It is desirable to facilitate an environment in which people and wildlife can effortlessly coexist.
Ten years have passed since the start of ongoing efforts to release toki crested ibis on Sado Island in Niigata Prefecture.
At present, about 370 crested ibis are living in the wild. The offspring of released birds account for more than half of the total. The Environment Ministry had set a goal of 220 toki birds living in the wild by around 2020, and the target was achieved in June.
The favorable population increase is a result of cooperation among people involved in the endeavor, including local residents.
Toki, with their distinctive light red feathers, used to be widely found in East Asia. In Japan, too, the elegant forms of toki birds were a common sight. They are scientifically named Nipponia nippon.
However, the population sharply declined due to such factors as excessive hunting for the purpose of obtaining their feathers and a decrease in the food they eat because of the spraying of farm chemicals on paddy fields. There was a time when the birds were blamed for ruining paddy feilds and were targeted as pests. In 2003, the indigenous toki population became extinct when the last wild toki died on Sado Island.
Toki birds are the most notable example of wildlife that has become extinct as a consequence of Japan's development. Correspondingly, the project to revive the population has attracted widespread attention as a symbolic effort to restore the natural environment.
The current toki population originates from five birds offered by China. Artificially bred birds have been repeatedly released into the wild.
Local support crucial
Although more than 100 million yen has been spent on the project in annual state expenditures, what must not be forgotten is the assistance from local residents. They reduced the use of agricultural chemicals and, even in winter, they filled their rice paddies with water to attract loaches and other prey, which toki can eat. Volunteers have also been involved in monitoring the birds and creating a waterside environment for them to forage for food.
All this shows that it takes efforts by many people to revive populations of once-extinct creatures.
It is safe to say that, with the increase in the wild toki population, the project has entered a new phase -- coexistence of the birds with people. Even greater efforts are needed to achieve that objective.
The rice grown by farming households that cooperate in the project is being sold as a specially designated product. Enhancing its brand value and increasing its sales will lead to an improvement in the motivation of rice producers. With farmers advancing in age, how to increase rice-cultivation acreage to accommodate a rise in the number of toki birds is a difficult challenge facing the endeavor.
In the future, it is expected that populations of migrated toki will be permanently established on Honshu. In that event, it would be necessary to take full of advantage of the expertise accumulated in the Sado Island project.
In the village of Tsurui, Hokkaido, every effort is being made to preserve tancho red-crowned cranes. In the city of Toyooka, Hyogo Prefecture, there have been enthusiastic activities aimed at protecting storks. As populations recover, problems have surfaced such as difficulties in securing habitat and damage caused to agricultural products.
Efforts should be made to exchange necessary information and find even better ways to facilitate symbiotic relations between people and wildlife.
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Dec. 2, 2018)
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