Minamata City Scores Highest in 8th Top Eco-City Contest

Copyright Citizens Environmental Foundation

Minamata City in Kumamoto Prefecture ranked top among 67 participating municipalities in the 8th Top Eco-City Contest of Japan, according to a March 31, 2009 announcement. The contest evaluates the environmental measures of local governments from the viewpoint of non-governmental organizations, and it was the third time for Minamata City to receive the highest score.

Inspired by a German forerunner, the contest was first held in 2001 in order to have municipalities compete for the prize, and thus increasingly promote their environmental programs. The National Eco-City Contest Network prepares a questionnaire covering 15 sections for municipalities to answer, and ranks them based on its own criteria.

Nagano City and Iida City, both in Nagano Prefecture, ranked second and third, respectively. Other top cities were also announced for each of the 15 sections, population size and two priority categories, as well as special awards for pioneering projects. The title of "Top Eco-City" was to be awarded to municipalities scoring 714 or more points (70 percent of the total 1,020 points) on the questionnaire, and scoring 90 percent or more in at least 3 out of the 15 sections, as well as meeting two other strict standards. None of the municipalities, however, earned the title this year.

Japan's 'Top Eco-City' Contest Providing a Path to a Sustainable Communities No.63 (November 2007)
http://www.japanfs.org/en/mailmagazine/newsletter/pages/
027839.html
5th 'Top Eco-City' Contest Encourages Eco-Cities (Related JFS article)
http://www.japanfs.org/en/pages/026383.html
The National Eco-City Contest Network
http://eco-capital.net/modules/contents/english/

Posted: 2009/07/16 06:00:15 AM