Harmony and coexistence with the natural environment" has become an indispensable theme in urban planning and urban development.

Harmony and coexistence with the natural environment" has become an indispensable theme in urban planning and urban development.
While measures to maintain and preserve the natural environment that remains today are being proposed, "environmental restoration," in which the environment that has been destroyed by humans is actively restored, is becoming increasingly popular.
This trend is becoming increasingly evident in public works projects, which had previously focused exclusively on development, and the number of environmental restoration-type public works projects is also increasing.
MIC Corporation, headquartered in Niwa-gun, Aichi Prefecture, has been working to restore the natural environment in forests and waterside areas since its establishment in 1988, and is, in a sense, a bioneer in this field.
The company is involved in projects not only in Japan but also overseas.
We interviewed President Fumikazu Maeda, 52, who is tanned black from traveling around the field.
The company's theme is to restore the natural environment to its original state.
The company is currently involved in a wide range of businesses, from research, study, planning, design, tree planting guidance, and management to the supply of greening materials for restoration of the natural environment.
Prior to founding MIC, President Maeda was in the landscaping business and was also involved in industrial greening.
At that time, however, he began to question the uniformity and tastelessness of the trees planted around factories, which often resulted in the planting of exotic species.
He began to research plants that were originally native to the area, such as those found in the Chainsman's Woods and residential forests, and began to plant them in his company.
However, digging up native plants from the mountains and planting them there would be meaningless.
Therefore, they used the "pot seedling" method, in which acorns and other trees that had fallen in large quantities in the forests were collected, planted in pots, and raised to become seedlings.
The bot seedlings are easy to carry and can be obtained without destroying nature.
The planting of trees using these methods led him to lean toward the restoration of the natural environment, and in 1988 he became independent and established MIC in the form of an environment-creating venture company.
This method of planting seedlings based on vegetation surveys for the purpose of restoring nature is an ecological method advocated by ecologist Akira Miyawaki, professor emeritus at Yokohama National University (currently director of the International Center for Ecological Research).
The concept of restoring vegetation in the direction of "local natural forests," "extreme facies forests," and "potential natural vegetation" was also the concept behind the creation of the Meiji Shrine forest, which was afforested from 1914.
President Maeda studied under Professor Miyawaki, and MIC has been practicing and promoting Professor Miyawaki's theory.
To date, MIC has worked with Professor Miyawaki on vegetation surveys, design, and tree planting at more than 300 locations.
National roads, by-bus sides, parks, shopping centers, and schools.
Even in places where environmental conditions are harsh, the trees are cultivated to a certain degree before planting, so the planting rate is high, according to the company.
The company is also involved in rainforest restoration not only in Japan but also overseas.
During MC's rainforest reforestation project in Malaysia from 1991 to 1993, he and Professor Miyawaki flew to the site to conduct a survey.
He collected native seeds, produced bot seedlings, and was in charge of a series of tasks from on-site surveying to design and construction supervision for the tree planting.
Riparian Restoration Project.
Meanwhile, since 1992, the company has been focusing on waterside restoration as well as forest restoration.
The "Bestman System," which was developed in 1992 through a technical tie-up with the German company Bestman, is proving to be a powerful tool in this area.
In this system, mats or rolls made of coconut fiber are planted with aquatic plants in advance and placed at the water's edge.
Instead of the conventional method of revetment, in which concrete or rock is used to harden the shoreline to prevent erosion, this system enables "vegetated revetment," in which aquatic plants are formed to protect the shoreline.
In addition to preventing erosion by binding the soil with the roots of aquatic plants, vegetated revetments are expected to provide habitats for fish and birds, and purify the water quality by absorbing, adsorbing, and depositing nitrogen and phosphorus.
Another major advantage is that, unlike concrete revetments, they are renewed every year through the natural cycle.
However, as with plantings, the risk of death or runoff is low, and vegetated revetments can be formed efficiently by growing the vegetation until it can withstand the environment to a certain degree and by providing a good base for the coconut fiber vegetation.
The coconut fiber, a byproduct of the project, is imported from Southeast Asia, where it was on the verge of being discarded, and reused.
The fiber is naturally decomposed in the water, but by that time, the plants have grown their roots.
In restoring the riparian environment, emphasis is also placed on the selection of plant species to be introduced.
In addition to native species, the company selects the most ecologically suitable plant species, taking into consideration water quality, flow velocity, and other factors.
The company has a 2,000-square-meter experimental research field and an 8,000-square-meter production field, where more than 25 species of aquatic plants are grown at any given time, including reeds, water bamboo, and other plants used to add color, such as kakibata.
Some of them take about three years to grow before they are ready for the field.
In order to meet a variety of needs, we have to produce a certain degree of anticipated production.
Increased orders from the government.
In the past, most orders came from the private sector, such as from factories, power plants, and corporate afforestation, but now 70% of the orders come from the government.
In the field of waterside environment restoration in particular, concern over the impact of concrete revetments on the ecosystem is growing year by year, and the River Law was revised in 1998 to include the perspective of "improvement and conservation of the river environment" in river administration, which had previously been focused on flood control and water utilization.
The Ministry of Construction, which is the river administrator, and prefectures are now obliged to formulate "river improvement plans" that reflect the opinions of local governments and local residents, and to disclose information on their projects.
The Ministry of Construction and the prefectures are also required to formulate "river improvement plans" that reflect the opinions of local governments and local residents, and to disclose information on their projects to river administrators.
I think we are entering an era in which construction work cannot be started unless the natural environment is made clear at local explanatory meetings.
As of December 1998, the Bestman System has already been adopted at 176 locations, and has been used at more than 40 locations every year since 1996.
The company's forests and waterside areas will be naturally enriched without human intervention in three years and one year, respectively.
President Maeda states, "Our job is to create only a script.
The plants that have been planted to restore the original vegetation blend into the surrounding environment over time, forming plant communities.
The company is one of the few companies that are able to combine the functionality of civil engineering, such as preventing river flooding, with the scenic qualities that landscape architects excel at, and is attracting attention as one of the few companies that can truly "restore nature" in the true sense of the word.
As people become more aware of environmental issues and nature, the company is likely to be in the limelight more and more.