A Pathway for a Nature-Harmonious Society

摘要

An assessment of ecosystem services provided by the satoyama and satoumi has revealed that the value of regulating services has been enhanced more sharply than that of provisioning services. This study has analyzed the possibility and effectiveness of restoring provisioning and regulating services provided by the satoyama and satoumi based on the following four policy options for their regeneration: (1) environmental stewardship, (2) branding, (3) double habitation and (4) enhancement of knowledge and awareness, as well as nurturing of new bearers. This is the first attempt to integrate a natural scientific assessment of benefits brought to human society by the satoyama and satoumi with a socioeconomic assessment of the same in order to demonstrate specific policy options and their effectiveness with regard to a pathway to reconstruction of a nature-harmonious society. An environmental stewardship policy would be effective in the conservation and utilization of the satoyama and satoumi and would additionally generate a high return on investment, therefore payment for ecosystem services would be effective in the restoration of the satoyama and satoumi. Increased brand value of domestic agricultural products has changed consumers' preference from imported agricultural products to domestic agricultural products, thus indicating that this would also be effective in the conservation and utilization of the satoyama and satoumi. It has been revealed that a double habitation policy would be likely to increase the interchange population on the condition that employment, shopping areas, improved medical systems, inexpensive housing and minimum income were ensured and that the region were located near an urban area within an hour by car. This study has also clarified the effectiveness of a policy of utilizing and maintaining ecosystem services as a new type of commons shared by community members rather than through legally reinforced protection of the satoyama and satoumi. To assess the value of the satoyama and satoumi, all capital elements (produced capital, human capital, natural capital and social capital) must be taken into account. This study has concluded that the incorporation of such a comprehensive value into a development and educational system would allow urban inhabitants with no direct connection to the satoyama and satoumi to become more aware of the social value of these ecosystems, exerting effectiveness in their restoration.