Story : Contest for Green Local Governments

JFS Newsletter No.1 (September 2002)

In Japan, many prefectures and local municipalities have given themselves labels as "Environmental Prefecture" and "Environmental City." Increasingly, local governments recognize that they should tackle environmental problems at the level nearest to the and many local governments have started progressive initiatives in various fields.

Which local government is the most advanced in its activities for the environment? Which deserves to be called "Japan's Freiburg"? (Freiburg, Germany is seen by many as a model for environmentally sound cities.) The Environmental Capital Contest was conducted by an environmental NGO in November 2001 with the aim of promoting initiatives in environmental fields and exchanges among local governments.

The following is a translation of a report and some examples of top-ranking local governments from "Global Net" (2002 May edition) issued by Global Environmental Forum.
(http://www.gef.or.jp/en/index.html)

Toward an Environmental Capital in Japan

In this Environmental Capital Contest, a team of Japanese non-governmental organization s prepared a questionnaire. Local governments who wanted to participate responded. The total scores for each local government were calculated, based on a number of points given for each component of the questionnaire.

The questionnaire comprises of 79 questions in 16 sections, covering all aspects of the environment in administration at the local government level Agenda 21, basic plan for environment, management systems, information disclosure, eco-offices, green facilities, exchanges with other local government, empowerment of citizens, environmental education, natural environment, water, landscape and parks, transportation, energy, waste and industry.

This first contest produced no winner. Despite the participation of 93 cities, towns and wards, no local government won the title "Environmental Capital of Japan," as none of them reached the minimum grade-70 percent of the potential full score (of 400 points). Nevertheless, the scores made it possible to rank the governments.

The top ten local governments were as follows:

1. City of Nagoya
2. City of Fukuoka
3. City of Sendai
4. City of Kita-kyushu
5. City of Kumamoto
6. City of Amagasaki
7. Itabashi Ward in Tokyo
8. City of Tajimi
9. City of Ube, City of Fujisawa

Innovative examples of the top three cities

1. City of Nagoya reduces waste by 23%

The City of Nagoya implemented their Basic Plan for the Environment on an organization-wide basis. When any division in the government requests a budget to implement projects stipulated in the Basic Plan for Environment, the Division of the Environment supports and collaborates to ensure that the project is implemented. They give priority and strongly support innovative measures as "leading projects."

Collaborative approaches for the environment are adopted among many divisions, including General Affairs, Citizen's Economy, Environment, Health and Welfare, Greenery and Civil Engineering, Water and Sewage, Transportation and Education.

After abandoning plans for a landfill and land reclamation project at the nearby Fujimae tidal flats, the City of Nagoya declared a "garbage emergency" and started all-out efforts to reduce waste, with a goal of reducing waste disposal by 200,000 metric tonnes.

The collection of bottles and cans was expanded to cover all areas of the city, marked bags to indicate garbage contents were introduced, container boxes were abolished and the recovery of resource from plastics and used paper was started. A new system to collect packages and containers after sorting was introduced with only a brief preparation period, and leading to some confusion among citizens at first. A hotline set up by the city to answer questions from citizens didn't stop ringing during the first several days.

Before the introduction of the new system, explanation meetings in each area were conducted approximately 2,300 times, with involvement of all staff of the city government. These new initiatives attracted high expectations and some people were doubtful about the effectiveness. But despite the initial confusion, many citizens have joined the effort to tackle the "Garbage Emergency," leading to the 23 percent reduction of waste in two years.

The City of Nagoya is also trying to discourage its own employees from driving their cars to work, by introducing different amounts for the traditional commuting allowance: those who commute by bicycle receive double the normal amount, and those who commute by car get only half. The city is also proactive in its procurement activities. For example, the amount of stationery purchased by each division can be summarized instantly using the city government's local area network (LAN) system.

2. City of Fukuoka focuses on bicycles, Sendai produces a leading white paper on environment

The second-ranked City of Fukuoka and third-ranked City of Sendai presented many leading projects and examples. Fukuoka promotes the use of bicycles by issuing a unique commuter pass valid for city-run subways and a city-run parking lot for bicycles. They also collect abandoned bicycles and bring some to the city hall for staff to share. A team of "Bicycle Angels" patrols the city center to promote appropriate parking for bicycles.

City of Sendai issues a model "white paper on the environment" and "environmental report" that are easy-to-understand for their citizens. White papers and other documents published by other local government often fail to present information in a way that is useful for their citizens to read. In contrast, Sendai describes the Basic Plan for Environment, progress and evaluation of environmental management as well as future challenges in an easy-to-understand manner, soliciting input and opinions from citizens.

Leading examples from other municipalities

1. City of Toyoda (Aichi Prefecture) removes and bans vending machines

The City of Toyota started to remove soft drink vending machines from city hall and facilities run by the city in 1999, and banned new installations of vending machines. These actions reportedly met strong resistance from the vending machine industry and organization that install the machines, and pressure to approve new installations has not abated.

The electrical consumption of one vending machine is equivalent to that of one entire household. By removing the vending machines, energy has been saved and waste reduced. The city also succeeded in removing garbage bins from the city hall and reducing office waste.

The City of Toyota established a "Conservation Fund for Water" by adding a municipal water charge of one yen per tonne to preserve the forests that serve as the watershed for the city. The funds are offered to local municipalities upstream to conduct water resource conservation projects. With these funds, the city, in cooperation with upstream towns and villages, takes care of abandoned forest plantations to increase the water-retaining capacity of forests and prevent landslides.

2. City of Takamatsu (Kagawa Prefecture) promotes bicycle rentals

The City of Takamatsu set up bicycle rental stations at Takamatsu train stations and a shopping mall for the cycling enjoyment of many visitors and citizens. The Traffic Safety Section of Civil Engineering Division started this bicycle rental project in May 2001. The system is very convenient for users: they can rent a bicycle at any station and return it to any station.

Many people visit Takamatsu City on business or for shopping, particularly from islands in the Seto Inland Sea, and enjoy cycling with this bicycle rental service. The rental fee is 100 yen for one full day (24 hours) and contracts for one or three months are also available. Students can get a discount. The city plans to set up stations at Kuribayashi Station and other shopping malls, with the hope of promoting the use of public transportation.

3. Yusuhara Town (Kochi Prefecture) promotes wind power and forest conservation

Yusuhara, with a population of 4,800, is a forestry town surrounded by mountains. Forestry as an industry has been on decline. Now the town utilizes the strong mountain winds for power generation and promotes forest preservation. Two wind turbines standing in the Shikoku karst high plains produce approximately 40 million yen (320,000 US dollars) of revenue per year from electricity sales. Half of the income is used as a subsidy for forest preservation. The subsidy is given only to forests certified by the Forest Stewardship Council.

The FSC certifies forests that are under proper forest management with environmental consideration. Yusuhara Town regards FSC certification as a boost for its regional revitalization efforts, which try to make the most of the town's location and environmental conservation perspective. The aim of the subsidy is to increase the area of forest under FSC-certification.

(From Global Net 2002 May Written by Ikuo Sugimoto, Kazuaki Sakamoto, Isao Hirata, Kazuhiko Inoue, Kumiko Yoshihashi, Yoko Uchida and Ikumi Hara: the contest was coordinated by Citizens Environmental Foundation) Global Environmental Forum :
http://www.gef.or.jp/en/index.html