Yo Mizutani: Re-evaluating Regions and the Environment from a River Branding Perspective

My work involves creating original value for rivers and regions through river branding, protecting rich nature, and promoting activities to revitalize local communities. I collaborate with private companies, local governments, and local volunteers with the aim of "protecting, utilizing, and attracting visitors to rivers."

Furthermore, we face global warming and a progressing population decline. The solution to these problems lies in regional revitalization based on the spirit of bioregionalism and the sharing of natural resources. It involves reimagining the rivers flowing through a region as "commons = a new public" and establishing them as businesses linked to daily life.

The bioregionalism I advocate for is about creating unique regional value by combining natural resources existing in each area with human resources such as culture, history, and technology. Thinking together about that region's unique, one-of-a-kind value and acting together to revitalize the area—the accumulation of these activities is the decisive factor in measures against depopulation. I am considering such river branding.

Twelve years ago, I began my activities with the desire to enjoy the second stage of my life with rivers as a theme and to make it my life's work. Even before that, I had fantasized about my ideal river and longed for an unrealistic life in the mountains. However, I realized that my field activities at the advertising agency where I worked were entering the second half, nearing additional time, so I decided to "dive into the river." Although it was a business model far below the level of what one might call a "life's work," I made up my mind and walked around rivers all over Japan.

Then, thanks to the kindness of Masafusa Ohashi, an advisor at B•M•FT Publishing Co., Ltd., I was fortunate enough to have my book, "Regional Revitalization Starting from Rivers: River Branding," published, which summarizes various Japanese regions, rivers, and my own thoughts.

By flowing, rivers create a vast cycle of life and ecology. They are the source of all precious life, closely connected to our human lives, supporting people's livelihoods, and nurturing a wide variety of organisms. I wonder just how much wonderful local culture rivers have created throughout Japan.

On the other hand, traveling around rivers across Japan, I learned the reality. There are many dams and weirs, and because broken parts are left abandoned, the ecosystems of natural resources are often damaged. In the midst of a major global shift toward nature restoration and bioregionalism, I encountered many realities that seem to go against these trends.

In the middle of this, I suddenly realized that protecting tradition is evolution. The traditional industries and cultures that have continued uninterrupted in local areas since ancient times possess extremely outstanding know-how for coexistence with nature.

In other words, to utilize natural ecosystems as regional resources, it is important to build a circular system through regional programs for their maintenance and recovery, to have a foundation for new industrial technology and information dissemination to realize exchange with the outside world, and to apply the concept of sixth-sector industrialization.

Because priority is given to flood control and water utilization, many measures and warnings regarding rivers make one tilt their head in doubt. While I sometimes wonder what local governments are thinking, I have come to believe that the most important thing is for everyone to have correct knowledge about the water cycle and the river basins in their living zones.

Humans participate in the water cycle from birth. That chain affects everything from residential areas to river basins, through rivers to the sea, and the entire planet.

I believe it is a crucial point for rivers to regain their health. In particular, the blood flow of capillaries (small rivers) is very important. If the blood flow is smooth, a very good circulation will be created in various parts of Japan, leading to a regional circular economy.

I believe we can think about how to face environmental issues such as global warming countermeasures, deforestation, and food problems from a Japanese cultural perspective, not just from the perspective of flood damage caused by typhoons and linear precipitation zones.

There are more than 35,000 rivers throughout Japan. There is potential to demonstrate regional charm for as many rivers as there are. This could be a point of differentiation for regional branding for regional revitalization.

I hope that taking care of rivers means rediscovering the merits and characteristics of a region and that the possibilities for a new social system will sprout. I believe that the new concept of the commons required now is to think of rivers as a shared resource for everyone, and rather than confining rivers for the purpose of disaster prevention, to remember and richly share the livelihoods that nurtured many regional cultures and traditions. The fusion of technology such as knowledge, information, and skills is very important for that sharing.

