LCA Food 2012 in Saint Malo, France! - Manifestations et colloques ...

GROUP 6, SESSION B: METHODS, TOOLS, DATABASES 8 th Int. Conference on LCA in the
Agri-Food Sector, 1-4 Oct 2012
166. Supply-demand balances of food and energy in mountainous
rural areas to help ensure regional sustainability
Kazutoshi Tsuda 1,* , Keishiro Hara 2 , Michinori Uwasu 2
1 Creative Design Studio on Technology, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan, 2 Center for Environmental Innovation
Design for Sustainability, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan, Corresponding author. E-mail: tsudakazutoshi@lce.mech.eng.osaka-u.ac.jp
Regional sustainability with resilience is becoming an important concept. In particular, securing potential of
self supply for food and energy within local communities, together with local independence, is one of the
essential conditions for realising regional sustainability. In order to discuss such potential of self supply for
food and energy, re-valuing local natural resources and enhancing a proper balance between supply and demand
of renewable resources within a region is of critical importance. However, studies which address this
aspect are very scant. In addition, in an attempt to achieving regional sustainability, it is essential to provide
information useful and practical enough for making action plans or policy making for local governments. For
this purpose, it is required to understand the causal relations among sustainability indicators and materials
and energy flow within a certain boundary, in addition to the construction of database.
In Japan, hilly and mountainous areas are approximately three-quarters of the total land areas, and cover the
forty percent of the total cultivated areas. These areas hold the key to regional sustainability in Japan. Shinjo
village is located in the mountainous area in western Japan. The village is a unique municipality trying to
enhance self-reliance in terms of food, energy and financial conditions, aiming to avoid a possible merger
with other bigger cities. Unique visions and proper measures are needed for the village to keep the selfreliance
viable and to pursue regional sustainability especially at a time when the labor force is shrinking due
to the aging population and resultant declining local economy.
In this study, we aim to discuss the outlooks of self-reliance level for Shinjo village from the viewpoint of
supply and demand of food and renewable energy, especially biomass energy such as firewood and
wood/rice husk charcoal. We first looked into geographical data and examined ecological conditions and
local landscapes, which serve as the basis for evaluating local natural resources. We then developed inventory
data of food and renewable energy available within the region by applying material flow analysis and
life cycle assessment methodology. Based upon the information we demonstrated the assessment of the regional
sustainability from the viewpoint of demand and supply balance for food and energy as well as selfreliance
of economic conditions.
Figure 1 illustrates the natural resources flow in Shinjo village. The flow chart consists of forestry, agriculture,
livelihood, and composting process. We found that Shinjo village has sufficient food production while
it heavily relies on energy inflow for fossil fuels. On the other hand, the village has large supply potentials
for renewable materials and energy. We proposed institutional and technical options as well as policy measures,
which utilise these rich resources, to further enhance regional sustainability of the village.
We conclude this paper by proposing the following as key research questions for this regional sustainability:
conducting assessment of ecosystem services in a rigorous and comprehensive way, which includes a completion
of a material flow chart for the entire region, and exploring the ways to utilise those ecosystem services
along with the establishment of systems to mobilise human resources, money, and materials between
the rural and urban areas.
References
Tsuda, K., Nakakubo, T., Umeda, Y., Morioka, T., 2011. Potential accounting of regional urban-rural partnership
for constructing resource-circulating systems, in: Morioka, T., Hanaki, K., Moriguchi, Y. (Eds),
Establishing a resource-circulating society in Asia: Challenges and opportunities. United Nations University
Press, Tokyo, pp. 184-200.
909