289
In the Tokushima Prefecture, Uo-tsuki-rin
were protected during the Edo Period as commons or feudal lords’ property. In the Meiji
period of the nineteenth century, after the Edo
Period, Uo-tsuki-rin were privatised and devastated due to lack of management by local people
( Bureau of Agriculture and Commerce 1894 ).
Water source forests were also devastated during
the Meiji period. Akkeshi Lake, in the Hokkaido
Island, is one example. Forests along the
Bekanbeushi and Ohoro Rivers fl owing into
Akkeshi Lake were cut and burned. Mud from
the rivers fl ooded the lake, causing massive
death of oysters (Inukai and Nishio 1937 ).
Cutting forests in Uo-tsuki-rin and remote areas
in the Meiji Period also damaged seaweed
meadows of Konbu, Saccharina spp. (Hamaguchi
2007 ), and herring that spawn on macrophytes in
coastal waters (Miura 1971 ). The concept of
Uo-tsuki- rin forests involves a form of integrated
coastal management that includes land use that
infl uences water quality of coastal waters. This
practice established the sustainable use of coastal
waters.
5
Conclusion
Some ecologists insist that intact marine protected areas are necessary for the preservation of
biodiversity. However, it is impossible to prohibit
people from entering and using marine protected
areas along the Japanese coast, where very dense
populations live. Lessons from the interaction of
local people with nature in the Edo Period demonstrate how optimal human use of coastal waters
increases the diversity of habitats, species and
productivity. Sato-umi practices of local people
in the Edo Period led to increases in biodiversity
and productivity, and the Uo-tsuki-rin concept
expands these practices to integrated coastal
management. Thus, the Sato-umi and Uo-tsukirin concepts could be used to optimise human
activities in coastal waters and forests.
Acknowledgements This study is part of the
Environmental Research and Technology Development
Fund (S13) of the Japanese Ministry of the Environment.
The authors thank the French-Japanese Oceanographic
Society for inviting the fi rst author to discuss the Sato-umi
concept at the 15th Colloquium of French-Japanese
Oceanography in France.
References
Anon. (2012) Harvesting seaweeds and seagrasses. Report
on Eco-activities in Lake Nakaumi 10:1–4. (in Japanese)
Bureau of Agriculture and Commerce (1894) Special
research on fi sheries related subjects. Bureau of
Agriculture and Commerce, Ministry of Agriculture
and Commerce, Shueisha, 731pp. (in Japanese)
Bureau of Fisheries (1934) Kumamoto Prefecture. In:
Bureau of Fisheries, Ministry of Agriculture and
Forestry (ed) Documents of surveys on fi sheries systems in old Shogunate Period. Nogyo-to-suisan-sha,
Tokyo, pp 327–334, 1116pp. (in Japanese)
Costanza R, d’Arge R, de Groot R, Farber S, Grasso M,
Hannon B, Limburg K, Naeem S, O’Neill R, Paruelo
J, Raskin RG, Sutton P, van den Belt M (1997) The
value of the world’s ecosystem services and natural
capital. Nature 387, 6630:253–260
Fisheries Agency (2014) Environment beautifi cation and
conservation of coastal zone. http://www.jfa.maff.go.
jp/j/kikaku/tamenteki/kaisetu/engan/index.html .
Accessed on 1 May 2014. (in Japanese)
Hamaguchi H (2007) The formative process of the uotsukirin system on the coastal areas: from Hansei
period to Meiji period. Shisen 106:1–18. (in Japanese)
Inukai T, Nishio S (1937) A limnological study of Akkeshi
Lake with special reference to propagation of the oyster. J Fac Agric Hokkaido Imp Univ 40:1–33
Kamimura M (2011) Possibility of biodiversity conservation using “Satoumi” as a keyword. Report of
Shiraho’s international stone tidal weir summit. Reg
Stud 8:17–28. (in Japanese with English abstract)
Komatsu T (1985) Temporal fl uctuations of water temperature in a Sargassum forest. J Oceanogr Soc Jpn
41:235–243
Komatsu T (1989) Day-night reversion in the horizontal
distributions of dissolved oxygen content and pH in a
Sargassum forest. J Oceanogr Soc Jpn 45:106–115
Komatsu T (1996) Infl uence of a Zostera bed on the spatial distribution of water fl ow over a broad geographical area. In: Kuo J, Phillips RC, Walker DI, Kirkman H
(eds) Seagrass biology: proceedings of an international workshop. The University of Western Australia,
Nedlands, pp 111–116
Komatsu T (1997) Long-term changes in the Zostera bed
area in the Seto Inland Sea (Japan), especially along
the coast of the Okayama Prefecture. Oceanol Acta
20:209–216
Komatsu T, Kawai H (1986) Diurnal changes of pH distributions and the cascading of shore water in a
Sargassum forest. J Oceanogr Soc Jpn 42:447–458
Komatsu T, Murakami S (1994) Infl uence of a Sargassum
forest on the spatial distribution of water fl ow. Fish
Oceanogr 3:256–266
Sato-umi: An Integrated Approach for Sustainable Use of Coastal Waters, Lessons…
In the Tokushima Prefecture, Uo-tsuki-rin
were protected during the Edo Period as commons or feudal lords’ property. In the Meiji
period of the nineteenth century, after the Edo
Period, Uo-tsuki-rin were privatised and devastated due to lack of management by local people
( Bureau of Agriculture and Commerce 1894 ).
