The present study was undertaken to determine ways of promoting local residents acceptance for the restoration of small-scale wetlands within a fallow field. This initiative is a Toyooka city-commissioned project for the conservation of habitats for the Oriental white stork. The study focuses on the reintroduction of the Oriental white stork, and on how such a project could affect local peoples’ lives. The study also aims at raising any issues that the residents might have, concerning the restoration of a wetland as a conservation of habitats for a wild animal. Furthermore, this paper aims to clarify what kind of education would be required to re-establish the area as a region friendly to the Oriental white stork. Data was collected from 24 practitioners of the project using an interview with a qualitative research method. It is evident from the survey results that the practitioners have not carried out land management “for the stork” but rather for “disaster/wild animal damage prevention” or “a sustaining landscape.” Due to this government-led program’s emphasis on improving biological diversity, the various commitments of the residents and Toyooka city have been generated. From these commitments, it can be presumed that practitioners could not make the best of proactive learning, based on their own awareness of the issues. In line with the survey results, this paper concludes that in order to enhance educational practices for the conservation of stork habitats and wetlands, Toyooka city would require to: 1) enhance a variety of learning opportunities such as education for sustainable development (ESD), 2) improve managerial cooperation regarding wetlands for the purpose of providing educational and interpretative programs.

This study examined changes in how citizens are involved in environmental conservation and natural resource management, focusing on the oriental white stork’s current reintroduction and the associated reconstruction of “co-inhabitance with nature.” By distinguishing between subjects and targets of activities, the study revealed changes in “overemphasis on storks” and the “active/passive co-inhabitance society with storks.” From the time of the storks’ initial release to the present, there have been various problems associated with their reintroduction. Therefore, in order to succeed in reintroducing the storks into the wild and to expand the citizen network, environmental education and community education are necessary to foster the ability and attitude to proactively engage in environmental issues and conservation.

兵庫県北部の豊岡市では，1971年に野生下で絶滅した

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