Date:Janurary 18, 2010 (Mon.) 16：00～18：00
Venue: Meeting Room, the 3rd floor, Inamori Foundation Memorial Hall
【Record of Activity】
The presenter, Professor Shuichi Kawai, described the status of industry reforestation in the four fields in Indonesia (Riau Biosphere, MHP, PT Wana Subur Lestari and Alas Kusma) that are being studied in surveys by the Research Institute for the Sustainable Humanosphere and under Initiative 3. He also explained environmental factors and technological efforts related to the sustainability of timber production in each region, mainly framing his discussion in terms of production, with a focus on the sustainability of the forest biosphere. Associate Professor Osamu Kozan introduced the process of analyzing diverse observational data collected on PT Wana Subur Lestari, and highlighted the important factors to consider when carrying out the sustainability assessment in peat swamp forests. On the relationship between the biosphere and the humanosphere, Associate Professor Fumikazu Ubukata went on to analyze differences in the logic of these two spheres (biosphere and humanoshere), as well as the differences in consciousness these logical differences give rise to. Associate Professor Ubukata also raised a wide range of points about issues such as what we mean by “forest” in the first place, what kind of differences separate natural forests from man-made forests, and what the position is of non-forest biospheres.
A variety of views were expressed in response to these presentations. Rather than classifying forests into categories such as “natural”/”man-made,” based on the existence or non-existence of human intervention, it was suggested that it would be better to evaluate them with a focus on their functions, including biodiversity, carbon fixation and material circulation. Some argued that it should be based on their cultural, ecological, and economical value. It was also suggested that industrial forests be thought of as the product of a balance of transition and human intervention. In addition to these discussions on interpretations of forest biosphere, suggestions were also made on a number of issues, such as the use of a sustainability assessment method using threshold values, which should be examined in thinking about Indonesian forest biospheres as tangible places for paradigm formation. In the future, there is a need to make an effort to further develop these arguments, centering on Initiative 2 and 3, and highlight the broader implications for forests.
(Sato Takahiro)