The current situation and significance of firewood sales to urban areas by forest owners' cooperative: A case study of the Kuzumaki-cho forest owners' cooperative
2019
Murakami, Y. | Yamamoto, S. | Takada, N.
After the first Fukushima nuclear plant accident of 2011, renewable energy businesses have been increasing in rural areas of Japan. However, those businesses do not necessarily create profit and employment for the rural areas. For that reason, it is important to reexamine how renewable energy is used. Among the uses of renewable energy, the utilization of the firewood for heating is notable. Firewood has been used in rural areas of Japan since ancient times, and it is easy to produce even by individuals. In addition, it has been established that the use of firewood effectively reduces one's carbon footprint. So it is important to expand the use of firewood. Many earlier studies have focused on the use of firewood. However, there have not been many studies conducted on the production of firewood. For these reasons, in this study, I focused on the sales operations of firewood to urban areas by the forest owners' cooperative of Kuzumaki-town. This investigation revealed that selling firewood creates both profit and employment in Kuzumaki-cho, and it was also revealed that this activity was sustainable. In addition, I concluded that this activity prevents the alienation of urban areas from rural areas because the sale of firewood helps create a connection between them.
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