**1. Introduction**

160 Sustainable Forest Management – Case Studies

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Property rights for land, including forest land, were introduced in Japan following the Meiji Restoration in 1867. During the Meiji Period (1868–1912), a new land registration system was introduced, and the land-tax system was reformed. Individuals received property rights to forest land at that time. The Meiji Restoration was an important turning point in forest land ownership.

The custom of communal forest management, in which the forest is considered a common forest (*iriairin*), was developed during the Edo Period (1603–1868) in various regions1. Generally, forest land had high importance at that time, because of the necessity of various forest resources such as fallen-leaves and tree branches for agricultural production. Livestock management also required grazing land in common forests. Firewood and charcoal were the main energy resources produced from the common forest. Wood and wood-based products were also necessary as construction material. Therefore, the common forest was an essential resource for agricultural-based communities. In this chapter, the community represents the smallest unit of a village, which can be called a hamlet2.

For a common forest to be sustainable, its users had to manage it carefully (to avoid damaging or destroying it). This included preventing intrusion or utilization of the forest by people from other communities. Thus, the management of a common forest included both internal constraints (*e*.*g*., rules) and external exclusions. During the Edo Period, forest land was one of the major sources of conflict between communities, and in some cases, struggles continued over several decades. As the security of the common forest is directly linked to the livelihood and agricultural production of the entire community, all community members united to protect their common forest. The boundaries of common forests gradually became clear through such struggles, and the solidarity among community members strengthened. As a result, a sense of equality developed among common forest members (Takasu, 1966). A unanimity rule became important within such communities for making decisions on various matters, including utilization of the common forest. For example, when forest management practices commenced, unanimity rule determined who used the specific forest site and how the profit from the common forests was used. A unanimity rule on the common forest is also thought to be important today3.

Recent Problems and New Directions

particularly complicated and difficult.

related to the modernization of common forest policy.

cooperatives was adapted to this planting policy.

**2.2 Establishment of forest producer cooperatives** 

property rights6.

for Forest Producer Cooperatives Established in Common Forests in Japan 163

follows. In Article 1, the objective is to increase agriculture and forestry in the common forest5. At the time the Act was enacted, the total area of common forest was estimated to be approximately 2 million ha, which is equal to 13% of the total area of the non-national forest (Iriai Rinya Kindaika Kenkyukai, 1971). Generally, utilization of the common forest was extensive and did not contribute to an increase in income for the residents of mountainous areas, which they obtained from agriculture or forestry. For a long time, broad-leaved trees in the common forest were used as fuel-wood, so the common forest was necessary, but this use of the common forest as an energy source ended in the 1950s and 1960s. Thus, it was important to modernize the rules governing the common forest to promote its utilization. In this Act, modernization meant abolishment of common forest rights, and the granting of

Article 3 of the Act ordained the implementation procedures for modernizing the common forest rights. It was necessary for all rights holders to agree with the abolishment of rights. To this end, they had to be convinced of the importance of the common forest as a custom. To plan the modernization of the system, it was also necessary to record the locations and precise areas of each common forest. These two procedures—getting all rights holders to agree on relinquishing their personal common rights, and the measurement of land—were

After the abolishment of common rights, new property rights were granted, in two different ways: land was either divided equally among all rights holders, or a cooperative organization was established. Both methods were available, but the Forestry Agency recommended establishing cooperatives such as forest producer cooperatives or agricultural producer cooperatives (*noji kumiai hojin*), because equal division allowed for subdivision of the forest land. Generally, in Japan, the unit size of private forest land is so small that management costs are relatively high. Among the cooperative organizations related to agriculture and forestry, the Forestry Agency strongly recommended forest producer cooperatives, under the Forestry Cooperative Act (Act No. 36 of 1978)7. This cooperative organization was actually introduced in the 1951 Forest Act, and the main objective was not

The modernization of common forest policy was also affected by Article 12 of the Forestry Basic Act. This article included various policy measures, including the modernization of rights to the common forest, to realize the expansion of small-scale private forest management in Japan. As the area of common forest was generally broader than that of private forest, the transformation from common forest to cooperative organization conformed to the policy direction subject to Article 12 of the Forestry Basic Act. After the 1960s, the planting policy changed to increase coniferous trees to secure future domestic forest resources for industrial round wood; the land owned by the forest producer

Under the Act for modernizing common forest rights, subsidy programs to promote the modernization of rights started in 1967. The following is a statistical summary of this 43 year program, which ran from fiscal year 1967 and to fiscal year 2009 (Forestry Agency, 2011b): 6,651 places were given permission to modernize rights. The total number of common forest rights holders before modernization was 432,906, and 423,618 were granted property rights after modernization. The total acreage8 of common forest whose policies were modernized was 575,125 ha. After the modernization procedure, 52.4% of the land was

During the Meiji Period, the property rights system was introduced to law in Japan, and how the common forest was organized and managed needed to change to fit into this system. This problem was extremely difficult from the beginning of land reform4. This is discussed further in this chapter. However, due to space constraints, only the most important points are explained. The most important right pertaining to the common forest was that people living in a specific area had a conventional right. It must be paid attention to that the right is based on the convention, which is, in most cases, originated from the Edo Period. According to Articles 263 and 294 of the Civil Law of 1896 (Act No. 89), any common forest rights must first consider the customs of a given area.

Common forests with no property rights in modern law gradually decreased in Japan after the Meiji Period. During the early Meiji Period, part of common forest was considered national forest land. In 1889, the concept of the municipality was introduced, and part of common forest became the property of newly founded municipalities. In 1910, the Public Forest Reorganization and Unification Project started and continued until 1939. Under the policy program, the common forest was considered municipal property. However, some people with rights to the common forest took various countermeasures to protect their rights, in some cases, registering the area under his/her name or that of other members, or as a shrine or temple. The management of conventional rights to common forests in the modern legal system has proved challenging. Regardless of whether the land was registered as national, municipal, or private property, rights for common forest may still exist. In such an instance, the important legal point would be the historical fact regarding conventional forest management, including utilization.

After World War II, the common forest faced another economic problem. In 1964, the Forestry Basic Act (Act No. 161 of 1964) was enforced. According to Article 2 of the Act, the main objectives of forestry policy are to increase timber production, timber productivity, and the income of forestry workers. Under the Act, the Forestry Agency strongly promoted the change in species composition throughout Japan, from broad-leaved trees or natural forests to planted forests of coniferous trees such as *Cryptomeria japonica* and *Chamaecyparis obtusa* in the 1960s and 1970s. As the main species of the common forest were broad-leaved trees, the forest was considered a good site for the change in species composition.

In 1966, a new act related to the common forest was enacted, and many forest producer cooperatives, which are called *Seisan Shinrin Kumiai*, were established and started forest management practices. This type of cooperative organization is the main topic of this article. In section 2, the contents of the act of 1966, the policy programs under the act, the founding of forest producer cooperatives, and the current management problems of these cooperatives is explained. Their management is now facing extreme difficulties, and some of the cooperatives have undergone liquidation or soon will do so. However, this has sparked a new movement among some cooperatives. In section 3, three such cooperatives (located in Hyogo, Mie, and Fukui Prefectures) are described, including a brief summary of each cooperative, the major problems they are now facing, and the new movement they are involved in. Section 4 discusses the differences and similarities among these three examples, and section 5 presents our conclusions.
