Niche Markets for Economic Revitalisation of Satoyama Forest ...

More documents

Recommendations

Info

INTRODUCTION This section briefly introduces the notion of satoyama and proposes a working definition of the term. A brief profile of forest resources in Ishikawa Prefecture and a highlight of the key issues are also introduced and discussed. What is Satoyama? To many Japanese, the term satoyama is associated with images of idyllic rural woodlands. At the same time, this environment has traditionally provided food, fuel, fertilisers and other material goods to Japanese communities, as well as regulating local climates and ecosystems, fostering cultural ties, and supporting local production systems and ecological cycles. However, the overall functioning of satoyama has been in steady decline in recent years due to a decline in its economic application and subsequent neglect over the last half a century. 1 Unlike many forestry management problems globally that are associated with deforestation, the challenges facing satoyama stem from the absence of human intervention. At one time Japanese forests of this kind were an important resource for rural society, particularly as a source of charcoal fuel and natural fertiliser, and were, thus, intensively managed. However, satoyama, since the latter half of the twentieth century, has increasingly been neglected or abandoned outright. Consequently, some of the additional ecosystem services provided by satoyama, including soil retention, watershed conservation, carbon fixation, biodiversity, buffer zones, and the spiritual and aesthetic benefits to community have been in decline as well. Managed forest lands like satoyama are referred to generally in English as “coppice woodlands” (Takeuchi et al., 2001). In the UK, as in Japan, the practice of coppicing trees has created a unique ecosystem where there is less dead wood, and a more open canopy that permits greater solar radiation and often higher plant and animal diversity than in unmanaged forests. As in Japan, managed woodlands in the UK are no longer commercially viable. Little or no cutting has taken place in the last fifty years, and there is a shortage of skilled labour and volunteer–based management does not present itself as a viable long–term solution. Appropriate responses to the decline of satoyama are, thus, closely associated with identifying economic incentives upon which to reinstitute the types of management practices that accompanied previous economic exploitation of these forests prior to the urbanisation trends of the postwar period and the concomitant uptake of fossil fuels as the primary energy resource in Japanese society. While there are many possibilities in this regard 2 , this paper investigates three niche markets which have the prospect of economic utilisation of and revitalisation of satoyama resources through enhanced market–based management. In general, the niche markets include innovative wood–based products from forest thinnings, new bio–energy products, and trade in carbon markets. These niche products which have cross–sector utilisation are highlighted and discussed both as local initiatives and within the context of opportunities offered by larger societal trends that have the potential to arrest and eventually reverse the deterioration of satoyama economy. While this paper does not represent a specific action plan for satoyama revitalisation in any given region in Japan, it specifically seeks to address the situation in Ishikawa Prefecture through a better understanding of the local, prefectural, and national policies, satoyama resources management practices and related local, and national economic activities. Use of the term satoyama has become widespread relatively recently. 3 The 5 th edition of “Kojien” (monolingual Japanese dictionary) describes satoyama as “mountain or forest areas that are close to human habitation and tied to people’s lives”. 4 There is also a viewpoint that the designation “satochi” can be applied when it refers to the overall traditional agricultural village landscape consisting of farmland and villages besides the narrowly defined satoyama—consisting mostly of forests (Takeuchi et al, 2001). The Ministry of the Environment of Japan defines “satochi–satoyama” as “conceptual geographic regions located between urban and primitive natural areas where the environment has been formed through the efforts of diverse human activity, and is comprised of secondary forests surrounding villages intermixed with farmland, reservoirs, and grasslands, among other features” (Nature Conservation Bureau, Ministry of the Environment, 2001a). In addition, the “Ordinance for Protecting and Fostering the Environment in Hometown Ishikawa Prefecture (Hometown Environment Ordinance)” enacted in March, 2004 in Ishikawa Prefecture highlighted in this paper, defines “forests, farmland, and wetlands among other features formed or maintained through connection with people” as “satoyama” (Article 132). 5 Although there are differences in the way satoyama is defined, the common idea is that of “a secondary natural environment formed through interaction with people”. This point is important as it fundamentally relates back to the present day issue of the deterioration of satoyama due to a reduction in human involvement. These definitions above are examples of the many terminologies of satoyama that exist in Japan today. The definitions are usually influenced by the backgrounds and interests of the scholars and stakeholders who are defining satoyama, and the context within which the definition is placed. Therefore, as a concept, satoyama could be narrow or broad, specific or nebulous. For example, without contradicting the "Kojien" definition of satoyama quoted above, Yoshimura, Noda, Tanaka and Hosoda (2005) specify that it refers to “secondary forests that are within about 400m of the paddy field . . . [and] close to the village and traditionally used for agricultural purpose, collection for charcoal wood and edible herbs.” On the other hand, the forests which are located farther from the community and not subject to human intervention and management but suitable for forestry in a more traditional or general sense can be defined as okuyama. Therefore, satoyama is broader than it is frequently conceived or defined. It is a concept that is inclusive or holistic, as the proposed working definition below attempts to convey. 5
