Opinion Helping our tree friends By John Gathright	フレームで見る  英文をプリントする  脚注をプリントする
木は友達 筆者は大勢の日本人と木登りを楽しんでいる。 中には、重い障害を乗り越えて 海外で木登りに挑戦し 大木のこずえで一晩を過ごす人もいる。 だが、世界の原生林は減少しつつある。 その減少に日本も一役買っているのだ。

Have you ever climbed to the top of a 100-meter-tall Douglas fir? Or have you spent the night 80-meters high, cradled in the arms of a 2,500-year-old sequoia tree with a physically challenged woman? I can happily say that I have.

As the founder and head of NPOs Tree Climbing Japan and Treehab, I am blessed with the opportunity to climb some of the tallest trees in the world. Over the past three years since these organizations were founded, it has been a great pleasure to share tree climbing with over 5,000 Japanese people, including a number of physically challenged persons.

Two summers ago, we helped Toshiko Hikosaka, 60, to be the first severely physically challenged person in the world to climb to the top of an 80-meter-tall sequoia and spend the night there. She has since inspired people worldwide and sparked Treehab programs in Denmark, the United States and Singapore.

This coming summer, we will help 8-year-old Takaki challenge one of the world's largest pine trees, no small feat for a boy born without fingers on his right hand.

Tree Climbing Japan believes that through our tree climbing and educational efforts people worldwide will have more respect for both trees and humans. Tree climbing is a wonderful way to make friends with trees.

Helping people to enjoy nature and challenge themselves to pursue their dreams is not only a passion but my lifework as an ecologist and tree climber. Unfortunately, something that causes me much grief and concern is the plight of old-growth forests worldwide and Japan's role - as the world's largest importer of old-growth timber - in this.

Domestic demand for Japanese lumber is low, which has led to a grossly unbalanced importation of world timber. At the same time, while other countries' forests are disappearing, Japan's forests are growing. World forestry data suggests that Japan's forests have increased from 23,889,000 ha in 1980 to over 25,000,000 ha in 2000. Yet almost half of the forests are mismanaged tree plantations where trees are planted unnaturally and unhealthily close to each other. The Japanese preference for imported timber has also contributed to the poor management, as Japanese foresters cannot afford to cull the overcrowded forests.

Obviously, Japan is not the only country guilty of deforestation. I do not believe that we need to stop using lumber, but consumers should become aware of how their purchases affect the world.

The most ecological choice for all of us in Japan is to buy home-grown lumber. The chances of it being old-growth are very low, and we will reduce the harmful emissions from global transportation. I believe that Japan's deforestation is not the responsibility of the government alone; Japanese consumers also have the ability to rectify the situation. I also believe that the Japanese on the whole are concerned about the environment.

Japan is the third most forested country in the world. I love Japan and her forests. I also love sharing my passion for forests through tree climbing. I believe that trees are our friends. Please help our tree friends worldwide and buy lumber grown in Japan.

Shukan ST: Nov. 1, 2002

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