Reintroduction (2014) 3: 67 ‒ 86

Grand design for reintroduction

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Grand Design for Reintroduction of the Oriental White Stork1* Hyogo Prefectural Board of Education2 and Hyogo Park of the Oriental White Stork3 (Translated by
Yasuo Ezaki4 and Junko Sagara5)
Promotion Plan described above. This plan states its basic

Prefacestrategy consisting of 1) maintenance/advancement of

It has now become widely known both within thisgenetic diversity, 2) improvement of environment whichcountry and abroad that Hyogo Prefectural Government

supply storks their preferable habitat, 3) coordination ofhas been pursuing a project to re-introduce Oriental White

relevant organizations, 4) promotion of education for

Stork Ciconia boyciana in Toyooka City.

local people, and 5) employment of the method of adap-

Hyogo Park of the Oriental White Stork (HPOWS)

tive management5). It was determined also that science

started experimental release of the Oriental White Storkand practice on reintroduction should be done after the(OWS) in 2005 based on the “Oriental White Stork Rein-

experimental release.

troduction Promotion Plan ” (hereinafter referred to as

Owing to the objectives of reintroduction and based on the“Promotion Plan”) adopted in March 2003. The released

history of OWS in Japan, this Grand Design reviews thestorks established themselves out in the ¿elds, and a suc-outcomes of science and/or academic studies on the stork

cessful breeding in 2007 produced the ¿rst Àedgling.

reintroduction during these 5 years, and presents the short-

1)

Successful breeding is continuing and the size of theterm and mid-term targets that are indispensable to the

OWS population out in the ¿elds (hereinafter referred to asachievement of a full-Àedged reintroduction. The ultimate“managed population” because it is helped by articial feed-goal of the stork reintroduction is also given here. It can be

ing as described later) has reached 39 at the end of 2010.

positioned as an advanced example of the IUCN6) Guide-

The term “reintroduction” used here includes both “re-lines for Re-introduction7) (IUCN 1998) published in 1995.

introduction2)” of species once extinct from the wild andThis Grand Design is a product mainly of the scienti¿c/“re-establishment” of a population .
3)

academic studies done by HPOWS, and I hope it to be

The last wild population of Japanese OWS that inhab-reÀected in OWS reintroduction projects in other cities

ited Tajima District including Toyooka City became

and towns that are in cooperative relationship withextinct in 1971. Although a strain of domestic population

HPOWS.

4)

was captured there before extinction and attempts of cap-

In the process of drawing up this Grand Design “Thetive breeding continued for about 20 years, they also

Oriental White Stork Reintroduction Measures Commit-

became extinct without producing any offspring.

tee” consisting of academic experts made deliberations in

The success was brought about in 1989 by a pair ofa series of meetings. We are grateful to the members ofstorks transferred from Russia, and since then the size ofthe committee that provided valuable comments from thethe captive population grew over 100. This led to the com-

viewpoint of their expertise as well as all other persons

mencement of experimental release in 2005.

involved.

The experimental release was conducted based on the

Satoshi Yamagishi

The Japanese version of this document was published in 2011.
5‑10‑1, Shimoyamatedori, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Hyogo Pref., 650‑
8567 Japan
3
128, Shounji, Toyooka, Hyogo Pref., 668‑0814 Japan
4
Graduate School of Regional Resource Management, Universityof Hyogo/Division of Research, Hyogo Park of the Oriental
White Stork, 128, Shounji, Toyooka, 668‑0814 Japan
5
CTI Engineering Co., Ltd. 3‑21‑1 Nihombashi-Hamacho,
Chuoku, Tokyo, 103‑8430 Japan* E-mail:

Director, Hyogo Park of the Oriental White Stork1
2

The objective of the Oriental White Stork Reintroduction
1. Signi¿cance of reintroduction

The Oriental White Stork Ciconia boyciana is a large
carnivorous avian species that is distributed only in the67

Reintroduction（2014）3: 67 ‒ 86

Far East. This species, native to Japan, is positioned at the8)

top of the food-web in the wetland ecosystem . The stork9)

has evolved within the biological community of theJapanese archipelago with intermittent genetic exchange

10)

rivers, rice paddy ¿elds, Sato-yama woods and new businesses that promote economy of local communities canboost the challenges.
The positioning of OWS as an iconic symbol that supplies local people the pride and identity of the Tajima

with the continent.
Reintroduction of this extinct wild species has its sub-District will create new values, bring about economic andstantial meaning in promoting recovery of the biologicalspiritual bene¿ts to the community, and thereby promote

community endemic to Japan, particularly that of Tajima

community development with virtuous cycles both of theDistrict in the near past and in regaining the healthy eco-environment and economy.

system. The success of this project will supply a clear vision

Therefore, reintroduction of the Oriental White Stork is

for reintroduction of other endangered species and restora-

not only an effort for recovery and revitalization of naturetion of regional biological communities, which will lead tobut also an effort for community development, and pro-11)

sustainable managementof the regional ecosystem.

As can be seen in this case, it is indisputable that thevides a clear vision for the realization of sustainable andreciprocal societies all over the world.

real meaning of recovery of biodiversity is the restorationof the biological community that is justi¿ed by the history
regional biological community and the evidence andHistory of the Oriental White Stork (from extinction to protection and reintroduction)

desirable environmental objectives can only be found in

1. Former inhabitationof the region, because organisms have evolved in thethe regional history.

It is believed that OWS has been an inhabitant of Japan
since the ancient time. The footprint of a stork has been

2. Significance of introduction into the human living

discovered (Nara National Research Institute for Culturalenvironment

Properties 2011) from the ruins of rice paddy ¿elds of theRe-introductions of avian species so far conducted inearly Yayoi period (about 2,400 years ago). The historicalother countries were almost all in large area without

product records (Yasuda 1987) suggest that OWS washuman habitation, and differ greatly from the case ofwidely distributed from Tohoku to Kyushu in Edo period.

