2023 Volume 105 Issue 6 Pages 191-198
Increased municipal workloads and personnel shortages have been flagged as problems in the operation of the Forest Management System (FMS) that was started in 2019. Although wide-area collaboration is expected to be an effective countermeasure, there are no studies on the structure of such collaboration and the impact of its introduction on each entity. This study aimed to clarify the role of wide-area collaboration within the FMS and the structure of collaboration among various entities, targeting the Chichibu region of Saitama Prefecture where a specialized organization was established to administer the FMS and where various entities are fundamentally collaborating with municipalities. Interviews with officials of the Saitama Forestry Agency from one city and four towns, staff of forest owner's cooperatives, forestry enterprises, and forest owners were conducted. The main results show that Chichibu City and intensification promoters play a central role in the operation of the FMS, while the four towns formulated their own plans, Saitama Prefecture provided advice and support, and forestry enterprises implemented forest operations. Furthermore, the four towns were able to reduce their workloads, reduce overall costs, improve the efficiency of information access, accumulate know-how, make progress in operations, and secure land for small forestry enterprises. However, ongoing challenges include an increased workload for Chichibu City and assignor organizations. Based on the above, it can be inferred that the introduction of wide-area collaboration into this system will contribute to a reduction in municipal workloads.
