Activities referred to as “collaborative nature restoration” are growing into nationwide grassroots movements. They aim to restore nature, which has been lost or damaged as a result of large-scale development, by human hands on a sustainable basis at minimal cost. Examples of such activities include installing a hand-made fishway on a river that has become impassable to anadromous fish due to development and tilling to overturn stones in a riverbed so as to create gapsthat serve as habitats for endangered species. IHI, a company that offers products associated with infrastructure improvement, continues to implement “collaborative nature restoration” activities with the aim of “creating a world where nature and technology work in unity.”
The project site is a water channel used to convey agricultural wastewater to the Echi River, which flows across the Koto Plain in eastern Shiga Prefecture. The Echi River’s drainage basin is home to the factory of IHI Construction Service Co., Ltd. (IIK), an IHI Group company that manufactures infrastructure-related products such as bridges and water gates. Because IIK had already delivered a system for centralized control of the distribution of agricultural water diverted from the Echi River, in 2021 IIK launched a demonstration experiment on effective use of agricultural water and water management efficiency.
Kimiaki Yoshida, Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Solutions Group, Strategy Development Department, Social Infrastructure Business Area, IHI, recalled the experiment: “I became involved in the demonstration experiment in Higashi Omi City from the angle of developing technologies for disaster prevention and damage mitigation. When searching for project opportunities and technological needs, I felt the need to take action to restore nature and conserve the environment.”
He came to feel that way because of the changes in how people think about coal-fired thermal power plants, which he had engaged in research and development of for many years. “Today, people have negative views due to a point of view that considers in the eyes of environmental conservation and decarbonization, a situation I never expected. My career taught me that being technologically advanced is not enough; being socially accepted is also very important is also very important.”
As a first step, the experiment members visited and observed the actual place. As they interviewed local residents, problems gradually became evident. The Koto Plain is an alluvial fan, and water tends to go underground. As the streamflow decreases, the river may become intermittent . The Echi River is inhabited by Biwa trout, a native fish species that migrates upriver for spawning. If the river becomes intermittent, the trout cannot migrate upriver. Therefore, local fishers were thinking about potential ways to increase the river flow. The water of the Echi River is also utilized for agriculture, making the river an important source of water for farmers in the drainage basin.
“If the entire local community can manage the water better, the community can become more affluent and happier. I thought we must identify the kind of infrastructure needed to achieve the goals of water utilization, flood control, and conservation of the local natural environment,” Yoshida explained.
After reaching such a thought, he had the opportunity to meet Professor Kentaro Taki of the Department of Environmental Policy and Planning, School of Environmental Science, the University of Shiga Prefecture. Shiga is one of the most advanced prefectures in Japan in the field of risk assessment for flood control. The prefecture has released the Local Safety Map, which visualizes flood risks in various areas, including homes and workplaces, and ProfessorTaki was involved in the simulations conducted to create the map.
When the Echi River becomes intermittent, fish can no longer live there. If such a situation occurs, Prof. Taki expected, the fish in the river will escape to the agricultural drainage channel that runs alongside the river. Therefore, if the drainage channel is turned into a habitable environment, the number of surviving fish can be expected to increase, causing the fish in the river to breed and increase.
Yoshida continued: “They asked me whether I was interested in working with them in the collaborative nature restoration project for the water channel. The philosophy of the collaborative nature restoration scheme, which aims to build upon small changes we can carry out by making effective use of resources and knowledge, was interesting to me as a collaborative movement.”
In October 2022, Yoshida conducted the first onsite investigation together with Prof. Taki, Higashi Omi City employees, and members of Yurinkai, a non-profit organization formed to preserve the neighboring forests that conducts various nature experience and environmental education programs in the Riverside Life-Supporting Forest (Kawabe Ikimono no Mori) located adjacent to the drainage channel. As Prof. Taki had expected, many fish had escaped into the drainage channel, indicating its high potential as a fish refuge. In view of this result, Yoshida again recruited members to collaborate from within IHI.
Together with the six members who responded to Yoshida’s call under the internal second-job system, the project team conducted a water channel investigation, fish identification , and cleanup, and the project members participated in a university environmental field work program led by Prof. Taki. As an experimental approach, a fish-friendly environment was created by a technique called the “stream barbs,” which involves placing stones in the water channel to cause changes in flow patterns, and the resultant changes were then observed.
