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 Sawai River
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River Life Nature Observation Walk: June 20, 1999 Under the pretext of flood control, landslide prevention and "river beautification," many of Fujino's rivers and their ecological systems are being steadily strangled in cement as a result of the Japanese government's hasty construction of concrete river embankments. An easy way to funnel money into Japan's sluggish construction economy, concrete river embankments effectively doom the ecosystem of a river by destroying the natural breeding environment for all stages of life, from bacteria up through fish, birds, and small mammals. Unfortunately, government theorists frequently classify rivers as flood or landslide dangers, and thus subject to concrete entombment, on the basis of a desktop logic, without so much as taking a survey of the existing ecosystems or actual need for "disaster prevention" measures. On June 20, 1999 (9:00 AM), Satô Fumio, a resident of Fujino and member of the Yamashina Institute for Ornithology (Yamashina Chôrui Kenkyûsho: Yamashina Birds) led a nature walk through Fujino's Shinobara district, introducing locations slated for construction, and explaining the ecosystems under threat there. I plan to have an in-depth report of the walk, together with photos, available here by late June or early July. Please check back then.
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Green Gables: A Contemplative Companion to Fujino Townshipby Norman Havens nhavens@gol.com
URL: http://www2.gol.com/users/nhavens/htmlfile/river1-e.html