OWS, the introduction into human living environment. It

In Meiji era, reliable breeding records (Blakiston and Pryer

requires coexistence between humans and storks to which

1878, Niwa 1892) are found in several areas of the country.

acceptance by the local community is indispensable.
The foraging habitat of OWS is mainly rice paddy¿elds, for wildlife an alternative to wetlands in the Àood12)

plain

2. From extinction to protection

After the ban on hunting ended in Meiji era, OWS dis-and hence friction with farmers is unavoidable toappeared from many parts of Japan except for Tajima

a certain level. Thus it is dif¿cult for a local community

District in Hyogo Prefecture and Wakasa District inin the present time to accept the OWS reintroduction

Fukui Prefecture due to overexploitation.

unless the cost associated with such friction incurred to

Hyogo Prefectural Government began its efforts to pro-the farmers is exceeded by the physical and/or mental

tect OWS under public-private cooperation. And the “Spe-bene¿ts that the OWS reintroduction brings about.

cial Natural Monument Oriental White Stork Protection

The history of rice cultivation in Japan extends back a

Support Association (later Tajima Oriental White Storkfew thousand years, thus it is assumed that these frictions

Preservation Association)” was established. However

had historically been resolved through some measures, ordomestic breeding came to an end after the last Àedging

farmers might have either accepted the situation orin Fukui Prefecture in 1961, and the Japanese native OWS

resigned themselves. It means that the reintroduction of

population became extinct in 1971.

OWS is not only a challenge in terms of science but alsoa challenge that requires advances in awareness and newvalues for the local people. Projects of engineering on
68

3. Conservation of species

Hyogo Prefectural Government and Toyooka City

Grand design for reintroduction

established the Oriental White Stork Aviculture Center

being promoted with participation and cooperation of(currently Protection and Breeding Center of HPOWS) indiverse entities including the regional residents, organiza-

1964 ¿nancially supported by the Agency for Cultural

tions, scientists/scholars and the government.

Affairs, and have been working on captive protection andbreeding (establishment of captive population) of OWS
since.
Captive breeding proved to be extremely dif¿cult, andthe last wild bird in captivity died in 1986. Tama Zoo-

Inhabitation and extinction in Toyooka region
1. Former environment1‑1) Nest locations

logical Park in Tokyo succeeded in captive breeding for

According to the records from 1914 to 1935 (Iwasa

the ¿rst time in Japan in 1988, and successful breeding

1936a, b) and of 1960s (Matsushima Personal communica-

started in 1989 at the Oriental White Stork Aviculturetion), OWS nested on the slope of hills looking down theCenter by a pair transferred from Russia in 1985.

rice paddy ¿elds (Fig. 1).

Due to the increase in size of the captive population,

Furthermore, all nests were built on red pines taller than

Hyogo Prefectural Government began to develop the

10 m with diameter at breast-height larger than 40 cm

OWS Reintroduction Plan in 1992, and started to examine(Table 1).

re-introduction of storks into Tajima region, the historical(2) Foraging site

place. The “IUCN Guidelines for Re-introduction” wasfollowed when implementing the project.

Survey on memories of local people supplies information which suggests that the past wild population used toforage rice paddies, rivers, streams and ditches (Table 2).

4. Towards reintroduction(3) Prey animals

Hyogo Prefectural Government established HPOWS in

Survey on memories of local people revealed that the1999 as the key institute of the scienti¿c research for rein-past wild population used to hunt not only freshwater ¿shtroduction. HPOWS has conducted researches and scien-such as loach, crucian, carp, cat¿sh, and eel but also frogs,ti¿c studies on OWS while training storks to Ày in the

mud snails and locusts. It indicates that OWS not only

¿eld. Improvement of natural and social environment has

captured aquatic animals represented by ¿sh but also wide

been advanced in parallel.

range of terrestrial animals.

OWS lives near human residence mainly in regions

At that time, rice paddies were not yet developed intowith rice paddy ¿elds. In Tajima District, OWS was called

consolidated farmland, so various freshwater ¿sh could“Tsuru (meaning cranes)” by local people and a popular

still enter into the paddies for spawning. Verbal evidences

existence among them, but at the same time regarded byfrom residents stated that “one could hear the sound ofsome others as a nuisance ruining rice paddies. Thus, theyloaches going under water in the paddies”, thus the amounthave long been deeply connected with human livelihood,of prey available at that time could have been enormous

beloved and despised, and coexisted with people in theand completely different from the current situation.

region.
The Promotion Plan adopted in 2003 established the

2. Changes of environment in 1960 – 70s and reasons offundamental policy, which says “We promote reintroduc-

extinction

tion of the Oriental White Stork by creating a region2‑1) Nest locations

where people and nature can coexist, based on the recog-

The red pines on the hills that were used as nesting trees

nition that the environment where storks can live is also

were largely logged during the World Water II (Sakamoto

safe and secure for humans.”

1966). However, verbal evidences (Matsushima Personal

Moreover, just after the establishment of the plan, thecommunication) indicate that the OWS population still all

Liaison Committee for Reintroduction of Oriental White

nested on red pines on the hilly slopes from 1960s to 70s.

