2008 Volume 48 Issue 1-2 Pages 221-244
This study, based on interview surveys in the town of Akkeshi, Hokkaido, examines to what extent a local government can do to conserve the coastal zone environment with their environmental policy.
The town of Akkeshi is located on the Pacific rim of Hokkaido, the northern-most island of Japan. Since their major industries are dairy farming and coastal fishery, the town has been keen to conserve the water environment to make a balance between the both industries.
Their environmental policies evolved from the direct water pollution control in the 1970s–80s, via the indirect measures by preserving the forest in the 1990s, to the current precautious approach including the environmental management system. Although their approach has shifted to involve more citizens, they still seem to be on the way of constructing a democratic process that involves a wide range of stakeholders in planning and implementation processes. Their drawbacks are that the town budget has been reduced by the national government through a recent finance reform, as well as that their jurisdiction is limited to the inland side of the coastal zone.
In order to enhance the capacity building that is necessary to bring more concerted efforts by the whole town, it is suggested that they, in cooperation with citizens, construct an environmental data base system that enables all the stakeholders share the understandings on the costal environment that serves as the basis of consensus-building.
