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MULTIPLE MODERNITIES: GLOBALIZATION IN ASIAN CONTEXT27Hokkaido Island is Kushiro Marsh, the last largemarsh in Japan. Kushiro Marsh was designated as thefirst Ramsar site in Japan. It is part of the KushiroShitsugen National Park.Kushiro city hosted the fifth conference of thecontracting parties in the Ramsar Convention. At thattime, there were many events related to the conferenceand there was a big campaign to save Kushiro as aresource for sightseeing, an embodiment of richbiodiversity, and a habitat of endangered species. Theconference meant to enhance the wetland’s image as atourist site for local and foreign tourists, according toSayuri Saito of Kushiro International Wetland Centre.The Kushiro International Wetland Centre alsoplayed a major role in promoting the Kushiro Wetlandas the host city of the conference in 1993, through theinternational cooperation utilizing activities ofKushiro area. (e.g. training, workshop regardingwetland ecosystem and biodiversity, technologyexchanges There are four Ramsar sites in Kushirowhich includes Kushiro Wetland, Lake Akkeshi/Bekambeushi Wetland, Kiritappu Wetland and LakeAkan (as of 2008).The white-naped crane and the hooded crane havebecome symbols of Izumi, Kagoshima Prefecture. Theconservation of the crane has drawn public attentionand has increased income from tourism. In addition,cranes are used as an education tool.Crane conservation in Izumi started a long time agowhen two farmers fed the birds and prevented cropsfrom being damaged. Later on, an increase in the birdpopulation led to conflicts among the farmers. Theproblems were resolved when local government gotinvolved and proposed to pay compensation to thefarmers whose farms were foraged. In addition, thegovernment decided to rent two plots of rice paddiesin order to control crane dispersion.The bird feeding started in November when 1,500kilograms of rice and 400 kilograms of fish per daywere given out until February, when the birds returnedto Siberia. The budget for this was provided by themunicipality of Izumi, the government, andKagoshima Prefecture. There were 12,000 birds byMarch 2011. Due to their high density, thegovernment has planned to disperse the birds coveringsix sites in Kyushu, which includes Yashiro,Yamaguchi Prefecture. However, none of birdsmigrated to the other sites even though these wereprepared to serve the birds.In Yashiro, the farmers have been practicing a religiousceremony related to cranes for more than 100 yearsnow, because cranes used to populate the area.According to researchers, Yashiro might not have ahealthy enough environment for birds. Thisinformation was revealed in interviews with Ms YokoHarakuchi of Izumi Crane Park and Izumi CityMuseum, Nishida Satoshi of Japanese Crane and StorkNet-Work, Mr. Masuyama of Crane Research CenterYashiro.The Wajiro tidal flat in Fukuoka Bay, FukuokaPrefecture, was under the reclamation project ofFukuoka City 23 years ago that meant to put up alandfill. But the Save the Wajiro Tidal Flat Associationwas established by local people who intended to saveWajiro for the next generation. The movement was ledby Hiroko Yamamoto, an artist born in the Prefecturewho lived close to the Bay. The three major activitiesconducted by the association consisted of biodiversitymonitoring, a bird population survey, and birdwatching activities for school children and the generalpublic interested in nature. The Save Wajiro Tidal FlatAssociation has been working closely with theWetland Forum of Fukuoka Prefecture, anorganization that gathers a group of birdwatchers,artists, and architects who love and care for nature.The association led by Satoru Matsumoto is mannedby people who all work on a voluntary basis by sharingtheir knowledge and skills.Meanwhile, the Fukuoka research on the black-facedspoonbill group also works hard to save the black-facedspoonbill, a large shorebird and resident species foundin Korea, China, Taiwan, and Japan. These birdsutilize tidal flat and wetlands as their feeding groundand inhabit grasslands near the feeding sites. Loss ofhabitats and accidents arising from fishhooks posethreats to birds. So does considerable garbage in theriver. Thus, the group started the campaign todisseminate information about birds and their habitatsto the local people, the fishermen, and the universitystudents. The Group also organizes volunteers tomonitor threats to birds and collect garbage in theriver, according to Hattori Takurou of the FukuokaWetland Conservation Research Group in aninterview.The study also found that after the CoP 10 meeting in2010, what happened? Two new groups have beenestablished by media agencies, academics, the privatesector, and the public sector called “CEPA JAPAN”and “Green TV Japan”. These aim to raise awarenessThe Work of the 2010/2011 API Fellows