Stork was established. Under the leadership of the Com-2‑2) Foraging site

mittee, measures towards sustainable development of the

There has not been signi¿cant change in the landforms

region putting axis on the reintroduction of OWS areor land uses in Toyooka region. The area of rice paddies,69

Reintroduction（2014）3: 67 ‒ 86

Fig. 1. Nest-site records for the past wild population of the Oriental White Stork.
Table 1. Size of nesting trees, all red pine, for cases recorded in 7 villages in 1958. Names of villages
are those in 1958.
Fukuda Yamamoto

Kamata

57.3
13.5

47.8
11.5

Diameter (cm)Tree Height (m)Unknown
10.0

Kamishozakai Kinashi
66.9
10.0

Unknown
10.0

Tadachi

Ozaki

38.2
12.5

Unknown
10.0

Table 2. Memories of local people on the habitat and behaviour of the wild stork from 1930ʼs to 1960ʼs. Information was collected by asking local people and multiple answers were given from each person. Blanks indicate
impossible combination of habitat and behaviour.
Behaviour Paddy ¿elds

70

RiversStreams

Ditches

Trees
55
154
26

0
9
2

47

235

11

224

Foraging
Resting
Nesting
Others

496
27

126
11

40
1

35

12

1

50
1
0
0

Total

558

149

42

51

Power poles Strange info
177

Others

Total

43
17
30
37

932
112
240
113

127

1,397

Grand design for reintroduction

Table 3. Haplotypes of the Oriental White Stork. There exist 21 haplotypes on the continent and the number of storks
that belong to each type are given. Data in the upper two lines for the past wild populations were obtained from skins
by Murata et al. (2004) and “Toyooka” and “Others” are for captive populations. Blanks indicate zero.
1

2

3

Before1945
1961‑86
Present
Toyooka
OthersReleased
Fledged

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

1

15

16

17

3

1

1

18

19

20

21

Total
6
11

11
3
1
1
8
8
5

43
35
5
3

16
1
15

18
1
17

30
7
16
6
1

69
26
18
10
15

considered to be the main foraging ground, has not been

24
7
3
3
11

2
1
1

2

2
2

237
98
85
27
27

2

spiral of extinction15).

reduced signi¿cantly.
2‑3) Uses of pesticide

ties. Some residents have stated that large amount of ani-

Research outcomes obtained during the experimental release periodmals in rice paddies were found dead after the chemical

1. Release to breedingherbicide treatment. It can be suspected that the amount

1‑1) Experimental release

At the time, strong pesticide was used in large quanti-of prey animals was rapidly decreasing. Moreover, a case

Twenty-seven storks were released between 2005 andof OWS anatomy (Muto and Suzuki 1967) evidenced the2010, and among them 5 died, 4 were captured, and 1 went

death cause of the stork to be mercury poisoning.

missing since 2009. There exist 17 released storks remaining2‑4) Genetic diversity

in Toyooka region at the end of 2010 Fiscal Year (Table 4).

There are 21 haplotypes

13)

so far identi¿ed for OWS

1‑2) Settlement of released storks(Murata et al. 2004). There were at least four haplotypes

Most of the released storks have settled in Toyooka.

existing during the period of early Showa to prior to the

Ten of them left Toyooka for a short period and moved

World Water II (before 1945), but there was only one hap-within Japan but returned to Toyooka ¿nally (Fig. 2).

lotype just before the extinction (1961‑86; Table 3). Thus,

A pair of storks form a territory16) and their behaviours

the genetic diversity14) had signi¿cantly been reduced overto defend the areas surrounding their nest sites are fre-

the years.

quently observed not only during the breeding season17)2‑5) Causes of extinction

but also during the non-breeding season.

The above information strongly suggests that the causes

1‑3) Breeding out in the ¿eldsthat triggered the extinction of OWS were the pesticide

The ¿rst pair was established in 2006 and laid eggs but did

contamination of prey animals and losses in genetic diver-not succeed in breeding. However, in 2007 a pair succeeded

sity. These two causes may not have been necessarilyin Àedging a chick out in the ¿elds for the ¿rst time after

independent from one another, and the ¿rst may have

46 years from the last breeding in the wild. Thereafter mul-inÀuenced the second. In other words, 1) the pesticide

tiple pairs succeed in breeding every year (Table 5).

contamination of prey animals reduced food for OWS andtoxic material accumulated within the bodies of the storks,
resulting in lowered breeding rate and increased mortality.

Table 4. Number of storks released, dead and surviving for each¿scal year.

As a result, 2) storks reduced in numbers, and genetic

Category of birds 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Total

deterioration caused by losses in genetic diversity andReleased
Dead
Captured
Missing

7
0
2
0

9
1
0
0

5
0
1
0

2
0
0
0

2
1
0
1

2
3
1
0

27
5
4
1

Surviving at theend of FY

5

13

17

19

19

17

17

appearance of detrimental gene due to inbreeding further
aggravated the situation.
It is highly probable that by the time the conservation
movement started in 1955, OWS was already caught in the71Reintroduction（2014）3: 67 ‒ 86

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

Individual
J0232

䖃

J0290

䖃

J0294

䖃

J0296

䖃

J0362

䖃

J0242

䖃䕧

J0262

䖃䕧

×
䕧

J0001

䖃

J0002

䖃

J0228

䖃

J0275

䖃

J0381

䖃

J0382

䖃

J0363

䖃

J0384

䖃

J0389

䖃

×

J0391

䖃

J0399

䖃

J0403

䖃

J0405

䖃

J0408

䖃

×

J0426

䖃

J0428

䖃

J0398

䖃

×

J0400

䖃

×

J0442

䖃×

J0443

䖃

䖃 Released

Staying×

Death or missing䕧䕧 Captured

Fig. 2. Stay of released storks within Toyooka Basin. Gaps between solid lines indicate that the bird was absent
from Toyooka.

Table 5. Breeding out in the ¿elds.

Table 6. Survival of young storks after Àedging.

Number of

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

Total

Number of

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

Total

Pairs
Eggs
Hatchling
Fledgling

1
2
0
0

2
6
2
1

5
20
13
8

6
32
14
9

7
33
18
9

−
93
47
27

Fledglings
birds deadbirds missing

0
0
0

1
0
0

8
1
0

9
2
1

9
2
0

27
5
1

Surviving at theend of FY

0

1

8

14

21

21

2. Fledging and formation of the “managed population”

out in the fields2‑1) Fledging

Since the first breeding attempt in 2006, 27 chicksÀedged out in the ¿elds in 5 years by 2010. Among them
5 have died and one has been missing since January 2010.

