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Reports from our Seasonal newsletters

Special Edition on the Annual Report about the Foundation’s Projects

No.135"Koremasa at Tamagawa river"

The Foundation Newsletter, Tamagawa (English Version)

The Tama River at Koremasa

Looking upstream from the new Koremasa Bridge, I can see the Koremasa area on the riverside of the Tama River. I had passed by before without paying much attention, since I was hurrying to get to the Daimaru weir to take photos.

There used to be ferries and ferrymen to take villagers across the river a long time ago, they say. This time, I enjoyed strolling on this new bridge, looking at the long calm flow running beneath and the sight of two bridges ahead, the Koremasa and the Nanbu Railway Bridges. They make a peaceful scene in the middle course of the river.

(Photo & Text by Hidehiko Endo)

Opening Article

Forests in Our Heart

Shigeatsu Hatakeyama

Chairman

NPO “Mori wa Umi no Koibito” (Forests are Lovers of the Sea)

Last autumn, I unexpectedly received an offer from the Forestry Agency, saying that the United Nations decided, in commemorating the International Year of the Forest, to present the Forest Hero Awards to honor people who have dedicated themselves to forest protection. The awards would be given to five heroes from the five geographic regions, and the Forestry Agency wanted to recommend me as the Japanese representative.

We, the fishermen, have engaged in afforestation and environmental education for the children in Miyagi Prefecture, Tohoku, since 1989. Getting the award may be a big chance for our activities to become known to the world. With my colleagues’
strong advice, I decided to willingly accept the offer.

One of my colleagues said heartily, “The Japanese government’s intention is probably to back us up, the Tohoku area, after being hit by the Tsunami and the Earthquake. But even so, it’s still quite amazing the Forest Agency recommends a fisherman as the Japanese representative in spite of the government’s vertically split sectionalism. At long last, the government has come to understand that the forests, rivers and the sea together make up an ecosystem. My colleague also added that I need to become the Asian representative in order to become a forest hero of Asia, so it’s still too early to celebrate.

Our concern was validated. I found out at the beginning of this year that there were three Asian finalists and I was one of them. Though the award ceremony would be held at the UN Headquarters in New York on February 9, I had received
no further notice by the middle of the month. My colleagues consoled me by saying “Maybe the UN people are wondering why a fisherman came to be considered a forest hero.” “You may not be rewarded this time.” A bleak forecast for my
prize was growing.

After January 20, I finally received an informal notice of my selection, which relieved me very much. After a helter-skelter preparation, accompanied by the officials of the Forestry Agency, I left for New York for the first time in my life.

At the UN headquarters, I met the other winners; one who protected the Amazon rainforest from illegal logging in South America, another saved the territory of indigenous minority people living in the Siberian taiga in Russia from a development project, etc. They were heroes in a literal sense, who have fought and won against the establishment.

A high-ranking person in the UN put the medal around our necks one by one, and then each winner was asked to make a short speech. Heroic stories went on and at the last came my turn.

I said that from the view of an oyster-farming fisherman, there are three kinds of forests in the world; the first is in mountains, the second consists of seaweed, the phytoplankton found in the sea, and the third exists in the hearts of people living in river basins. We have been planting trees in the hearts of children living in the basin, through inviting them to the sea for field works. Then I concluded my speech saying that our long effort of raising three forests saved the sea contaminated with an outbreak of red tide plankton.

To my surprise, my speech received a big applause, and at that moment I realized our activity “Mori wa Umi no Koibito” (Forests are Lovers of the Sea) gained an international recognition.

From my experience, I believe that recovering the environment of the Tama River depends on the hearts of local people living in its watershed.

The more purified the Tama River becomes, the less contaminated Tokyo Bay will be.

I sincerely hope that the forests in the hearts of the residents along the Tama River will be growing and thriving more and more.

Caption; A tree-planting ceremony in 2012

Special Article

The Largest Number of Sweetfish since the Start of the Survey Coming Up the Tama River!

Takahiro Kondo

Assistant Manager, Regional Collaboration, River Environment Section

Keihin River Office, Kanto Regional Development Bureau,

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport

The Tama River, originating on Mt. Kasatori in Yamanashi Prefecture, with 138 km of total trunk river route length to Tokyo Bay, is a Class 1 river as well as an urban river that mainly flows down through Tokyo and Kanagawa Prefecture.

In this year’s survey on the number of sweetfish migrating upstream in the Tama River, conducted at the Chofu Intake Weir by the Keihin River Office, an estimated 2.85 million sweetfish, the largest number since the survey started in 2008, were confirmed to come up the river. Though the estimated number of the migrating sweetfish in the Tama River declined to about 0.47 million in the 2009 survey, the number has been on the rise after that, and this year about 0.65 million more sweetfish were confirmed as compared to the 2011 survey.

This year’s survey was conducted from March 23 to June 12, 2012 by visual counting from the top of the Chofu Intake Weir located closest to the estuary among all weirs of the Tama River. The estimated number of sweetfish was calculated after
checking the accuracy of counting.

Although the specific factors causing this increase of sweetfish migrating upstream in the river have yet to be elucidated, factors thought to have contributed include the improved water quality of the river accomplished by constructing sewerage
systems and the preparation of spawning beds by local fishery cooperatives.

In FY 1991, the Tama River was designated a model river for The Project for Creating Rivers That Fish Can Easily Ascend which was aimed at improving the environment for fish migrating up- or down-stream. The Tama River was the first
to be designated in Japan. In this project, fishways were installed with any structures or barriers built across the river. As a result, migratory fish such as sweetfish came to be confirmed upstream. We think that the improved river environment
for the fish to ascend or descend is also one of the factors behind the rise in the number of ascending sweetfish.

The installed fishways need appropriate maintenance to preserve their proper operation after completion. Therefore, in 2007, the organizations related to fishway management in the Tama River system gathered to set up a liaison committee of fishway maintenance. It formulated “The Guideline for Fishway Maintenance in the Tama River (Draft),” stipulating fundamentals of the fishway maintenance scheme, making sure that the entire river system carries out the standardized
maintenance based on this guideline. In this committee, all parties in the entire river system related to the fishway maintenance come together to study maintenance measures, so that they can implement maintenance on a regular basis
from the same point of view.

With the recent considerable increase in the number of sweetfish migrating upstream in the Tama River, TV stations and newspapers are covering this topic, resulting in the rise of residents’ awareness towards the river environment. In order to
preserve the ecosystem of the Tama River, a valuable natural space remaining in the urban areas, we would like to work together with the riverside municipalities, parties concerned, citizens, etc., conduct continuous maintenance of fishways, and also endeavor to further improve the river environment.

Website of Keihin River Office

http://www.ktr.mlit.go.jo/keihin/

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