Water source forests were also devastated during
the Meiji period. Akkeshi Lake, in the Hokkaido
Island, is one example. Forests along the
Bekanbeushi and Ohoro Rivers fl owing into
Akkeshi Lake were cut and burned. Mud from
the rivers fl ooded the lake, causing massive
death of oysters (Inukai and Nishio 1937 ).
Cutting forests in Uo-tsuki-rin and remote areas
in the Meiji Period also damaged seaweed
meadows of Konbu, Saccharina spp. (Hamaguchi
2007 ), and herring that spawn on macrophytes in
coastal waters (Miura 1971 ). The concept of
Uo-tsuki- rin forests involves a form of integrated
coastal management that includes land use that
infl uences water quality of coastal waters. This
practice established the sustainable use of coastal
waters.
5
Conclusion
Some ecologists insist that intact marine protected areas are necessary for the preservation of
biodiversity. However, it is impossible to prohibit
people from entering and using marine protected
areas along the Japanese coast, where very dense
populations live. Lessons from the interaction of
local people with nature in the Edo Period demonstrate how optimal human use of coastal waters
increases the diversity of habitats, species and
productivity. Sato-umi practices of local people
in the Edo Period led to increases in biodiversity
and productivity, and the Uo-tsuki-rin concept
expands these practices to integrated coastal
management. Thus, the Sato-umi and Uo-tsukirin concepts could be used to optimise human
activities in coastal waters and forests.
Acknowledgements This study is part of the
Environmental Research and Technology Development
Fund (S13) of the Japanese Ministry of the Environment.
The authors thank the French-Japanese Oceanographic
Society for inviting the fi rst author to discuss the Sato-umi
concept at the 15th Colloquium of French-Japanese
Oceanography in France.
References
Anon. (2012) Harvesting seaweeds and seagrasses. Report
on Eco-activities in Lake Nakaumi 10:1–4. (in Japanese)
Bureau of Agriculture and Commerce (1894) Special
research on fi sheries related subjects. Bureau of
Agriculture and Commerce, Ministry of Agriculture
and Commerce, Shueisha, 731pp. (in Japanese)
Bureau of Fisheries (1934) Kumamoto Prefecture. In:
Bureau of Fisheries, Ministry of Agriculture and
Forestry (ed) Documents of surveys on fi sheries systems in old Shogunate Period. Nogyo-to-suisan-sha,
Tokyo, pp 327–334, 1116pp. (in Japanese)
Costanza R, d’Arge R, de Groot R, Farber S, Grasso M,
Hannon B, Limburg K, Naeem S, O’Neill R, Paruelo
J, Raskin RG, Sutton P, van den Belt M (1997) The
value of the world’s ecosystem services and natural
capital. Nature 387, 6630:253–260
Fisheries Agency (2014) Environment beautifi cation and
conservation of coastal zone. http://www.jfa.maff.go.
jp/j/kikaku/tamenteki/kaisetu/engan/index.html .
Accessed on 1 May 2014. (in Japanese)
Hamaguchi H (2007) The formative process of the uotsukirin system on the coastal areas: from Hansei
period to Meiji period. Shisen 106:1–18. (in Japanese)
Inukai T, Nishio S (1937) A limnological study of Akkeshi
Lake with special reference to propagation of the oyster. J Fac Agric Hokkaido Imp Univ 40:1–33
Kamimura M (2011) Possibility of biodiversity conservation using “Satoumi” as a keyword. Report of
Shiraho’s international stone tidal weir summit. Reg
Stud 8:17–28. (in Japanese with English abstract)
Komatsu T (1985) Temporal fl uctuations of water temperature in a Sargassum forest. J Oceanogr Soc Jpn
41:235–243
Komatsu T (1989) Day-night reversion in the horizontal
distributions of dissolved oxygen content and pH in a
Sargassum forest. J Oceanogr Soc Jpn 45:106–115
Komatsu T (1996) Infl uence of a Zostera bed on the spatial distribution of water fl ow over a broad geographical area. In: Kuo J, Phillips RC, Walker DI, Kirkman H
(eds) Seagrass biology: proceedings of an international workshop. The University of Western Australia,
Nedlands, pp 111–116
Komatsu T (1997) Long-term changes in the Zostera bed
area in the Seto Inland Sea (Japan), especially along
the coast of the Okayama Prefecture. Oceanol Acta
20:209–216
Komatsu T, Kawai H (1986) Diurnal changes of pH distributions and the cascading of shore water in a
Sargassum forest. J Oceanogr Soc Jpn 42:447–458
Komatsu T, Murakami S (1994) Infl uence of a Sargassum
forest on the spatial distribution of water fl ow. Fish
Oceanogr 3:256–266
Sato-umi: An Integrated Approach for Sustainable Use of Coastal Waters, Lessons…