Assessing the priorities of stakeholders regarding forest ecosystem services in Japan

Abstract The urgency to conserve and restore forests for their multifaceted benefits is escalating. We spotlight Japan's new Forest Environment Tax, a novel fiscal measure crafted to finance public‐beneficial ecosystem services through enhanced forest management. To convey the expert perceptions of the policy, we present the results of a survey targeting individuals immersed in Japan's forest policies, which aimed to assess attitudes toward the various benefits that forests provide. We classified forest functions into five core areas: wood production, soil and water conservation, mitigation of anthropogenic global warming, wildlife conservation and cultural utilities. We found that stakeholders closely involved in forest policies in Japan prioritize soil and water conservation as the paramount function over the mitigation of anthropogenic global warming. The results of the survey underscore the necessity of evaluating forest management practices and the importance of recognizing the multiple values that can be derived from forests. While there has been much attention to the carbon benefits of forests in the region and beyond, we emphasize the need to avoid an excessive focus on this single ecosystem service and to ensure that the other important multifunctional values of forests are not overlooked. Policy implications : We call for a more holistic approach that recognises the interdependence of the different functions of forests and the importance of valuing forests as natural capital in all their dimensions.

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Publication Details

Journal
Journal of Applied Ecology
Published
2025-03-05
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.70008
Citations
3
Primary Topic
Land Use and Ecosystem Services
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
3.32

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article

Assessing the priorities of stakeholders regarding forest ecosystem services in Japan

Kahoko Tochigi, Makoto Ehara, Masumi Hisano, Takanobu Aikawa et al.
3 citations
Journal of Applied Ecology
Land Use and Ecosystem Services
3.32
article

Assessing the priorities of stakeholders regarding forest ecosystem services in Japan

Kahoko Tochigi, Makoto Ehara, Masumi Hisano, Takanobu Aikawa, Kosuke Nakama, K. Suzuki, Rebecca Spake, Nobuya Mizoue, Wataru Hotta, Yosuke Kuramoto, Akira S. Mori, Masashi Soga, Rei Shibata, Kentaro Sano, Yohei Arata, Tetsuji Ota, Fumiko Nakao, Kazuhiro Kawamura, M Hirose
article en
3 citations

Abstract

Abstract The urgency to conserve and restore forests for their multifaceted benefits is escalating. We spotlight Japan's new Forest Environment Tax, a novel fiscal measure crafted to finance public‐beneficial ecosystem services through enhanced forest management. To convey the expert perceptions of the policy, we present the results of a survey targeting individuals immersed in Japan's forest policies, which aimed to assess attitudes toward the various benefits that forests provide. We classified forest functions into five core areas: wood production, soil and water conservation, mitigation of anthropogenic global warming, wildlife conservation and cultural utilities. We found that stakeholders closely involved in forest policies in Japan prioritize soil and water conservation as the paramount function over the mitigation of anthropogenic global warming. The results of the survey underscore the necessity of evaluating forest management practices and the importance of recognizing the multiple values that can be derived from forests. While there has been much attention to the carbon benefits of forests in the region and beyond, we emphasize the need to avoid an excessive focus on this single ecosystem service and to ensure that the other important multifunctional values of forests are not overlooked. Policy implications : We call for a more holistic approach that recognises the interdependence of the different functions of forests and the importance of valuing forests as natural capital in all their dimensions.

Journal of Applied EcologyVol. 62(4)
Hiroshima University (JP), Ministry of the Environment (JP), Kyushu University (JP), Yokohama National University (JP), National Institute for Environmental Studies (JP), Hokkaido University (JP), Kyoto University (JP), Kyoto College of Graduate Studies for Informatics (JP), Yamanashi Research Institute (JP), Hokkaido Research Organization (JP), Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute (JP), University of Southampton (GB), University of Reading (GB), Niigata University (JP), The University of Tokyo (JP), Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology (JP)
Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation
Openalex Percentile: Top 9%
Land Use and Ecosystem Services
3.32
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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