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Foundation Newsletter Tamagawa

No.131"Kamikawahara Sluice"

Reports from our Seasonal newsletters
Special Edition on the Annual Report about the Foundation’s Projects
No.131"Kamikawahara Sluice"
The Foundation Newsletter, Tamagawa (English Version)

Kamigawara Weir

Getting off the train at the Chofu Station on the Keio Line and then taking the bus bound for Tamagawa Jutaku Nishi to the Nikkatsu Satsueijo-mae bus stop, I reached the left bank of the Tama River. Going through Somechi and walking on the riverbed, I caught a view of the Tama River with the Kamigawara Weir in the backdrop. This is a recommended viewpoint to see both the river and the weir at close range.

If one prefers to go up the right bank of the river, it is convenient to take the Keio Sagamihara Line from the Chofu Station to the Keio Inadazutsumi Station and take a walk to the weir. Or from the Keio Inadazutsumi Station, one can transfer to the JR Nanbu Line to the Nakanoshima Station and walk for about 10 minutes to the weir. Viewing the dynamic form of the weir in harmony with the stretch of quiet river surface there, one can sense the bounties of magnificent nature.

People enjoy boating in the river. A large flock of wild ducks is said to fly over in late autumn to spend the winter in this area.

Photo & Text by Hidehiko Endo

Opening Article

A Small Chapter of Environmental Cooperation between China and Japan

Shun’ichi Teranishi

Professor, Graduate School of Economics, Hitotsubashi University

Selection committee member, The Tokyu Foundation for Better Environment

On the 23rd of July, a disastrous accident occurred in Wenzhou city of Zhejiang Province in China. The derailment and crash of high-speed trains killed and injured passengers in large numbers. Hearing this tragic news, I felt a chill running down my spine. For the accident reminded me of a ride on the very train (the Chinese equivalent of a bullet train) from Shanghai city to Jiaxing city in late November last year (2010), just one month after its opening. It is truly painful that both China and Japan have been suffering a series of natural and man-made disasters recently.

Recognizing the growing importance of promoting various mutual environmental cooperation between Japan and China (China-Japan environmental cooperation), I have been working towards that end in the last 10 years, though my steps are small (for more information, see Kankyo kyoudoutai to shite no nichi, chu, kan (Japan-China-Korea as an Environmental Community), written and edited by myself, Shueisha Shinsho, SHUEISHA Inc., 2006). It was on my way to the “Second Jiaxing Workshop on Local Environmental Governance and Environmental Cooperation between Japan and China” that I took the high-speed train mentioned above. The workshop was what I initiated as part of a Japan-China environmental cooperation. The first workshop took place in the same city in September, 2009. I am hoping to have the chance to visit the city once and again in the future. Jiaxing lies at the center of the Yangtze River delta, about 90 kilometers southwest of Shanghai. The city, with a population of 3.3 million, is right in the middle of the line connecting Shanghai and Hangzhou, both of which are well-known scenic spots among Japanese people. Although it cannot be called a megalopolis by Chinese standards, it is one of the historically venerable cites, thriving since long before Shanghai. In November 2008, I made a courtesy visit to Jiaxing University. The encounter with Professor Du Huanzheng (the vice president of the university whose specialty is environmental and natural resource economics) made me a frequent visitor. He guided me to the Jiaxing local government, where I found that all the officials, especially those in the Environmental Conservation Division, were devotedly trying to solve various environmental issues.

The most urgent issue facing the Jiaxing government is the threat of severe water contamination. In China, dealing with the menace of an alarming increase of water pollution in rivers and lakes since 1990 is now an overriding issue in national environmental policies. The Chinese government has designated the Lake Tai basin as one of the most critical watershed areas requiring pressing treatments. The extent of contaminated water rated at Worse V, which indicates it is no longer suitable even for agricultural use, began to rapidly increase as of 2002 and has covered more than 60% of the entire basin since 2004. A prodigious algae bloom outbreak in Lake Tai in 2007 was the consequence of critical water contamination, having the consequence of a tentative suspension of water and sewer services in Wuxi city. As I mentioned before, Jiaxing city located in the center of the Yangtze River delta and in the lower watershed of Lake Tai is facing the urgent issue of serious contamination of its citizens’ drinking water source.

