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Old-Growth Trees in Homesteads on the Ryukyu Archipelago, Japan: Uses, Management, and Conservation

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Abstract

Greening in urban areas and forests can provide people with valuable environmental and social benefits. Active involvement by local stakeholders is crucial for effective tree conservation. Our study focused on the past and current uses, management, and conservation of old-growth fukugi (Garcinia subelliptica) trees from the perspective of local stakeholders in rural homesteads on Ryukyu Archipelago, a small island archipelago in Japan. We conducted semi-structured interviews with local communities and local leaders on five small islands and in two hamlets on mainland Okinawa. We found that residents highly valued fukugi homestead trees as windbreaks. Other benefits derived from these trees included traditional dyeing material and green manure. Problems associated with these trees, such as fallen leaves and fruits, and the potential risk of injury caused by strong winds have jeopardized conserving the existing trees. Our results indicate that the value of trees to human wellbeing and society has changed dramatically from largely providing provisioning services meeting local people’s basic needs to regulating services, e.g., protecting the houses from natural disasters, and cultural services. Opinions in terms of services and disservices differed among islands and stakeholders. Accordingly, decision-makers should consider these changes/differences when developing conservation policies. We highlight several alternative uses for old-growth trees, such as tourist attractions, and propose a multi-stakeholder conservation strategy, which will be important for the sustainable management of fukugi trees.

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Acknowledgements

This work was partly funded by Asia–Pacific Network for Global Change Research (APN) [ARCP2014-19NMY(B&ES) -Liang), as a part of the research project “Coastal forest management in the face of global change based on case studies in Japan, Myanmar and the Philippines”, and by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C) (No. 16K07781), as a part of research project “Disaster mitigation function of coastal forests on the islands of Okinawa Prefecture.” Bixia Chen wants to thank interviewees for their kind cooperation during the interview survey.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Agriculture, University of the Ryukyus, 1 Senbaru, Nishihara Town, Okinawa Prefecture, 903-0213, Japan

    Bixia Chen

  2. Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNU-IAS), United Nations University, Tokyo, Japan

    Luohui Liang

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  1. Bixia Chen
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  2. Luohui Liang
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Correspondence to Bixia Chen.

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Appendix

Appendix

Semi-structured interview participant list:

(Gender, age when interview conducted, and date of interview)

Bise Hamlet, Motobu Town, Kunigami District

K1., male, 68, 2015-01-03

M., male, 66, 2015-02-19

K2., male, 66, 2015-02-28

M2, male, 60 s, 2015-02-28

Imadomari Hamlet, Nakijin Village, Kunigami District

U., male, 60 s, 2015-05-04

Hateruma Island, Toketomi Town, Yaeyama District

H., male, 60 s, 2015-12-26

S, male, 60, 2015-12-26

K., male, 68, 2015-12-27

M., female, 82, 2015-12-27

Tarama Island, Tarama Village, Yaeyama District

T., male, 61, 2015-04-27

I., male, 60 s, 2015-04-28

F., male, 70, 2015-04-28

Aguni Village, Shimajiri District

M., male, 50 s, 2015-04-18

I., male, 62, 2015-04-19

T., male, 60 s, 2015-04-20

S., male, 62, 2015-04-20

S., male, 34, 2015-04-20

Taketomi Island, Taketomi Town, Yaeyama District

U., male, 60 s, 2016-09-30

Tonaki Island, Tonaki Village, Shimajiri District

M., male, 56, 2016-08-30

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Chen, B., Liang, L. Old-Growth Trees in Homesteads on the Ryukyu Archipelago, Japan: Uses, Management, and Conservation. Small-scale Forestry 19, 39–56 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11842-019-09430-8

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