2015 Fiscal Year Annual Research Report
里山里海の保全・再生に関する研究：資源管理の観点からの分析
| Project/Area Number |
15F15784
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| Research Institution | The University of Tokyo |
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Principal Investigator |
Gasparatos Alex 東京大学, サステイナビリティ学連携研究機構, 准教授 (20726369)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
CHAKRABORTY SHAMIK 東京大学, サステイナビリティ学連携研究機構, 外国人特別研究員
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| Project Period (FY) |
2015-11-09 – 2018-03-31
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| Keywords | Satoyama-satoumi / Coastal resources / Ecosystem services / Kunisaki peninsula / Japan |
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| Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
In the term 2015, two fieldworks were undertaken in the Himeshima island of Oita Prefecture. Also, the 6th International Partnership for the Satoyama Initiative Global Conference (IPSI-6) at Siem Reap, Cambodia was attended. Regarding the fieldworks, key documents and socio economic data, historical land use data, and contents on cooperative rules for the management of the fisheries was gathered as secondary literature. A participatory appraisal of coastal resource use (ongoing) was conducted. This was done to get an overall picture of coastal resource use around the island and also to record the different ecosystem services available in the area. In depth interviews were conducted with local fishermen and people related to marine resource use and the local fisheries cooperative for assessing the major drivers of change in the ecosystem services.
To understand the connectivity of the coastal ecosystems with the inland ecosystems such as forests/ river basins, a supplementary case (Takatsu-Masuda River Basins) was chosen in Shimane Prefecture, and a fieldwork was conducted there.
Findings: The coastal environments around Himeshima have undergone several stages of degradation in marine resource use. Decline of seagrass beds and disappearance of shellfish/clams mark the two most reported changes. Different ecosystem services (provisioning, regulating, cultural and supporting) are being assessed. Research findings for the study on Takatsu and Masuda River basins with the associated coastal areas are not yet finalized, as this research is in the feasibility stage.
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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
During the research plan made in the 2014 a total of 2 fieldworks were designed which were completed in the stipulated time period. The fieldworks were exploratory ones designed to understand the characteristics and present state of the coastal ecosystems in the Kunisaki-Himeshima area. These fieldworks enabled me to understand the key factors of ecosystem change in the Himeshima area. These understandings constitute the important first leg of research. This will be followed by in-depth analysis with ‘thick’ data from the field. Also these data will be useful for designing of structured questionnaire surveys later on in the study. Also, an additional field i.e. Takatsu and Masuda river basins and the surrounding seascapes has been added and preliminary surveys are being conducted in the area regarding types and changes of riverine and marine resource use.
Regarding dissemination of information, I have presented results at a conference at the Yamaguchi University Department of Economics. I analyzed the important role of Satoumi ecosystems for Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS). The importance of including both concepts of Satoyama and Satoumi for sustainable land and marine resource use in Japan was discussed.
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| Strategy for Future Research Activity |
Based on the feasibility study undertaken in FY2015, it was considered to be appropriate to add another study site in Takatsu and Masuda River basins in addition to the current site in Kunisaki-Himeshima. In these areas, several fieldworks should be carried out together with analysis of secondary data.
A major part of the primary data analysis should be in assessing the different ecosystem services (ES) and their (ES) changes in the Kunisaki-Himeshima area. For this, interviews, focus group discussions, and surveys should be conducted. The main respondents will be people whose profession and/or means of livelihoods are related to satoyama-satoumi environments. For analyzing changes in ES and their causes, Drivers-Pressure-State-Impact-Response model or Mediated Modeling should be considered. Secondary data analysis should include content analysis of documents from fisheries cooperatives, city and village offices, together with analysis of old village illustration maps, paleographs and survey maps, communal fisheries rights such as ‘gyogyo kisetsu sadame’ etc.
In the Takatsu and Masuda River basins and the surrounding seascapes, preliminary questionnaire surveys needs to be conducted through a local NPO. Subject to data availability, structured surveys and/or interviews should be considered.
A major challenge for the research is to address the different data gaps and gather relevant information to fill these gaps. Another major challenge is translation/content analysis of old Japanese documents that provide information about past land use and resource use practices.
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Research Products
(1 results)
