Planning of Direct Payment Program that Guarantees Sustainable Forest Management

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Under the revision of Forest and Forestry Basic Law in 2001, Grants for Promoting Regional Activities for Forest Maintenance' was introduced to practice sustainable multifunctional forests in 2002. An experimental study was conducted on its effects and problems in the first period and discussion on the issues of direct payment program was done.Firstly, we found that the usage of the grants could be categorized into four types based on the following two measures since it is related to forest management plan: 1) if the program planners are forest owners or other consigned parties, 2) how much forest cooperatives participate in the planning.Secondly, its effects vary depending on the types. Not only for the sake of actual planning or practicing of the defined regional activities, but also the program brought a stronger relationship between the forest cooperative officers and members, revitalization of rural communities, monitoring for forest certification and lowland forest management by JA This is due to local people's operation, that is, direct payment program, unlike the existing afforestation subsidies. Knowledge of local forest problems and organization that can execute the program are seen as essential keys in those communities where the program is successfully done.At last, through theoretical study of the movement on direct payment program for as agricultural policy, we pointed out the necessity of environmental direct payment that can promote compliance as well as settlement of the system. In case of introducing the environmental direct payment program to forest policy in the future, we need to refer the existing afforestation subsidy system or prefectural forest environmental tax system. Therefore, we started discussing about the forest environmental tax as well.