How does a Japanese "eco-model city" think about the use of biomass for bioenergy? A household survey in Hokkaido

Kraxner, F., Yang, J., & Yamagata, Y. (2010). How does a Japanese "eco-model city" think about the use of biomass for bioenergy? A household survey in Hokkaido. In: Proceedings of the International Conference on Applied Energy (ICAE 2010), 21-23 April 2010.

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Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the public opinion of a rural town in northern Hokkaido with respect to the use of local forests for bioenergy production. The small Japanese town with 3,800 citizens had been identified as an optimal case study location and selected because of its early decision to pursue forest management certification and because the municipality had been awarded the status of one out of 6 Japanese "Eco-Model Cities" - to encourage the creation of low-carbon communities - in 2008.

In order to test the basic knowledge and information needs of the public, a questionnaire-based drop-off survey was conducted in mid 2009 among all households of Shimokawa Town. The questionnaire was divided into 4 sections (general info, forest, forest management, and bioenergy) in each of which up to 16 questions were asked with main focus on sustainable forest management, certification, and biomass for bio-energy. The answers were made on a 4/5 point scale, or in dichotomous-choice form and analyzed by using SPSS.

Knowing the public opinion on forest, bioenergy and the environment is seen to be crucial for the design of future policies for integrating a range of discrete and sectoral approaches such as energy supply-demand measures, green building combined with certified wooden products, eco tourism or forest protection. Such bottom-up policies need to aim at tackling the problems of low forestry activity and climate change issues by concentrating on increasing people's knowledge and positive attitudes towards an environmentally sound use of domestic forests.

Item Type: Conference or Workshop Item (UNSPECIFIED)
Uncontrolled Keywords: Public opinion; Eco-Model City; Forest biomass for bioenergy; Sustainable forest management; Forest certification; Integrated energy policy
Research Programs: Forestry (FOR)
Bibliographic Reference: In:; Proceedings of the International Conference on Applied Energy (ICAE 2010); 21-23 April 2010, Singapore, pp.549-565
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Depositing User: IIASA Import
Date Deposited: 15 Jan 2016 08:44
Last Modified: 27 Aug 2021 17:38
URI: https://pure.iiasa.ac.at/9416

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