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Underuse/overuse and diversity of provisioning services and their change: the case of the Japanese national ecosystem service assessment (JBO2)

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Abstract

The Japan Biodiversity Outlook 2 (JBO2) conducted an assessment of ecosystem services and how they have changed over the last 50 years in Japan using a combination of methods including literature review, calculation of indicators, and a questionnaire survey. According to this assessment, most provisioning services (i.e., natural resources) in Japan have been declining. In the current article, we made further analyses of the provisioning services assessed in JBO2 as well as providing a conceptual background and discussions, focusing particularly on the scope of “underuse” and “diversity” of provisioning services. To do so, we began by introducing these concepts with their multiple interpretations and assessment methods, some of which still entail technical difficulties and challenges. We then assessed simply underuse/overuse and diversity (species evenness and richness) of the services (e.g., crops), and evaluated the overall ecological footprint of Japan. As a result, multiple data indicated timber underuse, for instance, and such underuse (typically forest resources) and overuse (fishery resources) were supported by the JBO2 questionnaire results. Nationwide, species evenness has been declining in wood (timber) and special local vegetables, while species richness has been increasing in agricultural products. Overall, we conclude that while Japan is facing the issue of domestic underuse of forestry and agricultural products, it is utilizing a large amount of imported products, resulting in an impact on the global environment. The concept and scope of “underuse” and “diversity” will provide great opportunities for future assessments of similar services.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to every respondent who replied to the survey questionnaire in JBO2. As well, this assessment of JBO2 was undertaken by a number of people including the experts of our committee. We also appreciate helpful advice from three reviewers on our earlier manuscripts.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nature Conservation Bureau, Ministry of the Environment, Japan, 1-2-2, Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, 100-8975, Japan

    Takafumi Ohsawa, Takahiro Okano & Fumiko Nakao

  2. Institute for Global Environmental Strategies, 2108-11, Kamiyamaguchi, Hayama, Kanagawa, 240-0115, Japan

    Kei Kabaya

  3. Integrated Research System for Sustainability Science (IR3S), The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8654, Japan

    Kei Kabaya

  4. Idea Consultants Inc., 2-2-2, Hayabuchi, Tsukushi-ku, Yokohama, 224-0025, Japan

    Satoshi Kofuku & Kokoro Kikuchi

  5. Graduate School of Life Sciences, Tohoku University, 6-3, Aoba, Aramaki, Aoba, Sendai, 980-8578, Japan

    Tohru Nakashizuka

  6. Research Institute for Humanity and Nature, 457-4 Kamigamo-Motoyama, Kyoto, 603-8047, Japan

    Tohru Nakashizuka

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  1. Takafumi Ohsawa
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  2. Takahiro Okano
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  3. Fumiko Nakao
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  4. Kei Kabaya
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Correspondence to Takafumi Ohsawa.

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Handled by Dr. Shizuka Hashimoto, Kyoto University, Japan.

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Ohsawa, T., Okano, T., Nakao, F. et al. Underuse/overuse and diversity of provisioning services and their change: the case of the Japanese national ecosystem service assessment (JBO2). Sustain Sci 14, 439–451 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-018-0531-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-018-0531-z

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