As of the end of the ¿scal year of 2010, 21 storks are
surviving out in the ¿elds (Table 6).
2‑2) Formation of the “managed population”

A wild male stork suspected to have come from thecontinent stayed from 2002 to 2006. Since 2006 anotherFig. 3. Changes in number of storks in Toyooka region.

in total form the “managed population” in Toyooka.
In 2009 the wild female and a released male formed apair, and produced offspring the next year in 2010. It was amilestone event in a sense that new gene were introduced
into the gene pool18) of the domestic OWS population.

wild individual (female) began to Ày into Toyooka inter-

Average number of fledglings contributing to themittently. As a result, 17 released storks, 21 individuals

increase of the population size is 5.4/year (27 storks/5

that Àedged out in the ¿elds, and 1 wild stork, 39 storks

years). On the other hand, the average number of deaths

72Grand design for reintroductionthat reduces population size is 2.0/ year (10 storks/5

death of 2 territorial males in February and March ofyears). Thus, the population size in Toyooka is gradually

2011, respectively.

increasing (Fig. 3).

3‑3) Situation of self-support and problems

Twelve storks are displayed in an open cage within the
3. Social Structure of the Oriental White Stork

estate of HPOWS, kept Àightless by regular feather clip-3‑1) Territory

ping to which ¿xed amount of live ¿sh is provided every

There is a famous photograph that makes one think thatafternoon.

the basic social structure of OWS is Àock. It played an

There are free-ranging storks that come to this open

important role before the experimental release in motivat-

cage and take away the food provisioned for the caged

ing the local community towards reintroduction of storks

storks. By counting number of days in a month each of(Fig. 4).

such kind of storks come to the cage, it has been revealed

A similar group was recorded in autumn of 2008 andthat not only the Àoaters but also breeding birds that have

2009, but it was observed only for one day and 4 days,

territories come to HPOWS frequently during the non-respectively. Thus, they are now considered to have been

breeding season (Fig. 6).

temporary “gatherings”

19)

On the other hand, various stakeholders24) provide foodbut not Àocks.

Moreover, most of the storks forming this gathering
were evidenced to be young Àoaters

20)

before maturing,

younger than 4 years old, due to their leg-bands.

regularly or intermittently, especially during the breeding
season. Thus, the current success of breeding out in the¿elds is achieved relying on such arti¿cial food supply. In

Holding a pair-territory is necessary for breeding. Thus

other word, the population have “not yet achieved self-

it can be concluded that “the basic social structure of

support”, and this is the major problem that should be

OWS is the territorial system.”conquered towards full-fledged reintroduction in the21)

Position information of pairs (ARGOS data ) were

future.

plotted on a map. By using the minimum convex polygon
method22) it was revealed that 90％ of the recorded locations within the home range23) were distributed within a 2
km radius circle from their nests. Thus the size of theterritory is supposed to be of a minimum radius of 2 km.
3‑2) Distribution of territories

There were 7 territories within Toyooka Basin in 2010.
The average distance between nests was 2.7 km. Drawing
a 2 km radius circle centering at each nests shows thatmuch of the areas of 5 territories in the Central Toyooka
overlapped greatly (Fig. 5). In the breeding season of
2011, 5 territories existed in the Toyooka Basin due to theFig. 4. A famous photo, August 1960, at Izushi River in Toyooka,
Hyogo Prefecture (provided by Fujikougeisha).

Fig. 5. Distribution of pair territories in 2010. The two circles
drawn by dotted lines are the territories disappeared by the endof 2010 due to the death of the pair male.
73

Reintroduction（2014）3: 67 ‒ 86

100%
80%
60%

Solitary䠄n=3䠅

40%

Paired䠄n=8䠅

20%

Solitary䠄n=4䠅

0%
S O
2007

N

D

J

F

M

A

M

J

J

A

S

Fig. 6. Seasonal change in dependence on the food provisioning for
caged Àightless storks by free-ranging storks. Percent of days in amonth coming to the cage and foraged are shown for 8 paired birds
and 7 solitary birds, 4 of which were not dependent on the feeding.

4. Analysis of nesting site4‑3) Foraging habitat25)4‑1) Topography and habitat

The 1,600 hours of tracking of a wild male stork

Past records of OWS as an inhabitant or a migrant ismigrating from the continent in 2002 revealed that time

distributed all over Japan. A potential habitat analysis

spent in rice paddy ¿elds and rivers occupy 29％ and 20

suggests that the topography necessary for％ of total time respectively, thus these two are considered

the habitat of OWS includes combination of rivers andto be important foraging habitats for OWS. He spent mostrice paddy ¿elds located near the coastline and appropri-of his time in paddy ¿elds from early spring to summer,

ate interspersion of hills on Àatland (Mitsuhashi Unpub-

and in rivers from autumn to winter (Table 8).

lished).

