Study of Liability of Environment Restitution when Resort Development Fails

Research Project

Project/Area Number	10620010
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
Allocation Type	Single-year Grants
Section	一般
Research Field	Fundamental law
Research Institution	Nagasaki University
Principal Investigator	KUMATA Hiroyuki Nagasaki University, Faculty of Environmental Studies, Associate Professor, 環境科学部, 助教授 (00195520)
Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha)	OKU Mami Nagasaki University, Faculty of Environmental Studies, Associate Professor, 環境科学部, 助教授 (30304968) IKUNO Masakata Nagasaki University, Faculty of Environmental Studies, Professor, 環境科学部, 教授 (80128149)
Project Period (FY)	1998 – 1999
Project Status	Completed (Fiscal Year 1999)
Budget Amount *help	¥1,500,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,500,000) Fiscal Year 1999: ¥500,000 (Direct Cost: ¥500,000) Fiscal Year 1998: ¥1,000,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,000,000)
Keywords	Environment / Resort Development / Golf Course / Forest / Restitution / Nature Conservation / Agreement / Compensation / リゾート施設 / 原状回復義務 / 附款 / 自然保護協定 / 契約 / リゾート法 / 環境回復責任 / 緑化
Research Abstract	In case of resort development failure due to financial difficulties, legal compensation liability can be imposed on resort companies to restitute damaged forest. This study analyzed the details of this liability and found the following five major features: Firstly, the regulation to restore damaged forest is only applied to a limited area such as national parks. Secondly, City Planning Law prescribes that the developer's obligation (to return land to its original condition when development is abandoned before completion) is limited only to the case of restitution of public lands and facilities. Thirdly, there is a nature protection agreement between the developer and the local government requiring prevention of nature destruction and recovery of vegetation. Nagano Prefecture has a strict ordinance requiring this of golf course companies. When the agreement is broken by developers, the ordinance is applied to charge the developers the entire cost of forest recovery. Furthermore, this ordinance, obliges developers to place a security deposit as a guarantee. Fourthly, after forested land is sold to developers, restitution will be forced only in the case of development termination invoked by the developer's neglect to prevent pollution. Fifthly, the return of forest to its original condition is theorectially possible, but in reality almost impossible to accomplish due to the fact that in Japan compensation of damages is, in principle, made by money only. As the result of this study, I strongly implore that concrete measures are taken by the central or local government to restore destroyed forest by developers, requiring a prior payment of bond by developers to act as a guarantee. This method would help avoid the situation of no compensation should a developer go bankrupt.