2006 Awards for Sustainable Regional Development Given to Eight Municipalities

In January 2007, Japan's Ministry of the Environment announced eight winners of the 2006 awards for sustainable, symbiotic and participatory approaches to regional development. These annual awards are presented to municipalities that have achieved outstanding results in community-based sustainable development.

One of the winners, Hikawa Town in Shimane Prefecture, is famous for its unique landscape of square-cut pine tree windbreaks planted to protect farmhouses from strong seasonal winds. The town's efforts to protect this landscape include a long-standing subsidy program for maintaining the windbreaks, including training of pruning specialists and using cut branches to condition soil.

The same town is also promoting environmental activities as a way of fulfilling the hopes of Ms. Aika Tsubota, who called on people to protect our planet in her comic "Secret of the Earth" before she passed away at the age of 12. The town established an environmental education center in April 2002 and every year sends junior high school students to Germany, an environmentally advanced country, for a study tour as part of their environmental education.

Other winners were Ichikawa City in Chiba Prefecture, Minato Ward in Tokyo, Uozu City in Toyoma Prefecture, Kyotango City in Kyoto Prefecture, Shirahama Town in Wakayama Prefecture, Ube City in Yamaguchi Prefecture and Konan City in Kochi Prefecture.

http://www.env.go.jp/en/index.html
- Musical Based on Child's Book Marks 10th Anniversary (Related JFS article)
http://www.japanfs.org/db/843-e
- 8 Municipalities Win 2005 Awards for Sustainable Regional Development (Related JFS article)
http://www.japanfs.org/db/1323-e

Posted: 2007/05/11 11:40:56 AM
Japanese version