The role of biodiversity concerns in regional and nationwide forest management plans of Japan -Do forest plans promote conservation?

Abstract

To clarify how regional biodiversity is conserved by forest management plans, we compared the regional forest plans of Japan with nationwide forest plans and the condition of the forest at each regional level. Some important considerations (e.g., riparian areas) for conservation and maintenance of biodiversity in forest production landscapes were omitted from the descriptions in some regional plans but were nevertheless included in the nationwide forest plan. In regional forest plans, “Designated specific forests that are important forests for conserving biodiversity were conserved” are essential in the plans, and other forests were not targeted for biodiversity conservation. Thus, land sparing (land-use specialization) was applied strictly, and major measures to conserve biodiversity in regional forest plans, rather than land sharing (multiple-use forestry), were taken. In particular, forestry-active prefectures emphasized that forests other than those already conserved were not considered for biodiversity conservation in the regional plans. The regional variability of biodiversity conservation in the regional plans depended mainly on the economic conditions of the forests. Since climate conditions and the natural disturbance regime have an impact on biodiversity in Japan, biogeographical variations should be incorporated into forest management plans. Top-down governance for forestry and biodiversity and decentralization to reflect regionality should be considered and reconciled.