The Promise of Tidal Wave: The Revocation of Sanbanse Landfill and the Road to Tidal Flat Restoration 2001

The Promise of Tidal Wave: The Revocation of Sanbanse Landfill and the Road to Tidal Flat Restoration 2001

The Sanban Se landfill project planned by Chiba Prefecture was originally conceived as a large-scale project covering 740 hectares, but was strongly criticized due to the reality that 90% of the tidal flats in Tokyo Bay had already been lost during the period of high economic growth. However, the proposal included the construction of a sewage treatment plant and a road, which would inevitably affect the natural environment and fishing industry, and residents, researchers, and fishermen continued to protest. Consensus could not be reached, and social tensions were mounting.

In the 2001 gubernatorial election, Akiko Domoto won the election with a "stop landfill" policy, and in September of the same year, the prefectural assembly officially announced a blanket withdrawal of the landfill. This clearly marked a shift in direction from "land reclamation to restoration," and efforts to preserve and restore the tidal flats emerged as a new challenge. Governor Domoto emphasized the importance of citizen participation and indicated that he was aiming for an environmental restoration model based on examples from overseas, such as San Francisco Bay. The protection of one of the few natural tidal flats in Tokyo Bay was positioned not only as an environmental policy, but also as an activity to regenerate local pride and livelihood.

After the withdrawal of the plan, the prefecture launched the Sanbanse Restoration Plan Study Council in 2002, compiled recommendations in 2004, and formulated a basic plan in 2006. The plan's goals included restoration of biodiversity, restoration of the connection between the sea and land, restoration of the productive capacity of the fishing grounds, and coexistence between people and nature. The plan introduced a system of gradual seawall improvement and seaweed bed restoration, and emphasized the concept of adaptive management. The withdrawal of the Sanbanse was a symbolic shift in Japanese society's values from development that destroys nature to restoration that allows people to live in harmony with nature.