Deterrent effect of monitoring and penalties for illegal acts against the Invasive Alien Species Act in Japan

2019 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 16K00696
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Environmental policy and social systems
• Research Institution: Sanyo Gakuen University (2017-2019); Research Institute for Humanity and Nature (2016)
• Principal Investigator: Nishimura Takeshi 山陽学園大学, 地域マネジメント学部, 准教授 (80574029)
• Project Period (FY): 2016-04-01 – 2020-03-31
• Keywords: 生物多様性 / 外来生物法 / 特定外来生物 / 外来種 / マルハナバチ / トマト生産者 / 相互モニタリング / 生態系サービス

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In greenhouse tomato production, by employing non-native bumblebees as a pollinator, tomato growers benefit from labor saving in pollination work and improvement of tomato quality. However, if the non-native species escapes from their greenhouses, it may have a harmful influence on the ecosystem. Therefore, according to the Invasive Alien Species Act, tomato growers are required to take measures to prevent their escape when using this species. Since monitoring by the Ministry of the Environment alone is not sufficient to thoroughly implement this escape prevention measure, the feasibility of mutual monitoring among those growers was examined in this study. As a result of the analysis, it became clear that growers who are strongly interested in the impact of this species on the ecosystem tend to think that such mutual monitoring is feasible.

Free Research Field

農業経済学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

温室トマト栽培における外来種マルハナバチの使用は，トマト生産者にとって多くの便益がある一方で，国内の生態系を破壊する可能性がある。外来種マルハナバチを使用禁止にすれば，生態系破壊の可能性はなくなる一方で，トマト生産が成り立たなくなり，国内農業だけでなく，消費者にも不利益が及ぶ可能性がある。本研究では，外来生物法による罰則だけでなく，生産者同士で注意し合うことにより，外来種マルハナバチが温室から逃亡しないよう努力を促すことが可能であることが示された。環境と経済が対立する場面は社会において少なからず存在しており，本研究ではその一例を取り扱うことにより，両者の対立を緩和する方法を示した。