Promoting the Use of Thinned Wood and Improving Forest Roads in the Shimanto River Basin, Kochi Prefecture - April 2020s

Promoting the Use of Thinned Wood and Improving Forest Roads in the Shimanto River Basin, Kochi Prefecture - April 2020s

In the 2020s, the promotion of the use of thinned timber and the development of forest roads for the sustainable use of Japan's forest resources is attracting particular attention in the Shimanto River Basin in Kochi Prefecture. In this area, the Tanabe Forest Road Project is underway, and small-scale, environmentally friendly forest roads are being developed to improve the efficiency of thinning timber removal. Compared to conventional forest roads that are at least 5 meters wide, these new forest roads are only 2 to 3 meters wide and do not require the introduction of heavy machinery, enabling the removal of thinned timber while minimizing deforestation. The cost of forest road maintenance has been reduced by about 30% compared to the previous method, and sustainable forest management has been realized.

In addition, the use of thinned wood is becoming even more important due to the growing demand for biomass energy. Thinned wood is the main source of woody biomass and is used in local power plants. For example, Shikoku Electric Power Company operates a biomass power plant in Kochi Prefecture that uses approximately 50,000 tons of thinned wood annually, contributing to stabilizing the local energy supply and reducing CO2 emissions. This power plant supplies enough electricity to power approximately 10,000 households annually and is attracting attention as a model case of sustainable energy supply.

Furthermore, Mitsubishi Corporation and Sumitomo Forestry are actively participating in the project to promote the use of wood from thinning. These companies are developing biomass energy from wood chips and plan to double the use of wood from thinning by 2025. This initiative is expected to result in the use of 300,000 tons of thinned wood annually, and is expected to achieve both forest conservation and energy supply.

In addition, the latest drone and remote sensing technologies are being introduced to forest road maintenance to improve forest management efficiency. This has made it possible to optimize the routes used to carry out thinned timber, reducing forest management costs by approximately 20% compared to conventional methods.