sustainable use of biological diversity.pdf - India Environment Portal

Sustainable use of biological diversity in socio-ecological production landscapes
Reintroduction of traditional agriculture
for the conservation of natural, historic, and cultural heritage in the
Zushi-Onoji region, Machida City, Tokyo, Japan
Takako Matsui 1 , Taito Kawashima 1 and Takehiro Kasahara 1
1
PREC Institute Inc., Email: t-kawashima@prec.co.jp
1. regional profile
Machida City, Tokyo, Japan is located approximately
30 kilometres from central Tokyo. Machida City
had been an agricultural area until the mid-twentieth
century; rapid residential development started in
the 1970s and today it has become a bedroom town
in Tokyo. The population of Machida City grew from
61,105 people in 1958 to 405,534 people in 2005, a
6.6-fold increase due to the rapid residential development
in the 1970s.
The major part of the administrative territory of
Machida City is the hill area, which ranges from 27
to 363 metres in altitude. The climate of the region is
warm and humid; the annual average temperature is
about 14 degrees Celsius and the annual precipitation
is about 1,600 millimetres.
In the northern part of Machida City, yato (valleyshaped
landforms formed by the erosion of the hill)
and traditional land uses such as secondary forests,
rice paddies and other types of natural environments
still remain. The plants and animals that have become
rare in urban and suburban areas today can still be
seen in this area. The animals and plants characteristic
of the yato area include raptors, the umbrella species
of the region (eg. Northern Goshawk), insects
inhabiting forests, and plants that grow in rice paddies
and canals.
The natural environment has been decreasing in
surface due to the development of the region in the
recent years. In addition, lack of adequate management
has resulted in uncontrolled ecological succession
and deterioration in the quality of the remaining
natural environment. As a result, the animals
and plants that typically used to be seen in the yato
area have decreased significantly to the extent that
many species are now listed as threatened species at
the national level (Threatened Wildlife of Japan: Red
Data Book) or Tokyo level (Important Wildlife for
protection in Tokyo).
2. The use and management of natural resources
in the region
2.1 The use and management of natural resources
in the past and present
Traditional land uses that suit the complex landforms
have generally been carried out in the northern
part of Machida City. Agricultural lands and human
settlements are located on the narrow flatlands
along rivers. Forests are distributed on hills that surround
such areas. Particularly in the yato area, there
are traditional land uses characterized by a mixture
of rice paddies that use natural spring water taken
from the river source, secondary forests on slopes,
farmlands, and human settlements.
In agricultural lands of the yato area, rice, vegetables,
and fruits are produced for human consumption
as well as livestock husbandry. In forests, timber,
charcoal, and compost used to be produced;
however, the amount of their production has been
reduced significantly in recent years.
2.2 The problems associated with the use and
management of natural resources and its impact on
biodiversity
Landforms and land use have changed as a result
of the development of the hilly areas into residential
areas since the 1960s in Machida City. Forests and
agricultural lands, which are important habitats and
nurturing grounds for wild animals, have been significantly
reduced.
Moreover, due to the increased use of cheap fossil
fuels and chemical fertilizers, the advantage of being
able to collect fuels and compost from the nearby
forests has been lost especially in the yato area,
where the recycle-oriented utilization of natural
resources was practiced in the past. Meanwhile, the
difficulty of improving agricultural efficiency due
to the narrow land and slopes, which is one of the
The landscape of yato
© K. Tagoku
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