Because some positive results were obtained, a more detailed channel investigation was conducted with the help of a specialist from the Japan River Front Research Center, a public interest incorporated foundation working on projects associated with river environments and ecosystems as well as riverfront community management. Based on the results thus obtained, onsite seminars were held to discuss Echi River nature restoration with local residents, fishery operators , land improvement organization members, and administrators; suggested ideas and improvement action items were documented. At present, investigations and onsite activities are still underway.
Hifumi Tabata of Turbomachinery & Machine Elements Department, Technology Platform Center, Corporate Research & Development Division, who participated in the project under the internal second-job system, shared the following with a smile: “I decided to participate because my main job seldom involves me in nature and because the term ‘collaborative nature restoration’ sounded interesting to me, and, as it turned out, I just got hooked.”
Tabata continued: “When I was a kid, I played in nature, but today it may not be as easy for children to find places to play as it was in those days. As a father, that is how I feel. A levee construction project for flood control should not end upon completion of the construction work . Fish and other animals and plants must come back to the site, and I want to make sure that the structure is something that children can touch . I want to do something to help—that really motivates me.”
Another member, Michiko Iwase of Procurement Group, Administration Department, Corporate Research & Development Division, said: “I have a love for nature and living things. Although I am not a technical specialist, Yoshida-san said that there was no need for me to hesitate to participate. That’s why I decided to be part of it.” As a matter of fact, river cleanup activities began because of Iwase’s comment, “there’s a lot of garbage in the water channel, and I don’t like it. ”
Iwase continued: “We cleaned up the river and placed barb structures. When I went to the site the next time, looking forward to what was coming, I found it had changed. That was moving. The term ‘nature restoration’ sounds difficult, but things can definitely be changed for the better by making small adjustments. I hope such little changes will help to reverse the gradual deterioration of the planet, even if in a small way.”
Still, the members also realized the difficulties inherent in dealing with a river due to it being a public resource. Iwase remarked: “Some people fish , while others use the river for agriculture. Though the river is a publicly owned resource, people fight over it. I saw with my own eyes some conflicts in which as the opinions of some people became stronger, others faced difficulties.”
Yoshida agreed: “When dealing with a water management problem, it is difficult for one company to solve the problem because there are numerous stakeholders. If a company like us tries to find a solution to, say, a community problem or a social problem —not just problems involving nature restoration—it is necessary to address the problem in cooperation with such stakeholders. That’s the lesson I had to learn again.”
As the phrase “small-scale collaborative nature restoration” denotes, so far the project has had no impacts because “the project is exceptionally ‘small’ for IHI,” Yoshida confessed, noting, “but I have gained a very important mindset.”
“When we enter an unknown field of business, we will not make any progress if we say that we can’t do it because we don’t have any resources or expertise. The attitude of trying to find ways to achieve the objective by doing whatever we can is the mindset required for developing new business. It is important that more people are capable of taking such an approach within the company. I hope this project will serve as an example of that.”
IHI is also making preparations, jointly with Higashi Omi City, the water channel’s owner, to apply for registration as a “nature-friendly site” certified by the Ministry of the Environment in order to generate business value for the Company. As accountability for biodiversity preservation efforts is required of businesses under the TNFD (Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures) framework, the company’s “ongoing preparations to register a ‘nature-friendly site’ will serve as a good opportunity for disseminating information about IHI’s activities.”
Yoshida looked back on the project activities: “It was really thanks to the twists and turns of fate and lucky encounters. There are things that we can’t achieve on our own, but as we took action and disseminated information, people in various positions and from various walks of life lent us a helping hand and gave us opportunities so that the project could progress to successful implementation. I have learned that when we try to do something, so long as it is something good, there will always be some people who will feel the same way.”
Even if at the start it is a small project, there is potential to cause a great social impact by finding people who share the will to solve the same social problem and then cooperating and collaborating with them from various positions. The concept and techniques of “collaborative nature restoration” are likely to prove to be an important clue for IHI in enabling the small seed of the project to bud and bear large flowers.
On November 11th, 2024, this project was certified as a “nature-friendly site” by the Ministry of the Environment.
Related information
December 06, 2024Corporate Citizenship
IHI Receives Eco Sustainability Certificate from Ministry of the Environment
https://www.ihi.co.jp/en/sustainable/topics/2024/detail/1201241_13714.html
With assistance from:
Kimiaki Yoshida, Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Solutions Group, Strategy Development, Social Infrastructure Business Area
Hifumi Tabata, Turbo and Mechanical Element Technology Department, Technology Platform Center, Corporate Research & Development Division
Michiko Iwase, Procurement Group, Administration Department, Corporate Research & Development Division
Yuka Oishi, Technology Public Relations Group, Technology Planning Department, Corporate Research & Development Division