a) Working Definition Working Definition of Satoyama Satoyama refers to an area found in rural districts that encompasses human settlements and ecosystems (e.g. agro–ecosystems, secondary forests, wetlands, grasslands and hills or mountains) that provide numerous vital services (e.g. food, forest products, non– timber forest products, economic, cultural services, etc.) for human well–being, and is created through prolonged interaction between humans and ecosystems. As this paper discusses the use of satoyama wood resources, the focus will be on the forest dimensions of satoyama with some cross reference to forests generally in Japan. 6 However, for the future use of the term it is encouraged that a broader approach such as the one proposed in the working definition above be used to avoid conveying a narrow and misleading perception of satoyama. Profile of Forest Resources in Ishikawa Prefecture Approximately 287,000 hectares or approximately 69 per cent of Ishikawa Prefectural land is forested 7 of which 12 per cent (approx. 35,000 hectares) is nationally owned, 81 per cent (or 232,000 hectares) is under private ownership, and 7 per cent (20,000 hectares) under communal ownership (Forest Management Division, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Department, Ishikawa Prefectural Government, 2005). Approximately 56 per cent of the privately and communally held forests are natural forest 8 while 39 per cent is artificial forest (see Figure 1). Given the slightly elevated altitude (between altitudes of 50 and 350 meters 9 ) of satoyama land (excluding plains and remote areas) in Ishikawa Prefecture, it is calculated that the number of one kilometer mesh areas within the range in the prefecture is approximately 50 per cent (Japan Wildlife Research Center, 2004). Furthermore, as the number of konara oak forests and Japanese red pine forests—representative of natural forests—combined with the number of Japanese cedar forests and Japanese cypress forests—representative of artificial forests—in a one kilometer mesh area also account for approximately 50 per cent of forests in the entire prefecture (Ministry of the Environment, 2001b), it can be surmised that the satoyama of Ishikawa Prefecture targeted by this paper accounts for approximately half of the prefectural land. 10 a) Natural Forests Natural forests make up 56 per cent of the non–national forests in Ishikawa Prefecture, of which 49 pre cent are broadleaf trees and 7 per cent are conifer trees (Figure 1). As for the phytosociological classification (vegetation zone) of the satoyama in Ishikawa Prefecture, most of the trees belong to the Camellia japonica class. 11 The evergreen broad leaf forest that is the indigenous vegetation (original vegetation) has been reclaimed as farmland and villages together with the development of agriculture and increased population since the Yayoi Era, which started around the middle of the fifth century BC. Forests in the area were repeatedly cut for fuel. It was also important as an area for collecting undergrowth and fallen leaves as fertiliser, (compost and cuttings). However, since the latter half of the nineteenth century (Meiji Era), demand for firewood and charcoal increased dramatically. Konara oak seeds were sown among other species, resulting in the formation of so–called fuel wood forests over wide areas (Japan Wildlife Research Center, 2004). These species were introduced because of their suitability for use as firewood and charcoal and because resources could be renewed in a relatively short 20–year cycle without high costs—in part because shoots could be cultivated from stumps after cutting. This type of thicket—established through human use— underwent a rapid transformation during the economic expansion that started after World War II. After 1960, as companies and households switched energy sources from firewood and charcoal to fossil fuels such as petroleum and gas and began using chemical fertilisers instead of natural fertilisers, the economic value of these forests began to decline. From the perspective of charcoal production since World War II, the industry reached its peak around 1951 at approximately 2.2 million tons per annum, followed by a rapid decline. Although in recent years, new applications for charcoal have been popularised (for water purification, household insect deterrent, and humidity control, for example), present day annual production is only approximately 20,000 tons (40,000 tons when charcoal Figure 1: Ownership Profile of Non–national Forests in Ishikawa Prefecture dust and bamboo charcoal are included) (Forestry Agency edition, 2006b; Japan Special Forest Production Promotion Association edition, 2006). 6
Page 1 and 2: Niche Markets for Economic Revitali
Page 3 and 4: IICRC Report Niche Markets for Econ
Page 5 and 6: CONCLUSION 25 ENDNOTES 26 REFERENCE
Page 7 and 8: Foreword Satoyama has always provid
Page 9: The first refers to the current and
Page 13 and 14: 1 EMERGING NICHE MARKETS FOR SATOYA
Page 15 and 16: 1.2 Commercialisation of Wood Block
Page 17 and 18: • Realising stable power generati
Page 19 and 20: In Japan, the priorities have been
Page 21 and 22: 2.3 Challenges Relating to Carbon M
Page 23 and 24: nature, satoyama should be accorded
Page 25 and 26: the public (Forestry Agency edition
Page 27 and 28: Figure 11: Price by Year Comparison
Page 29 and 30: such technological innovation in th
Page 31 and 32: ENDNOTES 1. In recent years, the im
Page 33 and 34: emovals of forests are under develo
Page 35 and 36: Nature Conservation Bureau, Ministr

Niche Markets for Economic Revitalisation of Satoyama Forest ...

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?