We conducted a postal questionnaire survey of the forestry divisions of 1,615 municipalities nationwide in Japan in order to examine their awareness and expectations of Comprehensive Forest Management Advisors （Foresters）. Questionnaires were returned by 873 municipalities （54.1%） and the data were analyzed by covariance structure analysis. Awareness of the forester system and the role of Foresters was about 70%, but awareness of the Foresters in charge for their own municipality was lower, at about 40%. Covariance structure analysis revealed that expectations of Foresters tended to be higher among municipalities with higher awareness of Foresters, municipalities with insufficient implementation of the forestry system, and municipalities with a rich forest environment. In the future, it would be desirable to further raise awareness of Foresters among municipalities and to improve the effectiveness of collaboration between Foresters and municipalities.

View full abstract

From 1970s, reflecting the rapid increase of the users, mountain bikers in the United States have faced severe conflicts with other forest trail users such as hikers, and the owners and managers of forestlands. International Mountain Bicycling Association （IMBA） was established in 1988 to respond to increasing regulations that banned mountain biking, and to legitimize their use of forest trails. Since then, through building nationwide systems including local chapters and supporting organizations, IMBA has acted as the advocacy group of mountain bikers in political lobbies, in the management of safety and risk in mountain biking, and has worked to resolve local conflicts. They also emphasized the philosophy of “the responsible mountain biking”, which meant bikers should sustainably maintain the trails they use through their volunteer works. To collaborate with other stakeholders by practicing trail management, IMBA and their local groups have succeeded in obtaining social approval for mountain bikers. These organized activities and strategies of IMBA are key to maintaining mountain biker access to forest trails, and have led to the maximization of the multiple benefits on forests in the US.

View full abstract

To encourage young people to return to and repopulate mountainous villages, we need to understand how young women evaluate the living conditions of such villages. In this paper, we have investigated the reasons why young women migrate from mountainous villages, by assessing their actual living conditions and obtaining their evaluation of their living conditions. These young women shop in nearby urban centers and travel by cars; they do not face any major problems in their daily lives. However, their level of consciousness varies due to their place of birth and ensuing life experiences that lead to the development of different values. First, we found that many residents of rural areas experience several inconveniences in life and express strong dissatisfaction with their situation. Second, despite their dissatisfaction, many residents accept their living conditions. Third, some residents are satisfied by their closeness to nature and their pursuit of self-sufficiency in mountainous villages and are less bothered by the inconveniences. The above results seem to be influenced by various subjective lifestyle aspirations, which motivate some young people to migrate from mountain villages in pursuit of a different way of life.

View full abstract