In the Era when Rivers Nurture Towns and Towns Nurture Rivers Natural Regeneration of the Mogami River Basin, Nagai City, Yamagata Prefecture (1990s-2000s)

In the Era when Rivers Nurture Towns and Towns Nurture Rivers Natural Regeneration of the Mogami River Basin, Nagai City, Yamagata Prefecture (1990s-2000s)
Nagai City in Yamagata Prefecture developed as a water town where the Okitami-no-gawa and Okitami-shirakawa Rivers flow into the Mogami River, and fostered a water culture centering on boat transport. In the 1990s, there was a nationwide movement to rethink river administration, which had focused on flood control, and in 1997, the River Law was revised to include the maintenance and preservation of the river environment as a new objective.
Citizen-participatory nature restoration efforts centering on the Okishino River, a tributary of the Mogami River, included the restoration of vegetation, the construction of fishways, the creation of waterfront biotopes, and the placement of natural stones to create a variety of streams. Citizens' groups continued to hold cleanups and water quality surveys and observation events, and river conservation became an everyday activity of the local residents. In the 2000s, the river became familiar to residents again as a place close to their daily lives, with the construction of walking paths, a waterfront space, a landing place for boats, and cherry blossom trees, etc., through the Kawamachi development system.
The river is now being utilized as a place for education, and schools are conducting surveys of water quality and living organisms as part of their comprehensive studies, expanding learning that links local water culture and nature. These efforts have provided an opportunity to review local history and lifestyles through river restoration, and to share the viewpoint of nurturing the town from the watershed. Nagai City's practice is highly regarded as a pioneering model that combines nature restoration and citizen participation.