Restoration of Nature Building the Foundation of Economy and Society

２０１６年５月１日発行（隔月刊）第１４５号
Ecosystem
Conservation
Society-Japan
N o . 145
5
May
2 0 16
自然再生
社会・経済の土台をつくる
| 世界で進む自然再生
| 自然再生の経済・社会への効果
| 多くの自然を失ってきた日本
| 次なる100年を見据えた自然再生
| 持続可能な国や地域の実現へ
日本は、経済や社会の基盤となる自然が大きく失われてきました。持続可能な
社会をつくるためには、
これまでに失ってきた自然を再生することが必要です。
国や地域の計画の中に自然を保護・再生し、活用することを位置づけて、
その
ための土地を計画的に買い取っていくことが重要です。
Japan has lost tremendous areas of nature which is the foundation
of our economy and society. Because of this loss, we should promote
restoration of nature. It is very important that we establish a policy
to protect, restore, and utilize nature in each regional development
plan and in the national land use plan. We should then acquire lands
based on those long term plans.
イギリスのロンドン近郊では、
貯水池の跡地50haが湿地に再生されて水鳥の楽園となり、
付近は高級住宅街に生まれ変わりました
Southwest of London, U.K. A 50 hectare reservoir has been converted to a wetland. It became a paradise for
waterfowls and the surrounding area has become a highly desirable residential area
Summary of
Ecosystem
No.145
Restoration of Nature
Building the Foundation of Economy and Society
T
hroughout the world, large areas
imports the majority of its food, lumber
of nature have been lost and many
and fossil fuels, it adversely impacts
species of wildlife have become extinct
global nature, especially the survival
because of population explosion and
of many wildlife species. We need to
unrestricted expansion of economic
fundamentally reevaluate our economic
development. According to biologists,
and social systems so that we can regain
there have been five periods of mass
a healthy natural ecosystem.
wildlife extinction since life began on
earth. We are now causing the sixth mass
extinction. We humans have relied on
relatively stable environmental conditions
A
ctivities to restore nature have
been gradually increasing in Japan.
The Everglades National Park in Florida, U.S.A. is a
protected wetland that produces economic benefits
of $5 billion annually.
However, the total area of restored
for our survival for the last ten thousand
nature is miniscule when compared with
years. But many scientists now fear
the total area of lost nature throughout
that those stable environments may not
Japan. To continuously receive ecosystem
last into the next century. Under these
services, we must steadily promote
circumstances, restoration of nature is
ongoing restoration projects and moreover
being actively promoted in many regions
we must implement large scale restoration
of the world not only in the United States
projects all over Japan. Japan is facing a
and European countries but also Asia,
turning point as it already is experiencing
Africa, Latin America and Oceania.
a new trend of population reduction. By
Restoration of nature is now a global
treating this decline as a new opportunity,
movement.
we can restore Japanese nature for the
The Dearne Valley, U.K. Abandoned coal mines
have been converted to natural areas helping create
new employment with add values of agricultural
production.
next 100 years, reversing the destructive
T
hanks to the worldwide restoration
movement, both quantity and quality
of nature has been improving. As a
result, benefits from nature (its ecological
services) have been conserved and
trend of the last 170 years.
I
t is our generation’s most important
responsibility to protect and restore
nature that supports our daily lives. First
of all, we must educate our Japanese
improving economic and social effects
people about the value and importance
such as stabilization of local climate,
of nature that gives us ecological services.
prevention or reduction of natural
At the same time, all of us who receive
disasters, improvement of agriculture,
benefits of ecological services should
forestry and fisheries, development of
bear the cost of protection and restoration
tourism, and improvement of quality of
of nature by introducing, for example, an
life.
‘Environmental Tax’. Such a tax would be
Osaka Bay used to be surrounded by sandy
beaches, tidal mud flats and seagrass beds. Now
they are all land filled and converted to factories
and industrial parks. This is a typical example of how
Japan has lost its nature.
an investment in a healthy and sustainable
A
t tremendous cost to nature
land and people.
throughout Japan, we have given
top priority to economic development
(with its focus on short term profits and
Suncheon Bay, Korea, has been extensively restored
to its old natural status. As a result, more than 3
million tourists visit there every year.
conveniences) since the beginning of the
opening of the country for modernization.
Because Japan has converted large parts
of its natural lands into developed lands
for the last 170 years, many species of
Japanese wildlife are now in danger of
extinction. Also, as Japan continues to
エコシステム No.145 制作・発行
171-0021 東京都豊島区西池袋 2-30-20 音羽ビル Tel. 03-5951-0244 Fax. 03-5951-2974 www.ecosys.or.jp
Otowa Bldg. 2-30-20 Nishiikebukuro Toshima-ku, Tokyo 171-0021 Japan Phone. +81-3-5951-0244 Fax. +81-3-5951-2974
禁無断転載 海外との情報交流促進のため、
要約を英文で掲載しています
improved. In turn, it has contributed to