We will realize regional circular economic revitalization by thinking globally while acting locally. I believe what is required there is the spirit of the commons and the birth of regional leaders. Global warming and population decline are urgent situations. What becomes important here is the idea of "commons = a new public," and it is important to create a vision that can increase motivation. While it might be best for residents, companies, and the government to "think together, create together, and nurture together," reality is not so easy. I think the start begins with the strong will of a single leader who cares about the region.

So, what is a healthy river originally like? I describe it as a "living river," which is a river with connectivity in the vertical, horizontal, and longitudinal directions.

Ideally, it should be connected from the headwaters to the sea with a rich ecosystem and water quality maintained (longitudinal), and by having space to flood, favorable material exchange for organisms occurs during high water (horizontal). It should be a river where spawning is possible. The water flow through the riverbed should be good, rich in oxygen, and not clogged with fine particles (vertical).

In other words, many small and medium-sized rivers are "rivers maintained by humans."

However, while there are many rivers with wonderful scenery in Japan, there are not many "living rivers" rich in biodiversity. It is also interesting to look at the depth of natural life starting from the river.

It is not something easily achieved, but I want people to at least know that rivers can be revived as living rivers through "longitudinal, horizontal, and vertical" connectivity. While total optimization from the headwaters to the estuary is desirable, there are many places where this is practically impossible, so I hope that at least partial optimization will be considered and realized.

A Bioregional (BR) Park is a zone concept for a park created in your place of life that reflects regional characteristics. It is a park that is Bio = biological and Regional = specific to that area. Utilizing a concept map, people can stroll through and enjoy the park zones as they like.

A BR Park does not have to be one of Japan's leading areas of rich nature. It can be a river with three-sided concrete reinforcement, or the observation of organisms living resiliently there. After all, we are in the era of the Anthropocene (described later). Observing plants and animals living in a new environment where human negative history has been wiped away might actually be fresh for visitors.

Furthermore, places where biodiversity and bioregionalism can be observed in an easy-to-understand way will be wonderful places of learning for children and students who want to study natural sciences in the future.

However, it is important for local residents and experts to share an awareness of attracting visitors to BR Parks.

From an environmental perspective, the viewpoint of bioregionalism is very important. Unique cultures rooted in the land since ancient times, determined by regional characteristics seen geographically and ecologically rather than by administrative divisions such as municipalities, often arise around river basins. These are geographical spaces with flora and fauna unique to the region, and they possess flexibility and variability because they are influenced by natural aspects. I sincerely hope that they are protected with the idea of the commons so that administrative districts do not cause ecological fragmentation.

The Anthropocene is a geological term referring to the epoch, including the present, in which human activities have influenced the Earth's geology and ecosystems. Its characteristics include climate change such as global warming caused by human activities, loss of biodiversity due to mass extinction, an increase in artificial substances, and changes in sediment due to the burning of fossil fuels and nuclear testing. While the negative impact humans have had on the Earth's geology and ecosystems is immeasurable, we must face the global environment within such a reality.

To introduce one example, in the upstream areas of dams on medium-sized rivers in western Japan, sweetfish (ayu) ecosystems are forming despite being landlocked. Moreover, they are stable enough to be expected as a fishery resource.

Originally, sweetfish are fish that travel between the sea and rivers (excluding some lake-reared sweetfish such as those in Lake Biwa), but the sweetfish there complete their lives in closed areas without descending to the sea, passing their descendants to the next generation. Thinking of the sweetfish that are evolving resiliently, I feel we must simultaneously take to heart that humans are also a part of nature and refrain from self-righteous behavior.

Why were so many rivers across Japan destroyed?

The answer is simple. Most people showed no interest in local rivers, neglected the environment, did not know that nature is delicate, and underestimated the power of nature from a disaster perspective. How to decide and realize what can and should be done now for each region? Bioregionalism is a very important concept. Under a capable leader who cares about the region, thinking together and building up the region's unique, one-of-a-kind value is the decisive factor in measures against depopulation. Of course, by thinking globally while acting locally.

The regional community must be attractive. Isn't the key to that participation in the "water cycle"?