'SATOYAMA' and Environmental Impact Assessment for the World Exposition 2005 : A Conservation Ecological Evaluation

Abstract

 The 2005 World Exposition (EXPO 2005) is planned to be held in a typical SATOYAMA area including secondary forests in central Aichi Prefecture, Japan. The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for EXPO 2005 did not evaluate ecosystem processes related to the balance between succession and disturbance, which are important for maintenance of SATOYAMA habitats. The original site plan was changed to conserve popular threatened species, the star magnolia Magnolia stellata and northern goshawk Accipiter gentilis fujiyaman, although impacts on other plants were not sufficiently evaluated throughout the EIA process. The planned site consists of gravel and granite hills, which are divided a fault plane. The granite area is rather cliffy with deep valleys, while landslides and soil infertility of the gravelly area suppress the development of vegetation. Many threatened plants occur in the marshes in the granite area, which are recharged by underground waters supplied from a little distant river catchment at a small distance. Despite the mandate of the EIA advisory committee, the site plan for EXPO 2005 was criticized worldwide by nature conservation organizations and was thoroughly changed in order to conserve this SATOYAMA area.