4‑4) Prey animals

26)

using GIS

Furthermore, habitat analysis in a smaller scale on the

Although most of the prey (93％) hunted by released

past nest distribution in Tajima District has revealed thatstorks could not be identi¿ed due to general dif¿culties

storks nested in the hilly areas within 500m from the edge

associated with ¿eld observations, part of them (7％) wereof the lowland, de¿ned as a slope of less than 3 degrees.

identi¿ed in 1,231 cases, and of them 707 (57％) repre-4‑2) Arti¿cial nest-towers as nest sitesented ¿sh and 411 (33％) represented amphibians such as

Wild storks in the past nested on red pines, however

frogs. Furthermore, reptiles (snakes) were recorded in one

when experimental release began numerous arti¿cial nest-

case and small animals including insects in 112 cases

towers were prepared by various stakeholders. As a result,(Table 9). Considering the low probability of identifying

79％ of nesting (19/24) was conducted on these arti¿cialsmall animals, it is possible that invertebrates such as

nest-towers (Table 7). They clearly contribute to success-insects are underestimated. Since this result does not con-ful breeding, thus it can be said that arti¿cial nest-towers

tradict with the past memories of the residents, it can be

are important nest sites for the storks in the present time,concluded that OWS is a generalist27) among carnivorous

and they can be used hereafter also.

species that takes wide range of animals including not

Telegraph poles and electric pylons are often used bystorks. However, due to the risk of interference to power

only ¿sh and amphibians but also terrestrial animals.
4‑5) Prey abundance

supply and also of electri¿cation of storks, nests above

Prey abundance surveys were conducted on biomass28)

power poles are subject to removal as soon as they are

in rice paddies, rivers and water ditches from 2001 to

found.

2004. But as the relationship between the prey availability

for storks and the biomass is not clear, it is not possible
to draw a scienti¿c conclusion on the de¿ciency of prey
Table 7. Frequency distribution of nest sites after the experimental release. Actual number of nests are given.
Nest site

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

Total

Arti¿cial nest-towers
Above cages
Above power poles

1
0
0

2
0
0

4
1
0

4
1
1

8
0
2

19
2
3

74

availability.
4‑6) Reasons of breeding failure

Among 93 eggs laid in the ¿eld in ¿ve years, 66 eggs
did not arrive at Àedging because eggs were either infertile, damaged or subject to predation. Fledging rate per
egg was 0.29 (27/93) (Table 10).

Grand design for reintroduction

Table 8. Percent of time spent by a wild stork in each of the foraging habitats. Asterisks
are added to major feeding habitats.
MonthRice paddies

RiversStreams Ditches

July 2003
Aug 2003
Sept 2003
Oct 2003
Nov 2003
Dec 2003
Jan 2004
Feb 2004
March 2004
April 2004
May 2004
June 2004
July 2004

*54.2
0.0
14.9
5.0
16.9
16.2
22.6
*18.8
*43.2
*20.2
*29.1
*50.2
*82.8

2.6
6.2
*27.1
*53.2
*20.4
*58.8
*34.8
11.5
4.3
14.7
4.9
11.0
8.1

0.0
0.0
4.2
0.0
0.4
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.1
0.8
0.0
0.0
0.0

Total

28.8

19.8

0.4

OthersObservation time

1.7
2.7
5.5
0.0
3.1
1.1
0.0
0.6
19.1
29.2
0.0
0.0
0.0

41.4
91.1
48.3
41.8
59.2
23.9
42.6
69.1
33.3
35.2
65.9
38.8
0.9

83 h 31 m
67 h 01 m
68 h 13 m
127 h 45 m
227 h 48 m
193 h 31 m
206 h 05 m
198 h 58 m
211 h 56 m
66 h 41 m
31 h 40 m
53 h 38 m
28 h 49 m

4.8

46.1

1,565 h 36 m

Table 9. Prey animals hunted by released storks. Actual number of prey items are given.
MonthFishesAmphibians

ReptilesInsects, etc.

Others

Total

September
OctoberNovember
DecemberJanuary
February
March
April
May
June
July

4
4
10
291
291
6
47
10
43
1

4
15
1
5
1
0
4
3
306
36
36

0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0

3
31
0
26
16
0
22
8
6
0
0

121
4,084
4,897
2,938
80
24
1,973
169
1,359
97
365

132
4,135
4,908
3,260
388
30
2,046
190
1,714
133
402

Total

707

411

1

112

16,107

17,338

Table 10. Breeding success and mortality factor.
2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

Total

Eggs laid
Fledglings

2
0

6
1

20
8

32
9

33
9

93
27

Offspring dead

2

5

12

23

24

66

0
0
0
0
0
2

3
0
0
1
0
1

0
2
0
4
1
5

1
5
6
5
0
6

2
5
2
7
0
8

6
12
8
17
1
22

Number of

Eggs infertile
Eggs damaged
Eggs depredated
Chicks dead within nest
Chicks depredated
Reason unknown

Among the 44 cases where the causes of death arein the wild were depredated. The 5 cases where theknown, predation is not so high, accounting for about 20％

fledglings died had causes such as traffic accidents.

(9/44 eggs). These cases occurred while the parent birds

There have also been no predation cases among adultleft their nests due to disturbance such as human interfer-birds in this population.

ence. Predation did not occur while the parents were attheir nests.
Furthermore, there were no cases where Àedged chicks

There were two cases of egg damage and one case ofchick dying in the nest. These were caused by attackingof nests by neighbouring pairs. It shows that intraspeci¿c75

Reintroduction（2014）3: 67 ‒ 86

Table 11. Trampling of seedlings of rice plant by the Oriental
White Stork.

No of steps in rice paddies (A)Time spent in rice paddies (B)
Number of seedlings trampled (C)Probability of trampling (C/A)

2005

2006

2007

15,594
657
38
1/410

3,598
251
25
1/144

6,921
567
17
1/407

to give more attention to nature in their region and moreconsidation to their local community, and they became towish that their children and grandchildren would remain
Fig. 7. An example of nest distribution in the past wild population.

in their region.
This result indicates that communities no longer con-aggression of OWS is much violent that can cause death.

sider OWS as nuisance and they are now accepting theSuch aggressiveness has been recognized among captive

stork as part of their communities. The existence of storks

population as well, and thus it is possible that intraspeci¿cseems to have created affection and pride for their com-relationship signi¿cantly inÀuence breeding success formunities among local people.

the top carnivore like OWS.

