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According to the Japan Overseas Plantation for
Pulpwood (JOPP) at the end of 2005, 33 forest plantation projects
were conducted overseas by Japanese connected with papermaking.
These were located in nine countries, particularly South America and
Australia, with a total area of 570,000 hectares. Companies involved
in these projects included electric power plants, publishers and
printers, automobile manufacturers, manufacturers of office
automation equipment and mail-order retailers. An increasing number
of companies that do not directly use timber as raw material for
paper are joining these projects. This reflects the priority given
to forests as absorbers of carbon dioxide as a means to addressing
global warming.
Japanese overseas forest
plantation projects start with a search for suitable sites beginning
with a multifaceted preliminary survey to assess the feasibility of
afforestation that includes checks on whether the natural conditions
are conducive for raising trees and whether socioeconomic conditions
are suitable for conducting such a project. An environmental impact
assessment is also conducted.
The term “overseas industrial
plantation” may conjure up images of vast tracts of land covered
with trees, but majority of the locations chosen for industrial
afforestation by Japanese companies are former pastures and
abandoned farmland. As a result, the forest plantations consist of
relatively small areas of woodland dotted over a wide area. JOPP
says that in setting up a forest plantation, Japanese companies not
only comply with the laws and regulations of the host country but
also pay attention to environmental protection issues, such as
naturally forested areas and land lying along rivers and on steep
slopes.
For more than 30 years, Japan’s
overseas forest plantation projects steadily expanded in size but it
is now necessary to tackle a variety of issues that affect their
future. With the global population growth, there is a tendency for
fertile land to be used preferentially for agriculture aimed at
producing food. Consequently, it is expected that in the future,
Japan will be forced to use denuded and relatively unproductive land
for forest plantations. Thus, researchers working for Japan’s
papermaking companies are concentrating on developing species
resistant to disease and pests, as well as cultivating trees that
can withstand aridity, low temperatures, acid soils and saline
conditions. Planting such species will ensure that optimum use is
made of the limited land that is available. At the same time, they
are working on ways to improve the yield of raw materials used for
papermaking, developing species with high fiber content and seeking
ways to suppress the formation of nonfiber substances, such as
lignin in the timber.
The research has produced
successes, resulting in the development of biotechnologies for
increasing the number of superior seedlings with consistent quality.
This has been achieved by employing tissue cultures and selective
breeding intended to multiply high-quality stock through the use of
cuttings.
There are concerns about a
deterioration in soil fertility in forest plantations caused by
repeated planting and harvesting. Thus, efforts are being made to
minimize the removal of nutrients at logging by leaving in the soil
those parts of the tree not used to make wood chip, like the leaves,
branches and bark.
Japan has learned that forest
plantations vary depending on their location. A methodology that has
been successful in one place cannot necessarily be applied
successfully elsewhere without making adjustments. By conducting
researches and field surveys, it is possible to ensure
environmentally friendly forest management and produce raw material
for paper with minimal impact on existing resources.
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