Increase of animal damage and the problem of mountain maintenance Question of balance and regeneration lost by mountain villages Postwar to the late 20th century

Increase of animal damage and the problem of mountain maintenance Question of balance and regeneration lost by mountain villages Postwar to the late 20th century

From the postwar period to the period of rapid economic growth, the number of people entering the mountains in Japan's mountain villages rapidly declined due to the decline of the forestry industry and a shrinking population. In the past, the mountains were routinely tended for the collection of firewood and coal, clearing of underbrush, and thinning of trees, all of which played a role in maintaining the health of the mountain ecosystem. However, with the influx of foreign timber, the worsening profitability of the forestry industry, and the exodus of young people to cities, mountain management stagnated, artificial forests lost light, the understory vegetation declined, and deer and wild boars came to inhabit the villages in search of food. The increase in animal damage symbolized the collapse of the boundary that had been maintained between the mountains and the village, and the loss of the balance between man and nature.

Mountain nature includes not only virgin forests, but also a wide range of secondary nature that is maintained through continuous human care. Satoyama, grasslands, and firewood and coal forests have been established as ecosystems only with the involvement of people, but if the leaders of these ecosystems are lost, the vegetation will be transformed and the ability to control flooding and the stability of the ecosystem will be compromised. The risk of disasters such as fallen trees and surface collapse has also increased, and lack of management has become a threat to mountain villages. Animal damage is not merely animal damage; it is a phenomenon that calls into question the sustainability of mountain villages, and a mechanism is needed to build an appropriate distance and relationship between mountains and people once again.