IV
Development of the Forestry and Revitalization of Mountain Villages
1. Forestry
Management
The stumpage price of cedar in
2003 is one-fifth of its peak price in 1980. Therefore, it is necessary to cut
costs not only in forestry management but also in wood distribution and its
processing.
The
percentage of private forest areas whose owners do not live in the same
municipality as their forests, is 24.6%, 2.8 points increase in the past ten
years. The farther away the owners reside from their forests, the less chance
there is of forestry practices being undertaken.
Forest owners' cooperatives play major roles in forest management, handling 80%
of planting and 60% of thinning in Japan. Of the total forestry
laborers, the percentage of those who belong to the cooperatives have increased
from 17% in 1970 to 45% in 2000, which indicates their vital role as the source
of employment.
2. The
Forestry Workforce
The population of forestry
laborers was 67,000 in fiscal year 2000, 60% of that of ten years ago.
The "Forestry New-employment Training Project" has been implemented
for persons who have, through emergency employment measures, experienced
forest practices to promote full-time employment in forestry and their
settlement in the area. In fiscal year 2003, approximately 2,400 "Forestry
New-employment Trainee" were trained in approximately 490 entities
engaged in forestry.
3. Mountain
Villages Creating New Values
Mountain villages cover 50% of
Japan’s total land area, 60% of
forest areas, and 40% of total number of municipalities. 90% of mountain
village areas are covered with forests.
Mountain villages have various biomass resources as potential alternative
energy sources to fossil fuel, including residue from thinning, branches
and leaves, rice plants and straw. In addition, "scenic attraction
of rural areas" are receiving higher attention as the new value to
local resources. It has become the second-most utilized local resources
in rural areas, following "agriculture, forestry and fisheries products".
In
mountain villages, it is possible to form a society where its local resources
are effectively and sustainably utilized at multi-stages. As a model for a
recycling society, we expect that cooperative efforts by mountain villages and
large cities to revitalize mountain villages will benefit both villages and
cities.
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