Tochigi NGO Launches Drive to Protect Goshawks

The Goshawk Protection Fund, a non-profit organization based in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan launched a drive it calls the "Trust for the forest of eagles and hawks" in an attempt to protect goshawks, designated an endangered species in Japan. ("Trust" is originally derived from the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Currently in Japan, civic movements to own and preserve historical and natural sites for the purpose of protecting them from excessive developments are referred to as national trust drives.) The first site that the organization decided to acquire is a forest of about 8,500 square meters (the size of a baseball stadium) located in the town of Nasu, Tochigi Prefecture.

The fund was established in 1989 and aims to preserve ecosystems and move toward an environment-friendly society, through surveys and research on goshawks and other hawks and eagles, and protection of their habitats. At present the organization is mainly engaged in goshawk surveys and protection on the Nasunogahara Plain in Tochigi Prefecture.

A similar approach has been taken by the Wild Bird Society of Japan, which establishes sanctuaries for wild animals, but this is the first attempt in Japan by an environmental organization to acquire a forest for the protection of eagles and hawks.



Posted: 2002/12/10 08:32:05 AM
Japanese version