Kochi Prefecture Launches Innovative Forest Regeneration Project

A joint forest regeneration project is now underway in Kochi Prefecture, where forests cover 84 percent of the land, making this the most forest-rich prefecture in Japan. This project aims to better manage forests through a partnership of the prefectural government, municipalities (forestry cooperatives) and businesses. It is also eyeing the establishment of domestic CO2 emissions credit trading. So far, a total of eight companies, including Mitsui & Co., Kirin Brewery Co., and Shikoku Electric Power Co., have signed a cooperative agreement since May 2006, and two other businesses are preparing to join the project.

Under this project, a participating company signs a contract with a municipality and provides forest management funds to the municipality for three years or more, as a general rule. The funds are used for forest maintenance (e.g., thinning of trees, building forestry roads, purchasing tools and equipment, logging and afforestation), as well as for activities to promote environmental education and interaction with local people. Meanwhile, the prefectural government measures the amount of CO2 absorbed by such well-managed forests and issues a CO2 sink (emissions reduction) certificate to relevant companies.

Over the past 30 years, the number of forestry workers in Kochi Prefecture has decreased to one-fourth the number in this industry in 1976. This decline is because of a collapse in domestic log prices caused by a massive inflow of foreign timber. To prevent the deterioration of forests, Kochi Prefecture has been taking various measures, including the introduction of Japan's first prefectural tax for forest conservation, in 2003.



Posted: 2007/02/05 08:47:28 AM
Japanese version