*The buffer zone or area between mountain foothills and village, socio-ecological production landscapes that has been developed in Japan

The Challenge for the restoration of a "dead lake"

Lake Kasumigaura (Kasumigaura) is the second largest lake in Japan (surface area 167.63 km²), located in the south-east of Ibaraki Prefecture and 60 km to the north-east of Tokyo. The lake was endowed with abundant vegetation and fishery resources, but its lakefront was surfaced with concrete due to the large-scale water development associated with rapid population increase and economic growth. Though Lake Kasumigaura was a brackish lake, the lake has become desalinized since the closing of the Hitachigawa Watergate (Hitachigawasuimon), built in the 1960s.

The number of forests and ponds around the lake decreased and the quality of inflow water had deteriorated along with the industrialization and urbanization of the watershed.

The biota and fauna were changed by the environmental deterioration of the lake. Plants were exposed to water by returning waves from the concrete-covered lakefront. The number of birds and other living things decreased accordingly, and Lake Kasumigaura came to be called "the dead lake."

Under such circumstances, the Asaza Project was launched in 1995 in order to restore Lake Kasumigaura through biological purification such as mitigation of returning waves by floating plants (asaza), sediment deposition and the formation of shallows.

210,000 people gathered together to help a native water plant

One important characteristic of the Asaza Project is that schools, residents, farmers, firms and local governments in the watershed work together.

In order to create a society where humans harmoniously live together with nature, strategies shaping a recycling society are essential. The concept of environmental conservation has to be integrated into the social system such as in industry or through education. Accordingly, "human," "goods" or "money" can circulate in the society in consideration of the materials cycle and water circulation in the ecosystem.

The idea of this project is based on the recognition that co-existence with nature can be realized when a "human resources network" and a "nature environment network" overlap one another.

Asaza Fund mutually relates the stakeholders such as local governments, universities and firms. Efforts for the restoration of vegetation along the lakeside, conservation of forests and rice paddies, elimination of exotic fish species, and water purification by abandoning rice paddies have been developed in conjunction with advanced research, regional development, job creation and environmental education. Therefore, this multidisciplinary project could shape "a new public model" in the vast watershed.

Consequently, more than two hundred ten thousand people including students from 200 primary and junior high schools (over 90% of the area) in the watershed participate in the planting and growing of native water plants, conducting environment research with the elderly, or implementing biological monitoring of the watershed, and performing community renovation learning for the environmental conservation of the watershed as part of "the integrated study" with local residents. These activities are considered to be necessary for a nature restoration project of national significance such as that involving Lake Kasumigaura.

Further development brought by cooperation

The Asaza Project is driven by multiple stakeholders without a leader. The project is recognized by stakeholders as a place for working together. The stakeholders carry out their respective roles in the project.

It is a characteristic that environmental conservation can be achieved through such cooperation network.

Since 2005, the Asaza Project has made efforts for catching exotic fish, making bone manure from them, growing vegetables using the manure and selling the vegetables in cooperation with fisheries cooperatives, agricultural cooperatives and supermarkets in the watershed.

The aims of the efforts are to effectively make progress in eliminating exotic fish that have adverse effects on the lake's ecosystem, and purifying the water quality through purchasing "lake-friendly vegetables" branded farm products. Furthermore, the system of continuously eliminating exotic fish is enabled by effectively making bone manure from exotic fish that are considered to be difficult to eradicate.

Restoration of yatsuda (paddy fields in ravines) as a water source has been conducted involving diverse stakeholders based on the Asaza network. In collaboration with volunteer staff of the relevant companies, the Asaza Project and local 3 saké breweries are jointly making and selling Yatsuda branded saké made from rice harvested at restored yatsuda. Part of the profits from sales is donated to the restoration of yatsuda.

The combination of farming sensitive to the environment and selling of branded products was highly evaluated, and in 2009, the Asaza Project received the Grand Prix of the first Japan Awards for Biodiversity, which were organized by the Japan's Ministry of the Environment and the AEON Environmental Foundation*.

*The second Japan Awards for Biodiversity in 2011 were organized by the AEON Environmental Foundation and supported by Japan's Ministry of the Environment.

Future brought by Asaza Model

Recently, similar efforts are developing in other areas of Japan including Lake Hachiro (Hachirō-ko), of Akita Prefecture, Lake Biwa (Biwako) of Shiga Prefecture and Miyakojima of Okinawa Prefecture. The Asaza Project is also successfully inviting observation teams from abroad. Global attention is currently focused on the Asaza Project as an environmental conservation model based on local communities and the Japanese view of nature.

The unique efforts made by Asaza Fund are based on Asian-style thinking, and are intended to simultaneously realize both nature conservation and local revitalization.

For the future co-existence of nature and humans in the Lake Kasumigaura watershed, the Asaza Project will make further efforts in establishing Asian-style environmental conservation and realize environmental conservation that will enable the wild ibis (Nipponia Nippon) to fly around Lake Kasumigaura in 100 years' time.

DATA

Name of the Organization:

Asaza Fund (NPO)

Representative Director:

Hiroshi Iijima

Year of the Establishment:

1995

Address:

6-387, Sakae-cho, Ushiku City, Ibaraki Prefecture, 300-1233, Japan

URL:

http://www.kasumigaura.net/asaza/index.html

Record of awards

●Global 100 Eco-Tech Awards (2005)
●Representative of Japan, BIE-Cosmos Prize (2008)
●The Japan Awards for Biodiversity, Grand Prix (2009)

(Original Japanese text was written by Yuki Kuwabara)