. They include:

– A committee system which is effective at dealing with the layered structure of time frame and spatial scale.

– A stepwise approach which is reasonable for setting and achieving objectives.

– A learn-by-doing method which helps to develop technologies for nature restoration.

　This paper examines the difficulties and advantages mentioned above by clarifying the concept of nature restoration, giving a background/overview of the law and analyzing the case of the Kushiro Wetland.