5‑3) Changes in the perception of farmers4‑7) Nest location of neighbours in the past wild population

Tajima District Administration of¿ce of Hyogo Prefec-

Past wild population nested on hilly slopes surrounded

ture, Toyooka City and HPOWS jointly conducted sur-by small scale ridges, thus it is highly possible that nests

veys on the trampling of rice plant seedlings from 2005 towere located in a way so that neighbours could not see

2007 (Toyooka Nourin Suisan Shinko Jimusho 2008). The

each other (Fig. 7).

result revealed that trampling rate is as low as 0.2 to 0.7％

Appropriate positioning of nest locations and territories(Table 11), and 75％ of seedlings trampled recovered to thewill be required that alleviates intraspeci¿c aggression ofsame level as those not trampled. This scienti¿c result

this species.

proved that the damage caused by OWS is minimal andis considered to have contributed to alleviating the old

5. Changes in the perception of local people in Toyooka

perception of the farmers: “OWS is nuisance that trample

5‑1) Public perception in 1960 – 70s

seedlings of the rice plant.”

Local people had complicated images about OWS,
sometimes recognizing them as nuisance and at other

6. Points of attention for reintroduction based on thetimes having positive images represented by “celebratory”

outcomes of the experimental releaseor “beautiful.” Just before extinction, conservation poli-

As experimental release of OWS has been conductedcies were widely implemented by public and private enti-

only in Hyogo Prefecture, the fruits, although still limited,

ties, and such efforts resulted in breaking away from theis compiled as “Points of Attention for Reintroduction of

nuisance image. The positive public image of OWS prob-

the Oriental White Stork” (see appendix).

ably has been strongly inÀuenced by the conservation
policy since the 19th century (probably since Edo period).
5‑2) 2010 Public Survey

In the survey conducted among the residents of Izu Village of Toyooka in 2010, no respondent had negative

Required conditions and past efforts for successful
reintroduction
1. Required conditions for inhabitation of OWS

images for OWS. About 70％ answered that they have

Hereby we have treated topography, habitat, nest-site,

images such as “celebratory”, “rare”, “proud”, and “sym-foraging-site, prey-species, prey-availability, predator andbolic of ecological recovery.”genetic diversity as the 8 minimum factors to be consid-

Furthermore 80％ of respondents answered that after

ered for achieving inhabitation of OWS. Among them, thethe start of nesting by storks in their local area, they began

biggest problems to be solved in order to achieve success-76Grand design for reintroduction

Table 12. Temporal change in river wetland area (ha). The values in 2019 are those thatplanned.
1898

1950

2002

2005

2007

2009

2019

Existing
For Àood control
For restoration

281
0
0

154
0
0

81.3
0
0

81.8
2.7
0

72.4
39.5
4.2

70.7
49.6
4.2

67.7
128.2
27.2

Total

281

154

81.3

84.5

116.1

124.5

223.1

ful reintroduction can be narrowed down to just two;
namely prey-availability and genetic diversity. Other fac-

Table 13. Temporal changes in number of fish ladders for paddy¿eld.

tors have not changed since the times of the past wild

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

population; or originally do not have signi¿cant impact

6

50

88

89

93

106

106

106

such as predators; or are not serious problems at least in
the present time such as pesticide. Nest-site can be sup-should be taken into consideration for the establishment

plied arti¿cially at least in the present time.

of the genuinely wild population is the conspeci¿cs as1‑1) Prey availability

competitors, especially the neighbouring breeding pairs.

Compared to the time before the age of Land Reclama-1‑4) Value creation and consensus buildingtion Project for rice ¿elds (conducted in 1970s to 80s),

In order to ensure that these required conditions are

OWSʼs foraging habitats such as shallow waters in rivers,

met, consensus building and cooperation among stake-ditches and rice paddies now have much less biomass ofholders are inevitable. Creation of diverse values revolv-

prey animals, although available now is only the generaling around reintroduction of storks can boost such effort,

empirical fact that aquatic animals represented by fresh-and lead to realization of sustainable society that canwater ¿sh have diminished drastically all over Japan sincecoexist with OWS. Then, the important issues are thethen. It is also the fact, on the other hand that we cannot

development of human resources that can cooperate withshow any scienti¿c evidences of shortage of food for storks.

sympathy for the reintroduction efforts and promotion of

The undeniable fact at present is that the existing OWS

community development. Introduction of effective social

population is dependent on arti¿cial feeding.

framework is required also.

1‑2) Genetic diversity

Currently, majority of the captive storks of HPOWS

2. Past efforts towards reintroduction

belong to limited number of haplotypes. Furthermore,

Civil engineering projects aiming at nature restoration

there is a signi¿cant bias in number of individuals fromof rivers, and ecological farming29) fruiting as brand-ricefamily to family. Thus there is a need to actively exchange

have helped the establishment of the existing population

storks with institutions within and outside of Japan, andof OWS.

enhance the genetic diversity of the captive population.

2‑1) River projects

Moreover, there is a need to promote scienti¿c analysis

As a result of river projects practiced by the Ministryof nuclear DNA of OWS where the studies are quite lim-of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism and theited. The advance of study in this ¿eld will allow us toGovemment of Hyogo Prefecture, river wetland available

understand the present state of genetic diversity of OWS

to storks recovered to 44％ of Meiji-era (late 1890s) by

and will enable effective enhancement and maintenance2009. Now there is a plan of increasing the wetland furtherof genetic diversity of the captive population.

by 2019 (Table 12).

In turn, it will become the underlying resource to enhance

Fish ladders in rice paddy fields30) have also been

the genetic diversity of the “managed population.”

installed (Table 13), and not only ¿sh but also crustacean1‑3) Intraspeci¿c relationshipspecies are known to use them.

