The Noto Peninsula earthquake that occurred on January 1st 2024 caused undersea uplift and a tsunami, resulting in major changes to the coastal environment. Fisheries have been severely affected, and there is concern that the ecosystems that support life in the Satoumi areas have also undergone major changes. Therefore, on Wednesday April 17th, the United Nations University Operating Unit Ishikawa Kanazawa (OUIK) and the Noto Global Important Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS) Biodiversity Working Group co-hosted a webinar to learn about the post-Great East Japan earthquake experiences and efforts in Kesennuma and Moune Bay in Miyagi Prefecture, and to consider the future of the Noto`s satoumi ecosystem, with over 60 people participating online.
First, Dr. Katsu Tanaka, Professor Emeritus of Kyoto University and Director of the Moune Institute for Forest-Sato-Sea Studies (MIFOSS), delivered a keynote speech at a conference titled “Coastal Ecosystem Revival after the Great East Japan Earthquake”. Together with local fishermen and researchers from various fields in Japan, Dr. Tanaka has been monitoring the ecosystem of Moune Bay in Kesennuma City, Miyagi Prefecture, which was severely impacted by the devastating 2011 Great East Japan earthquake and tsunami. His presentation, “Continuing to Watch for the Revival of Coastal Ecosystems after the Great East Japan Earthquake: An Overview of the Kesennuma Moune Bay Survey”, showcased the reforestation and educational activities carried out together with fishermen and other stakeholders, as well as the regular biological surveys that have been conducted to date, and the changes in the ecosystem that have been revealed through these surveys. Dr. Tanaka also shared how the comprehensive surveys conducted immediately after the disaster contributed to the early revival of oyster farming and the early relocation of local residents to higher ground.
Finally, he introduced that the wetlands and mudflats that were restored after the earthquake have brought back living creatures such as the Japanese eel, which had been rarely seen in recent years, and that educational and ongoing research activities on the forest-sato-sea linkage have been continuously conducted in .
Next, Mr. Yusuke Arakawa of the Noto Marine Center gave a presentation titled “Biological Survey on the Coast after the Noto Peninsula Earthquake,” in which he introduced what has been learned so far from the biological survey started on the windward side of the coast, which was uplifted up to 4 meters after the earthquake. He said that one of the possible reasons for the uplift was that it was midwinter when the earthquake occurred, so the creatures were slow to move and could not withstand the sudden change in tidal levels.
Finally, Dr. Seiji Yanai, a specially-appointed professor at Ishikawa Prefectural University and chairperson of the Noto GIAHS Biodiversity Working Group, facilitated the discussion with the online participants. He commented that the land created by the uplift could be an important place for seaside plants and animals living in coastal areas, and shared the importance of conducting surveys and protecting them as interference zones in the future. He also stressed the importance of involving university and high school students in these activities and the need of paying attention to the mountains in order to safeguard the marine ecosystem. Despite being an online meeting, the participants actively engaged in a productive discussion, generating concrete ideas for the future, making it a very valuable meeting. We aim to incorporate the insights gained from this webinar into our future working group activities.
