林業従事者が問う環境正義

三重県熊野市の「伝統」林業の事例から

抄録

　On the one hand, forestry in Japan brings to mind images of foreign lumber imports and rural depopulation. On the other, it can be said that a new value and meaning have been given to forested areas. This has led to the ‘rediscovery” of forest villages as a model for a new society that strives for a harmony between nature and man, and a positive re-evaluation of traditional forest management techniques. One such technique is “Nasubigiri forestry.”
　The purpose of this paper is, from the perspective of life in a forest village, to object to the idea of “Environmental Justice” that has recently been given to such forest villages, while praising and presenting a view of harmony with nature, and symbiosis. This paper does not aim to criticize environmental protection. Rather, it attempts to point out the distance that lies between the directionality of this theory that is presented as the “Truth,” and actual life in a forest village.
　The main discourse herein points out problems with environmental justice from the Perspective of people engaged in traditional “Nasubigiri forestry” technology currently practiced in the Isato Township, Kumano City, Mie Prefecture, and considers the ideal approach to a recognition of the environment, one that takes the thinking of forestry managers and workers into account.