Farmers Resilience after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident

Transcription

1 RIHN/UCB International Workshop Food, Agriculture and Human Impacts on the Environment: Japan, Asia and 180 Doe & Women s Faculty Club, UC Berkeley Farmers Resilience after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident Junko Habu Dept. of Anthropology UC Berkeley November 7, 2017

2 Adaptive Cycle in the Resilience Perspective Advantages of archaeological studies: 1. long-term perspectives 2. Signatures of human actions on material culture & landscapes Reorganization Conservation Exploitation Release Modified from: Holling, C.S. & L. H. Gunderson 2002: Resilience and Adaptive Cycles. In Panarchy, edited by L. H. Gunderson and C. S. Holling, pp Island Press, Washington DC.

3 Panarchical Connections (A Panarchy = a cross-scale, nested set of adaptive cycles. Holling et al. 2002, p.75) Remember From: Holling, C.S. & L. H. Gunderson, and G.D, Peterson, 2002: Sustainability and Panarchies. In Panarchy, eds. L. H. Gunderson & C. S. Holling, pp Island Press, Washington DC.

4 3/11 Great East Japan Earthquake Onetime Event March 11, 2011 Cyclical Change Historical Records of Large Earthquakes in S. Tohoku Long-term Trends Long-term consequences for the Japanese society and beyond - The Earthquake and the Fukushima Accident: a cause or trigger for long-term change?

5 3/11 Great East Japan Earthquake &Tsunami (Tohoku Earthquake) Killed over 15,000 people Over 2500 people missing 110,000 houses completely destroyed 140,000 houses half destroyed 500,000 houses partial damage Fukushima Nuclear Plant Accident

6 Problems of large-scale food production & consumption It relies too heavily on longdistance transportation Supermarket in the suburb of Tokyo after the Great East Japan Earthquake in march (Photograph by Junko Habu)

7 Damage by Tsunami at the Rikuzen Takata City Museum, Miyagi Prefecture (Photograph by Junko Habu. July 2011)

8 Damage by fire after tsunami, Otsuchi Town, Iwate Prefecture (Photograph by Junko Habu. July 2011)

9 Damage by tsunami, Ishinomaki City, Miyagi Prefecture (Photograph by Junko Habu. July 2011)

10 Temporary Compounds for Refugees, Yamada Town, Iwate Prefecture

11 Soil Contamination by Cs-134 and CS 137 as of September 2011 (Hayakawa 2013) com/blog-entry-570.html

12 Fukushima Prefecture Divided into three areas: Hama-dori (Coastal Fukushima) Naka-dori (Central Fukushima) Aizu (Western Fukushima)

13 Iitate Village (2012) (Photographs by Junko Habu, August 2012)

14 Namie, Ryozen and Fukushima City (2013) (Photographs by Junko Habu, August 2012)

15 NPO Nomado & Farmers Soma City, Hama-dori Financial support by a French foundation (Photographs by Junko Habu) Organic food only Radiation level of every single bag of rice measured Training the next generation of workers as employees Historical background: high mobility of people Anti-nuclear Power Plant construction movement in the 1970s Attempts to develop large-scale solar and windpower farms

16 Small-Scale/Organic Farmers in Fukushima in Lowlevel Contamination Areas after the 3.11 Earthquake Initial Assumption: Damage by the Fukushima Nuclear Accident may have been too large to test the importance of food diversity, TEK & Social networks Results of Our Interviews Indicate: 1) Importance of TEK& local networks critical for residents identity & pride 2) Diversification of subsistence strategies by adding renewable energy production 3) Difficulties in dealing with radiation contamination (Photos by Junko Habu)

17 Ryozen Solar Farms: One-half Funded by Urban Supporters (left top) & and the Other Half (left bottom) Run by the Fukushima Branch of the equivalent of la Via Campesina (right) (Photos by Junko Habu)

18 President of the Fukushima Branch of Farmers Association (la Via Campesina): Mr. Nemoto in Nihonmatsu City First farmer who stated that radiation contamination is real, not a rumor Sericulture used to be the dominant subsistence activity in this area, and the shift to rice and vegetable farming, with no government subsidies, has been difficult. The best way to revitalize the Abukuma Mt. area would have been small-scale beef cattle ranch, but the contamination makes it difficult. Steep hills makes large-scale rice agriculture difficult. Farmers will abandon rice paddy fields The need for forest management is urgent. Forest decontamination unrealistic. The next generation of farmers will be newcomers from urban areas Transition of local environmental knowledge to the next generation is critical. Trained technicians and coordinators needed. Farming lifeways as a whole is sustainable and important.

19 Nishi-Aizu Less Influences of NPP accident Organic farmer without JAS certificate Local, small-scale food processing Gendered perspective (Photographs by Junko Habu, July 2016)

20 Summary TEK&social networks as the core of local farmers identity Depopulation not as serious as some parts of Tohoku Strong grass-root networks with consumers since the 1980s Various creative strategies to deal with radiation contamination - Farming + small-scale energy production (solar/wind/geothermo) - Vegetable oil production (e.g., Soma) - Migration - Nariwai Lawsuit against TEPCO and the National Gov. (e.g., Restore our livelihoods! Return our homes) - Those who are still in Fukushima are determined to stay