< 2010.9：World's WATERFRONT:JAPAN Monthly Archive >
In the mouth of Fushino River running through Yamaguchi City, a vast tidal flat spreads, which is one of the greatest tidal flats in the West Setouchi region. It attracts migrant birds and it was selected as one of the 500 important wetlands in Japan.
However, due to the floating mud flowing in from the middle and upstream basins and the delay in taking domestic sewage countermeasures, oystershells were built up, the muddy tidal flat area was expanded and the biomass of fish, crabs and wild birds was decreased. To address this problem of the tidal flat ecosystem alteration a “framework to create a rich basin of Yamaguchi (Fushino River model)” was drawn up through collaboration between industry, educational institutions and the administration in March 2003. Today, the organizations concerned are cooperating to regenerate the tidal flats and create Zostera beds on a trial basis and wild bird research and beach cleaning is being performed.
By JRRN-secre | Category: Nature oriented restoration,Bay and lake restoration,Chugoku | Comment(0) | Trackback(0) |
Date: 2010.09.10 18:12
In Maruyama River Basin, the natural habitat was changed by agricultural land improvement, forest development and housing land development. In particular, ciconia boyciana have vanished in this area since 1971.
Today, ciconia boyciana (whose wild species are now extinct in Japan) is bred artificially in the prefectural “Ciconia boyciana Home Park” located in Toyooka City for release into the wild. As part of the environmental improvement measures to allow ciconia boyciana and various living organisms as a food source for ciconia boyciana, a river and waterfront environmental regeneration project is also being conducted.
By JRRN-secre | Category: Nature oriented restoration,Kinki | Comment(0) | Trackback(0) |
Date: 2010.09.10 18:10
Inland lakes have diversified functions represented by natural ecosystem maintenance and water quality improvement. Hayazaki Inland Lake, which contacts Biwa Lake, was once the largest spawning ground of endemic carassius cuvieri in Biwa Lake, where precious plants including vallisneria natans and brambles were grown and aquatic birds such as tachybaptus ruficollis and resident birds lived. However, the area has been shrunk by agricultural land reclamation. Also the disappearing waterfront ecotone due to the construction of the dike on the lakeside is affecting the growth of various indigenous organisms.
For this reason, Hayazaki Inland Lake Restoration Project was inaugurated as a leading-edge project to conserve the Biwa Lake ecosystem. Since 2001, regeneration of the inland lake by flooding an area of 17 ha out of the 89 ha reclaimed agricultural land has been studied.
By JRRN-secre | Category: Bay and lake restoration,Kinki | Comment(0) | Trackback(0) |
Date: 2010.09.10 18:08
In the middle basin of Shinano River, problems such as the simplified river channel, vanishing shallows and pools, change of high water channels into the land area and overgrowth of alien species such as robinia pseudoacacia have occurred because river improvement work focusing on flood control was promoted.
Now, however, a natural regeneration project is being conducted to restore the waterfront line (ecotone) and pools and recover the former channels. Also since July 2001, efforts have been made to increase the outflow from Nishiotaki Dam on a trial basis in cooperation with power generation companies. This is because the shallows are discontinued and algae proliferated abnormally due to a decrease in the river flow, which is caused by water intake for power generation and smoothing. While reviewing the effect and impact of an increase of the outflow on the downstream river environmental regeneration, we are improving the water environment adaptively and gradually.
By JRRN-secre | Category: Nature oriented restoration,Hokuriku | Comment(0) | Trackback(0) |
Date: 2010.09.10 18:04
In the peripheral area of No River flowing through Tokyo, a diversified environment consisting of springs, forests, wetlands and vegetation zones spread in the past. Today, however, the diversified natural environment has been damaged by the urbanization along the river and change of land use.
Nevertheless, a project is being conducted to regenerate the wetlands by using springs, create habitats or growing spaces for various organisms and provide a place for environmental education where people can commune with nature around No River Balancing Reservoir, which was constructed to prevent flooding.
By JRRN-secre | Category: Nature oriented restoration,Community and urban river restoration,Kanto | Comment(0) | Trackback(0) |
Date: 2010.09.10 18:03
Concerning Sanban Shallows spreading off the coast of Funabashi and Ichikawa Cities of Chiba Prefecture in the inner part of Tokyo Bay, problems such as a decrease of the brackish environment, a decrease of the marine area and an increase of the shallow sea area by lowering of the ground elevation occurred because the connection between Sanban Shallows and the rivers flowing in was weakened as a result of the postwar large-scaled land reclamation and the urbanization of the backland.
For this reason, Sanban Shallows restoration plan meeting (round-table conference) was established and many residents participated in it to regenerate the nature of Sanban Shallows. Efforts are being made to restore the tidal flats that once existed, secure the biotic diversity, provide rich and stable fishing grounds with an advanced water purification function to nurture tapes philippinarum, flounder, sea weeds, etc. and create a stopping point for aquatic birds and waterfront spaces where people can commune with nature.
By JRRN-secre | Category: Bay and lake restoration,Kanto | Comment(0) | Trackback(0) |
Date: 2010.09.10 18:01
The river bed of Kinu River has been lowered largely due to a decrease of sediment supply and gravel quarrying. As a result, problems such as immobilized gut for ships, single-row-shaped shoals, a decrease of the flood frequency in the riverside, invasion and overgrowth of alien species such as eragrostis curvula occur and the original pebble riverside is being lost.
As it is important to conserve and regenerate the plants that grow on the pebble riverside such as aster kantoensis (one of the endangered species) in particular, a natural regeneration project is being conducted to restore the pebble riverside and the natural environment with aster kantoensis and create an environment where native riverside organisms can live and grow sustainably.
By JRRN-secre | Category: Nature oriented restoration,Community and urban river restoration,Kanto | Comment(0) | Trackback(0) |
Date: 2010.09.10 17:58
In Sarobetsu Plain registered under the Ramsar Convention in 2005, the land becomes dry progressively due to the agricultural land improvement for developing dairy and arid plants such as sasa veitchii are increasing in number. The lowering water level of the marsh caused by a drainage project for bogs along with the agricultural land development is another problem.
Under the circumstances, the Sarobetsu natural regeneration project toward “coexistence of marsh and agriculture” is being conducted to recover the drying marsh and conserve the marsh by providing buffer zones in the agricultural land.
By JRRN-secre | Category: Nature oriented restoration,Hokkaido | Comment(0) | Trackback(0) |
Date: 2010.09.10 17:55
Utonai Lake located near the confluence of Bibi River and Yufutsu River was registered under the Ramsar Convention in 1991. On the periphery of the lake, a rich natural environment including wildernesses and wetlands has formed. It is also a treasury of animals and plants and a wild paradise to which migrant birds such as swans arrive in flocks.
However, the valuable natural environment and the ecosystem is vanishing due to the land development around the basin, causing a reduction of the volume of the spring in Bibi River, dryness of the marginal environment, outflow of soil, water quality deterioration, a decrease of the wetland area, vegetation change, etc.
Today, a natural regeneration project is being conducted to restore the state of Bibi River and Utonai Lake seen in the 1960s and 70s based on four pillars: recovery of the volume of the spring in Bibi River, improvement of the spring quality, recovery of the current speed and river channel and recovery of the wetland environment around Utonai Lake.
By JRRN-secre | Category: Nature oriented restoration,Bay and lake restoration,Hokkaido | Comment(0) | Trackback(0) |
Date: 2010.09.10 17:53
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