JICA Training Course on Conservation and Wise Use of Wetland in the Context of Implementing Ramsar Convention and CBD
From May 17 to June 29, 2010, we welcomed trainees from the Obihiro International Center of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for a group training course entitled Conservation and Wise Use of Wetlands in the Context of Implementing the Ramsar Convention and the Convention on Biological Diversity.
The aim of this course, which was held under the auspices of the Ministry of the Environment, is to promote the conservation and wise use of wetlands. Participants address challenges facing their countries and plan/implement specific problem-solving projects to combat them. On this year's course (the second of its kind), we received five participants working in related fields - including government officials in charge of natural conservation policies and nature conservation rangers - from India, Malaysia and the Philippines.
The training was held in four locations - suburban Tokyo, Fujiyoshida City, Okinawa Prefecture and the Kushiro region in Hokkaido. The participants visited eco-tour destinations and environmental education facilities in these areas in addition to awareness-raising facilities and research institutions, thereby gaining insights into wetland conservation and wise use based on the philosophies of the Ramsar Convention and the Convention on Biological Diversity. Based on ideas drawn from these experiences, they then formulated project proposals and presented them on the last day of the training course. The proposals were related to wetland conservation workshops, environmental education activities for local schools and other initiatives, and took local culture and social circumstances into consideration.
During their stay in Japan, the participants also had a number of opportunities to interact with locals, including a home-visit program, and learned more about Japanese people and their lifestyles.

Eco Life Fair 2010 - Blessings of Wetlands: Tourism and Local Goods of Ramsar Sites
The Ministry of the Environment held the Eco Life Fair 2010 in Tokyo's Yoyogi Park on June 5 and 6, 2010.
The fair's organizing committee, which consists of individuals from the Board of Municipalities Related to Japanese Ramsar Sites, Ramsar Center Japan and Wetlands International Japan (WIJ), runs a booth under the banner of Blessings of Wetlands: Tourism and Local Goods of Ramsar Sites every year.
Again this year, as part of its efforts to raise awareness of nature issues, tourist destinations and environmental conservation activities in the Kushiro region, KIWC supplied the booth with posters, pamphlets, environmental education kits and other materials for distribution and display featuring the four local Ramsar sites of Kushiro-shitsugen, Akkeshi-ko/Bekambeushi-shitsugen, Kiritappu-shitsugen and Akan-ko).
This year's Eco Life Fair attracted 70,000 visitors over two days, and the booth showcasing Ramsar sites throughout the nation enjoyed a high level of attention.
Information about the booth is available on the WIJ website.

Public Participation Survey on the Restored River Environment - Summer 2010
(Project to mark the 30th anniversary of Kushiro Wetland's registration under the Ramsar Convention)
On July 24, 2010, we conducted an environmental survey involving locals in the Kushiro River's Kayanuma District in the town of Shibecha. The area is one of the sites for the Kushiro Wetland's ongoing nature restoration project.
In the 1980s, part of the Kushiro River was straightened in its middle course for the purposes of flood control and land use. The straightening work took place in the Kayanuma District at the northern end of Kushiro Shitsugen National Park. After Kushiro Wetland was designated as a national park in 1987, however, the focus of people's interest shifted from development to nature conservation. At around the same time, problems surfaced that were considered a result of sediment discharge into the wetland due to the straightening of the river, including aridification in the central area and consequent changes in wetland vegetation.
In response, the Kushiro Wetland Nature Restoration Council began work in 2007 to restore the old channel in the straightened section of the Kushiro River over a distance of approximately two kilometers as part of the Kushiro Wetland Nature Restoration Project. Water was allowed to flow into the old channel in February 2010.
KIWC conducted a survey involving local residents on the environment of the restored water channel on July 24, 2010. The aim of the survey, which was implemented to mark the 30th anniversary of Kushiro Wetland's registration as a Ramsar site, was to raise interest in the wetland among locals and deepen their understanding of the nature restoration project. Approximately 30 people participated.
During the investigation, Hisashi Shinsho (a KIWC senior technical member), Tsutomu Hariu (a curator of Kushiro City Museum and a KIWC technical member), Yachiyo Takashima (a KIWC technical member) and Shigeharu Terui (a representative of the Environment Grasp Promotion Network and a KIWC technical member) served as instructors, and the participants investigated aquatic organisms, vegetation, and soil composition near the river among other considerations. Their work confirmed the state of piles of sediment carried by floodwater from upstream and the growth of different plants according to the severity of flooding. They also discussed changes that the straightening work had brought to the natural environment of the river and its surrounding areas, and considered the environmental effects expected from the restoration of the old channel.
This survey was implemented with funding from the Hokkaido Environment Foundation based on donations from Asahi Breweries' Asahi Super Dry Tasty! For Tomorrow! project campaign.