Activities of the Acorn Society - July 1995 with historical background

Activities of the Acorn Society - July 1995 with historical background

In Japan in the mid-1990s, the degradation of the natural environment brought about by rapid urbanization and development since the period of high economic growth was becoming a social problem. In particular, the abandonment of management of planted and secondary forests was progressing nationwide, and there were fears that forest ecosystems were being weakened. This was due to the declining profitability of the forestry industry and a decrease in the population of farming and mountain villages, which led to a neglect of satoyama management, and it was widely recognized that forests would fall into disrepair without human intervention. In addition, the Rio Earth Summit in 1992 made "sustainable development" and "biodiversity conservation" international issues, and environmental protection activities at the local level began to flourish in Japan.

It was against this backdrop that the citizens' group "Acorn Club" was born. Akiko Fukui, the executive director of the group, emphasized that continuous human involvement is essential to protect forests, saying, "Secondary forests and artificial forests that have been touched once will destroy the ecosystem if left unattended. The activity was symbolized by the slogan "One acorn per child," in which children picked up acorns and planted saplings together with their parents, with the hope of passing on the forest to future generations.

Members actually engaged in tree-planting activities, and by sharing their experiences, they developed a sense that "protecting the forest is connected to their own lives and future". The article introduces a member saying, "I look forward to watching the saplings I planted grow," which shows that nature conservation was becoming a daily concern for citizens as well as experts and government officials.

Given the social conditions of the time, the activities of the Acorn Club were a pioneering effort in "satoyama restoration" and "citizen-participatory environmental protection. In 1995, the voices of these citizen groups played an important role in connecting environmental policy and local communities.