"Listen to the Music of the Earth"

Domin no Mori Nature Park is called a “Citizen’s Forest” and is located at the head waters of the river that feeds all the croplands and water supply. Two thirds of the area is forested and is the largest park on Hokkaido. It is a park dedicated to youth education and preservation. During our orientation to the Park in the visitor center, one of the American teachers asked about the large dam that we saw being constructed on the river, and whether there was a controversy over whether the dam should be completed. The Park representative danced around the question, until Mr. Yamamoto interjected that this was not a question that could be easily answered by a representative of the Park and might be more easily answered by an NPO such as himself. A lesson in Japanese politics – Mr. Yamamoto explained to us that plans to secure drinking water for a growing population had been made 30 years ago when the population was still growing. Japan’s current birth rate is at about 1.3%, which is below the replacement level of 2.1%. (This low birth rate has growing implications for the larger society, but most immediately it can be seen in the closing of schools as fewer and fewer children are born to fill the class rooms). The dam had been under construction for some time, but people are now beginning to question the wisdom of completing the dam when the population is contracting so drastically and the economy is still reeling. The decision to continue with the dam needs to include both the cost to continue to build, the economic realities of recession and the profound impacts of dams to the riparian ecosystems. The dam provides a perfect case where education for sustainable development could help provide citizens with the knowledge and skills needed to make the most effective and inclusive decision. In this situation, citizens need to be able to analyze and understand enough science to refute or embrace dam advocates' claim that flood control is also an important outcome of the dam. What other solutions besides a potentially destructive and monumentally expensive dam can be found to solve a flooding problem? How better can the community be served while protecting the natural environment and the resources humans need to thrive?