2018 Fiscal Year Research-status Report
A Socio-Ecological Approach to Restoring River Connectivity and Rewilding Salmon as Keystone Species in the Kushiro River Watershed, Eastern Hokkaido, Japan
| Project/Area Number |
17K00699
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| Research Institution | Sophia University |
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Principal Investigator |
伊藤 毅 上智大学, 国際教養学部, 准教授 (10646863)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
渡邉 剛弘 上智大学, 国際教養学部, 准教授 (50439337)
北島 義和 釧路公立大学, 経済学部, 准教授 (70782952)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2017-04-01 – 2020-03-31
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| Keywords | Ecology and Society / Salmon ecology / Social Institutions / Kushiro River |
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| Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
In the second year, we sought to understand the social-ecological relations around rivers and salmon in Hokkaido from the Meiji period to date. Our research focused on the following questions―How have human interactions with rivers and salmon evolved over time?; What are the main characteristics of the interactions?; and What has been the role of the state in shaping nature-society relations? To answer these questions, we combined archival research, interviews with stakeholders, and participant observation.
At the core of the social-ecological relations are government offices which plan and regulate environmental management, business enterprises and people who make their livelihoods from rivers and salmon, and nonhuman actors including rivers, wetlands, water, salmon, and other species which constitute the local ecology. To create an opportunity to understand such a variety of interests, we organized a workshop “Co-Creating Kushiro’s River and City” in Kushiro in August 2018. Researchers from the government, research institutions, and nongovernmental organizations in Kushiro and Sapporo presented their experiences of river management.
Based on our research findings so far, our paper was accepted and published in January 2019 on a peer-reviewed international journal Society and Natural Resources (2017 Five-Year Impact Factor: 2.053). We see this publication as a positive sign that our research is moving forward and making a significant progress towards the overall goal.
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| Current Status of Research Progress |
Current Status of Research Progress
2: Research has progressed on the whole more than it was originally planned.
Reason
Overall, our research has progressed as we expected. We are currently investigating the history of how particular species like salmon have become the target of commodification and reproduction by human hands in Hokkaido in a time span of 150 years and how this history of domestication impacts socially and ecologically―our relations with salmon and the ecosystem services including the food web.
In terms of publications, we are currently producing another article for a peer-reviewed journal, which is at the stage of revise and resubmit. Another article is submitted for a chapter of an edited volume with the current status of revise and resubmit.
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| Strategy for Future Research Activity |
In the final year, we plan to make further progress to conclude the research project. Our research will detail the manner in which salmon and salmon ecology in the Kushiro river and the Kushiro wetland have been enclosed and examine social-ecological impacts of the enclosure. Recently, salmon runs have underwent significant declines over the past decade due to a mix of social and ecological factors. In this context, we seek to study the implications of rewilding salmon for restoring the Kushiro wetland as well as improving salmon stock. To this end, we will combine field visits to Kushiro, Obihiro, and Sapporo, archival research in Tokyo, Sapporo, and Kushiro, and collecting and studying relevant literatures.
On the publication front, we plan to write another article that summarizes our research findings. It emphasizes the importance of social-ecological relational reading in designing and managing natural resources. Although this article will not be published before the official funding period of the research project, it aims to make a contribution to the literature on nature-society in general and on public policy and natural resources management in particular.
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| Causes of Carryover |
We did not spend much from the originally planned budget for travel because we used Sophia University research grants. The purchase of equipment was postponed for the next year, resulting in the increase of the amount to be used next fiscal year.
In the final year, we plan to spend the budget for research travel and equipment.
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