Asia-Pacific Water Forum

Coming to life again of the White Stork: Toyooka City, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan

In the old days, the Maruyama River Basin was the shared home of many kinds of animals and human beings. However, by means of economical development, this situation ceased, together with the symbol of the basin, which was white storks, as they disappeared from the Maruyama valley in 1971. The nature restoration Project of the Maruyama river aims to restore the ecosystem as it was when the stork lived. In addition, the project does not only concentrate on the ecosystem but also on the capacity building of people in order to make them realize the importance of the “rebirth” of the Maruyama River.