**3.2.3 New activity and background**

This cooperative started thinning using funds sponsored by an automobile-related enterprise located in the same municipality. Mie Prefecture started a system in which private enterprises can allocate money for sustainable private forest management. When the board of the cooperative discussed thinning with the administrative office, the enterprises were searching for an appropriate site by chance. In 2006, the forest sites for thinning and supporting funds were identified. A tree-planting ceremony was held in 2008. A thinning and tree-planting ceremony was planned to utilize the money over 5 years. Many from the wider community, including elementary school children, attended the ceremony in April 2010. This is important because awareness regarding the forest within the community, and forestry activities generally, spread to the residents, including children and their families.

The chief of the cooperative pointed out that the development of consciousness for forest can be found in the cooperative board members as a result of the conduct of thinning and tree-planting ceremony. Although their major previous thought was that forest can be left

Residents can work in the city, as this cooperative is located in an urban neighborhood. It is not a wood-producing area, and activities related to forestry are generally sluggish. There are a few saw mills, in which the logs purchased from outside the area are processed. This cooperative has no forestry technicians. Thus, forest practices have not been introduced, although the cooperative has money for forest management. As thinning has never been

The planted forest was intensively managed in the 1960s and 1970s, but various problems relating to thinning are now occurring. In Case 1 described above with similar problems, a lack of funding for forest practices including thinning was a problem, but not in this case. Rather, an almost total lack of forestry knowledge and experience is the most important problem in this cooperative29. Such a situation is common in forest producer cooperatives located in urban neighborhoods, and seem to be related to the following three points. First, almost all residents, including the cooperative members, have lost a relationship to the forest. Thus, they cannot judge when and how the forestry practices must be conducted. By the 1960s, some connections remained to the forest, such as using it as a source of fuel-wood utilized in daily life. However, wood and fuel-wood are not necessary for residents today. Thus, interest in forestry has dissipated, and along with it, the necessary knowledge,

Second, the age-class of the planted trees is increasing. In the 1960s and 1970s, planted trees were short when harvested and special techniques or large machines were not necessary for planting or weeding. Although this was certainly hard work, it was not dangerous or impossible. Today, however, specialized experience and forestry machines are necessary to thin 40-year-old trees. The cut trees must be moved to specific points or a forest road. Such practices cannot be conducted by cooperative members who have no forestry experience. Third, even if the cooperative members cannot develop and conduct necessary forest practices, there is no problem if there is a forestry-related organization around for consultation. However, there is no such organization near this cooperative. Even if there were, most forest owners' cooperatives are generally weak in urban neighborhoods. In most

cases, there are no forestry workers or machines, and their main work is paperwork.

This cooperative started thinning using funds sponsored by an automobile-related enterprise located in the same municipality. Mie Prefecture started a system in which private enterprises can allocate money for sustainable private forest management. When the board of the cooperative discussed thinning with the administrative office, the enterprises were searching for an appropriate site by chance. In 2006, the forest sites for thinning and supporting funds were identified. A tree-planting ceremony was held in 2008. A thinning and tree-planting ceremony was planned to utilize the money over 5 years. Many from the wider community, including elementary school children, attended the ceremony in April 2010. This is important because awareness regarding the forest within the community, and forestry activities generally, spread to the residents, including

The chief of the cooperative pointed out that the development of consciousness for forest can be found in the cooperative board members as a result of the conduct of thinning and tree-planting ceremony. Although their major previous thought was that forest can be left

conducted, the light intensity in the forest is low and future growth is not expected.

**3.2.2 Largest problem and background** 

experience, and techniques to manage a forest.

**3.2.3 New activity and background** 

children and their families.

unmanaged without cutting grass, but they begin to think that leaving it uncontrolled was not good practice. When the cooperative conducted thinning, it developed a relationship with the logging company located in the same area.

Various private companies in Japan have recently started supporting management and forest conservation, including both national forests and non-national forests. In the case of national forest policy programs, companies can allocate money for future management costs for a specific forest site, which consists of coniferous trees in most cases, and the company can obtain some of the profits when the forest is finally cut30. During a contract with the national forest, the company can utilize the forest site without cutting. For example, the company can place a sign indicating that the company is contributing to the national forest environment, or it can utilize the forest for employee or customer events. Of course, companies can highlight their contribution to the national forest in their annual report on corporate social responsibility. Companies can easily fund national forest management as a public contribution as it is governed by a department in the national government.

By contrast, sustainable forest management in the privately owned non-national forest is supported mainly by subsidies. Recently, many prefectures have developed schemes by which private companies can support non-national forest31. The support of forest producer cooperatives by companies, such as Case 2, is a recent phenomenon. Forests owned by cooperatives are non-national forests in which the management area is generally larger than that of forests owned by individuals. Moreover, as the cooperatives are legally incorporated organizations, it seems that they have an advantage in making such contracts with private companies.
