Future Perspectives for Restoring Habitats and Spreading the Distributions of the Two Species in Hokkaido: Introduction

Abstract

Human population in Japan has begun to decline, and abandoned and fallow lands are expected to increase in the future. In this part, the authors investigated the drivers behind the occurrence of abandoned and fallow farmlands and the possibility of using these lands to restore riparian and wetland ecosystem. The restored ecosystems will provide habitat for Blakiston’s fish owl and the red-crowned crane to expand their ranges. Also, present and future policies for forest and agricultural management are discussed to conserve the two species.