The ecological and behavioural information available

However, there is no evidence if this is contributing tofrom the existing population of OWS and the past map ofenhance the quantity of prey animals within the paddy

nest distribution suggest that the important factor that¿elds. Further promotion of measures to increase ¿sh
77

Reintroduction（2014）3: 67 ‒ 86

abundance together with implementation of usual surveys

more, almost 90％ of the respondents said that they hadon prey amount is necessary.

interests in landing of OWS on their own farmland, or2‑2) Ecological farming

recovery of the healthy ecosystem and nature conserva-“Farming Method that helps Oriental White Stork(hereafter, OWS farming method)”, one of the ecologicaltion. It appears that multifaceted and non-economic values are being generated among them.

farming methods, has been promoted by Toyooka Fisher-

Based on data of two storks that are almost free fromies Of¿ce, Tajima District Administration Of¿ce, Hyogo

arti¿cial feeding, although there is no signi¿cant trend of

Prefecture and Toyooka Agriculture Improvement Promo-

their landing in the paddy ¿elds with ecological farming

tion Center. The area of farmland where OWS farming(Table 15), storks tend to spend longer time in the ¿elds

method is applied has been increasing steadily and haswith ecological farming (Table 16). Perhaps the ecologicalreached approximately 350 ha in FY2010 (Table 14). The

farming methods can be effective in attracting storks.

rice produced by OWS farming method is recognized as

Furthermore, signi¿cant increase in prey biomass dur-an ecological brand rice and has generated a high addi-

ing the summer time was found in rice paddy ¿elds where

tional value.

ecological farming is applied compared to those with con-According to the results of the 2008 survey targeting
farmers implementing the OWS farming method, farmers

ventional farming method31) (Table 17).
2‑3) Social activities¿nd additional value in their agricultural products, giving

In Toyooka region, efforts towards realization of sus-

them a strong incentive to practice the method. Further-tainable society that can coexist with OWS are being pro-

Table 14. Temporal changes in area (ha) of farmland that applies “OWS Farming
Method” in Tajima District.
Crop

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

Rice
Soy beans

0.7
0.0

1.8
0.0

50.5
0.0

111.8
0.0

197.7
0.0

234.5
19.0

278.9
41.1

304.4
52.3

Table 15. Frequency of landing on the paddy ¿eld with ecological and conventional
methods by 2 released storks. Expected values calculated from the relative area
are given in parentheses.
Individual ID

Ecological farming

Conventional farming

Chi-square test

J0363
J0384

43 (34)67 (54)401 (410)
523 (536)

NS
NS

Table 16. Time (min.) spent foraging on the paddy ¿eld with ecological and conventional methods by 2 released storks. Expected values calculated from the relative area are given in parentheses.
Individual ID

Ecological farming

Conventional farming

Chi-square test

J0363
J0384

2,124 (1,283)
1,709 (1,246)

14,780 (15,621)
11,820 (12,283)

P＜0.001
P＜0.001

Table 17. Number of species, density (/0.75m2) and biomass (mg) of aquatic animals found in paddy fields
with different farming methods.
Method

78

May

June

July

Species/density

Biomass

Species/density

Biomass

Species/density

Biomass

Conventional

15/314

1,011

16/8753,370

155/664

2,774

Ecological
Pesticide-reduced
Pesticide-free

9/9,699
8/2,456

13,6771,773

9/6,316
11/6,518

15,584
15,845

15/2,555
15/7,678

7,219
9,772

Grand design for reintroduction

moted, and positive cycles are to be generated between

OWS reintroduction and the project itself have beenenvironment and economy.

broadcasted widely.

(1) Consensus building(5) Change of view in local people“Liaison Committee for Reintroduction of the Oriental

Various local organizations such as administration

White Stork” established in 2003 is consisted of 28 institu-

of¿ces and parties of local people have been praised andtions/organizations based on the recognition that reintro-

received prizes for their contribution to the development

duction is an issue that has to be addressed by communityof community and/or to conservation of environment.

as a whole, and provides a platform for stakeholders to

These external evaluations are thought to be generating

jointly address the issues of nature recovery and restoration.

pride and affection among local people for their native(2) Value creation

places.

Coverage of OWS by media increased the visibility of
the name “Toyooka.”
Since the start of experimental release, HPOWS

Target Setting

attracted 300,000 visitors annually, and OWS has become

In accordance with IUCNʼs guidelines which state thatan inÀuential resource of tourism for the local community.

“re-introductions are generally long-term projects that

According to a study by an environmental economist

require the commitment of long-term ¿nancial and politi-(Onuma and Yamamoto 2009), the economical effect of

cal support”, and based on the scienti¿c fruits obtained so

OWS tourism in Toyooka is estimated as approximately 1

far, the future targets towards full-scale reintroduction ofbillion yen per year, contributing greatly to the regional

OWS is set as follows.

economy. Since many of the visitors are repeaters, thiseffect is expected to continue into the future. The reintro-

1. Short-term Target “Establishment of a stable andduction of OWS are considered as a good example where

genuinely wild population and its management”

conservation of biodiversity and economy are well bal-1‑1) Maintenance of the stork population in Toyooka Basin

anced.
(3) Establishment of new lifestyles and cultures
Interactions with OWS has promoted various activities
among people to revisit natural environment surrounding
them: e.g. rice paddy ¿elds and Satoyama woods (secondary woods characteristic to Japan).
There are many people who observe the released storks
and collect their own records. There are people that con-and captive population
The breeding pairs and their territories (7 pairs) established during the experimental release period should bemaintained.
(1) Among the 7 pairs that bred in 2010, males of 2 pairs
died. Current Àoaters in the ¿eld are young birds before
maturation. Thus, releases of adult male storks are neededsoon.

duct surveys of aquatic organisms in wetlands and rice(2) For the release, appropriate birds should be selected

paddy ¿elds. Moreover, abandoned ¿elds with poor eco-from the captive population of HPOWS, the genetic

nomic value are now being developed into habitats ofdiversity of which should be maintained throughOWS through cooperation between the local community

exchanges with other institutions having captive storks.

and organizations outside of Toyooka.

