Author(s): Mahito Kamada, Yasunori Muto, Yota Imai
Linked Author(s): Mahito Kamada
Keywords: Climate change adaptation (CCA), ecosystem-based disaster risk reduction (Eco-DRR), flood control, hooded crane (Grus monacha), regulating service
Abstract: It is estimated that rainfall would be heavier from year to year and hence risk of flooding would be raised in Japan due to global warming. However, social condition of Japan has led to not allow constructing new infrastructure such as banks and dams, because of decrease of tax income due to rapid population decrease. In addition, cost for renewal and repairing of existing infrastructures will become double than that of the present by 2030. In the situation, it is necessary to set ecosystems as infrastructures for reducing disaster risk and are used for flood control. Difficulty in realizing the idea has come mostly from floodplain/wetland as the ecosystems for flood control have been replaced by paddy fields and owned by famers. Therefore, consensus building with farmers as well as the society is necessary. In order to support consensus building, I have established a research project composed of two kinds of studies. One is evaluation of retarding effect of paddy fields, which can visualize the value of paddy fields on reduction of flooding risk and give a scientific base to regal regulation of land use. Another is for giving farmers incentive to keep cropping without land use change through setting hooded crane as symbols of biodiversity and safe cropping. The hooded crane (Grus monacha) is rare bird species with large body size and hence it must be easy for consumers to imagine healthy paddy fields and to buy rice with high price. An example of ecosystem-based flood disaster risk reduction at Yolo County in USA is introduced as a prior case, at where flood control, rice cropping and biodiversity conservation are all achieved
Year: 2017