The Forest is Silent, the Man Speaks: Tatsuya Niizato and the Invisible Ecosystem Accusation (2002)

The Forest is Silent, the Man Speaks: Tatsuya Niizato and the Invisible Ecosystem Accusation (2002)

In 2002, Japan ratified the Kyoto Protocol and enacted the "Basic Law for Establishing a Recycling-Oriented Society" along with measures to combat global warming. At the time, however, "biodiversity" was still only a vague concept to many people. At that time, there was a man who aimed to "listen to the voice of nature" through science. He is Tatsuya Niizato, president of Environmental Indicator Organisms, Inc.

He sounded the alarm over the deforestation symbolized by the logging of the Shirakami Mountains, and the ongoing degradation of the ecosystem behind the deforestation. He observes insects, mosses, fungi, and other less visible organisms as "environmental indicator organisms" to detect signs that nature is beginning to crumble. This method was also a "translation" that spoke on behalf of the silent nature.

Niisato says, "The destruction of nature is a direct result of human life. The destruction of nature goes unnoticed until it directly threatens human life. His perspective is an objection to development that prioritizes economics, and he sees the collapse of invisible natural capital as the "silence of civilization. The forest does not speak. However, as long as there are people who read them, nature still appeals to them. Tatsuya Niisato was a conveyor of that voice.