2022 Volume 28 Pages 140-155
A common problem in communities across Japan today is the deterioration of local natural environments resulting from the underuse of natural resources and the consequent impairment of the everyday lives of the inhabitants. Therefore, the decline of these communities needs to be examined along with the mechanism used to solve the underuse of natural resources.
This paper explores the process of integrating community regeneration with the management of underused natural resources by providing a case study of the community regeneration project and sotetsu or cycad tree （Cycas revoluta） management in Uttabaru, Amami-Oshima Island, Japan. In Uttabaru community, the management of sotetsu has become an integrated part of the overall community regeneration project that aims to solve multiple problems such as the improvement of the local landscape, the securing of financial resources for community operations, the creation of job opportunities and the strengthening of social bonds for seniors and job seekers.
As a result of this study, three important points are highlighted:1）natural resource management and community regeneration contributed to each other’s development;2）in order to continue the management of natural resources, the management was recognized by the community as a project which provided benefits for the community;3）within the community regeneration project, the natural resources were managed collectively as the commons.