During the above mentioned Jiaxing Workshop, various measures that prevent water pollution from extending around the Lake Tai watershed were introduced, including the newly established system of “Watershed Ecosystem Compensation.” For those interested, please see the feature article that I edited, “Local Environment Governance in China: Present and Next Challenges,” Environment and Pollution, Vol.41-1, Iwanami Shoten Publishers, July 2011. Now, looking at the Tama River’s case, we find it has also suffered serious water pollution and has struggled to control this pollution for a long time. Even though the situations are quite different, wouldn’t there be any room for our experiences and stored information to serve the needs of Chinese people? I believe that it is worth reviewing and studying the history and experience of pollution controlling measures on the Tama River from the viewpoint of bilateral environmental cooperation between Japan and China.

Headwater area turned into a park in Jiaxing city

Lower: Jiaxing workshop, Nov. 21, 2010

(Page 3)

Special Article

What We See beyond the “Green Curtain Project 2011”

Michi Kobayashi

Representative, Green Curtain Project 2011

On March 11, the Great East Japan Earthquake struck. What should we do for electricity conservation in the face of the nuclear power plant accident?

It was raining since early morning on May 24, 2011, the day we gave out seedlings for the Green Curtain Project 2011. Thanks to the publicity on bulletins, “Seedlings of GOYA (bitter gourd) and morning glories to be given out free to the first 1000 families”, a stream of cars was coming into the parking lot where the seedlings were to be distributed. The line of cars kept growing, and within less than 30 minutes from the opening, a long line of people appeared in front of our reception counters. “The road is packed with cars!’’ an astonished newspaper reporter said. Seedlings with a leaflet, net and potting compost in a package, all 3000 of them, were gone before noon.

Hot summer is coming! What to do?

After the earthquake, we had given serious thought to what we could do. We were already familiar with various inconveniences caused by scheduled blackouts. And we knew hot summer was coming in less than three months. Eventually, we came up with an idea of green curtains, in which climbing plants block the direct sunlight, lowering the room temperature. Then the matter was how we should go about getting the plant seedlings. Raising plants from seeds requires experience. If we buy seeds, can we really raise them to viable seedlings? We had worries.

Hideko Kono, a staff-member of Machida-shiei Shimo Oyamada Byouho Kanri Kumiai (Machida City Shimo Oyamada Nursery Management Association) advised us. “Green curtains? That’s wonderful! How many seedlings do you need?” she asked. “Five thousand,” was our reply. “It’s no big deal. We raise 800,000 seedlings every year.” She also said that her nursery’s soil grew plants much healthier than those of other markets. We then went to the Department of Environmental Resources, Machida city government, and asked for their support to carry out this project. “A group of citizens are going to volunteer for the project. Could the city government join us to promote the green curtains?” It was April 7.

Green curtains help prevent heatstroke and prepare citizens for the scheduled blackouts in summer

The Green Curtain Project 2011 burgeoned forth in collaboration with the city and its residents. Seeds of Goya were provided by the city’s Department of Environmental Resources (the seeds were distributed by the Tokyo Association of Mayors). The compost was provided by the Waste Reduction Division. The Parks and Greens Division gave the project the morning glory seeds. The project rapidly gained ground among schools, welfare facilities, nursery schools and after-school day care centers. With the garden net provided by the Machida Corporation Association, and the compost from the local farmers, we were eventually able to give out the seedlings to residents. The distributed seedlings amounted to about 10,000 after all. The participants, 3,000 in total, came from every corner of Machida city, including individuals, corporate bodies, schools, etc.

What we see beyond the Green Curtain Project 2011

It would have cost us so much more if we had bought seedlings at nursery gardens and distributed to residents. But in Machida’s project, seedlings were raised by volunteers. The project wasn’t realized without the farmers who generously gave compost, the companies that donated garden net and the Tokyo Association of Mayors who gave Goya seeds. Ms. Kono said with a smile, “Are there any other cities that engage in a green curtain project without big funds, distributing more than 10,000 seedlings, like us?’’ I’m already dreaming about next spring, when many people will be coming back to the parking lot of Shimo Oyamada Byouho Kanri Kumiai, with handful of seeds carefully collected from their own Goya, morning glories and sponge gourds. That should be the start of our Green Curtain Project 2012

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