Restore 100 Hectares of the Miyagi Coastal Forest

It has been the 14^th year since the Coastal Forest Restauration Project was launched on the coastal area of Natori City, Miyagi Prefecture, following the Great East Japan Earthquake which caused devastting damage in March 11, 2011.

Initally, the project was started out as a 10-year plan with the total estimated cost of one billion yen, and 370,198 of black pine trees were planted over the area of 103.05 hectares. In March 2021, the first 10year project ended, and immediately moved to the second 10-year plan mainly for maintenance work such as weeding, making drainge canals, and thinning. All in all, the project has been on steady track.

Currently, the on-site work consists mainly of weeding and thinning. So far, about 37,000 trees have benn thinned over the area of 47.44 hectares. Mostly, thinning work has been carried out by local professional forestry workers while local residents and volunteers, many of whom are repeaters, from various parts of the country performaing supporing job. The cut wood is re-used as chips and biomass.

Meanwhile, the United Nations has proclaimed May 22 as the International Biodiversity Day. The coastal forest restoration project has been promoted on the standpoint of conserving biodiversity, and established “biodiversity-friendly zones” in the project site. On the basis of the emvironment impact studies conducted by researchers and volunteers up to 2019, 1,272 plants and animals, and 69 wild birds were confirmed in the area.

Moreover, according to the recent preliminary suveys made by the Natori field manager of the project, the annual carbon dioxide absorption rate is estimated to record 606 tons on the coastal forest.

There are a number of factors that contributed to the successful operations of the coastal forest restoration project, and among other things, the following are said to be cited as the main ones:

1. The project has been implemented under major public-private sector cooperation agrements; The national governmnet, Miyagi prefectural government and Natori municipal government are are all involved in the promotion of the project.
2. It has been carried out with efficient integrated operatin from raising seedlings by local disaster-affected farmers, planting trees by professional forest workers, local residetns and volunteers, and nurturing of forest.
3. OISCA has been utilizing private sector vitality and private funding (project funded solely by donations and grants from private companies and organizations, and private indidivuals in Japan and overseas).
4. Up to the end of March, 2024, the project has created the total number of jobs for 10,412 persons in the local area, and a total of 14,024 volunteers have taken part in the project.

OISCA is thankful to all supporters, for their generous contributions, and we look forward to continued cooperation.