(3) Wild or the managed populations always have the

These civil activities are the results of the new relation-risk of drastic reduction in number due to environmental

ship between humans and nature that was promoted bychanges. Hence sustainable management of captive popu-

reintroduction project. It can be said that new lifestyles

lation is important.

and new cultures are being created with the reintroductionof OWS.
(4) Advertisement1‑2) Gradual escape from arti¿cial feeding

As the current managed population is dependent on theThrough a number of conferences and meetings, manyarti¿cial feeding both in individual maintenance32) andresearchers and stakeholders from within and outside ofbreeding, it cannot be called a “genuinely wild popula-

Japan joined together in Toyooka, where the fruits oftion.” It is required to attempt gradual escape from the79

Reintroduction（2014）3: 67 ‒ 86

artificial feeding. Currently, the relationship between

those practices. The results of monitoring should become

shortage of prey animals and dependency on arti¿cial

available for scienti¿c feedback which will then lead tofeeding is not clear. But, appropriate strategy should befurther planning and practice of adaptive management.

adopted that brings about improvement in prey availability for storks by civil engineering as well as doing feeding
operations as described below.

1‑4) Expanding from Toyooka region population to Tajima

District population(1) Changes of the feeding method for the captive birds

In order to establish stable and genuinely wild popula-in the open cage where Àightless storks are displayed (andtion, current breeding population limited to Toyooka

free-ranging birds visit to forage every day)Basin should be expanded to the surrounding areas. The(2) Stop of feeding to a speci¿ed pair that started at thetime of the experimental releasenest distribution before 1930s represented in the past map
will suggest us a lot in establishing the local populations(3) Clarifying the food availability to the storks in thein Tajima District. The current number of pairs can be

current foraging habitats (e.g. paddy ¿elds, rivers) anddoubled to 14 to 15 pairs when the population is success-

improving the feeding environment based on the scienti¿cfully expanded. The historical nest locations are consid-

33)

concepts and skills of ecological engineering . To beered as potential nest sites. The efforts to establish new

more precise, select a river system as a model case, andbreeding pairs in these areas will be practiced in coopera-

distribute breeding and refugee sites for aquatic animals

tion with the regional stakeholders.

represented by fresh-water ¿sh so as to allow them tomove freely between rivers and paddy ¿elds, and then theprey animal populations are made sustainable. It will also
be needed to cope with conservation and restoration of
wetland ecosystems on the landscape level.

1‑5) Joint research for establishment of breeding popula-tions outside of Hyogo Prefecture
In order to arrive at the mid-term target mentioned
below, of establishing breeding populations in the areas
outside of Hyogo Prefecture, HPOWS will promote joint1‑3) Appropriate arrangement of territories

research based on science with other regional entities.

Nest-towers now are located in a way that results insignificant overlaps between territories in the central
region of Toyooka. Thus, nests and territories should berearranged appropriately.
(1) Appropriate arrangement of territories that leads todecrease of intraspeci¿c aggression1‑6) Sustainable human resource development

The reintroduction project so far has been supported not
only by the administration of¿ces but also various stakeholders functioning in Toyooka region. In order to ensure
achievement of the future targets, it is required to keep

The home range of OWS is at least an area of 2km

active participation of these human resources and at theradius circle from the nest. The arrangement of territories

same time educate future leaders. The research institu-

that does not generate overlapping of territories should betions such as HPOWS together with various stakeholders

examined.

will need to cooperate to establish some educational orga-(2) Experimental and gradual movement of nest-towers

nizations that grow up the career of reintroduction in theArti¿cial nest-towers should be moved towards the hill-

future, and continuously reproducing human resources.

side, the place where wild storks nested in the past. By
that practice pairs of the neighboring nests cannot see
each other directly.

1‑7) Creation of a system of wisdom for community

development

The two kinds of efforts mentioned above (escape from

It is necessary to exchange diverse knowledge for

artificial feeding and territory rearrangement) requiredeveloping local communities that allow coexistence withcareful discussions and agreement with various kinds ofnature, by taking advantage of the wide range of networks

stakeholders that have supported the experimental releasebetween researchers, engineers and specialists held bypracticed by HPOWS and the managed stork population.

HPOWS. Creation of a system of wisdom original for

It is clear that appropriate monitoring is required witheach locality is to be structured.

80

Grand design for reintroduction1‑8) Promotion of consensus building

achieving this mid-term target.

Methods of building consensus among stakeholders
will be developed while implementing the efforts mentioned above.

Goal of Reintroduction
1. Establishment of a stable meta-population structure

2. Mid-term Target “Establishment of a domestic meta-

Undoubtedly, the standard goal of reintroduction is the

population structure of storks”“establishment of a stable meta-population structure.”

Following the establishment of a stable Tajima District

When new populations are established in many regions,

population within Hyogo Prefecture, expected is themaking the Toyooka Basin population as the domestic

establishment of multiple breeding populations in regions

source34), intermittent genetic exchange with continental

outside of Hyogo Prefecture.

population will naturally occur, which will lead to establishment of the meta-population structure connecting the2‑1) Establishment of domestic meta-population

continent and Japan.

A meta-population is de¿ned as “a group of spatiallyseparated populations of a same species that are linked

2. Realization of a sustainable local community that co-genetically by intermittent individual exchanges.” Like theexists with the Oriental White Stork

wild female that Àew from the continent and was incorpo-

The societal goal of the reintroduction project is “real-

rated into the current gene pool of Toyooka Basin popula-ization of a sustainable local community that coexists

tion, individual storks from other populations join a popu-with OWS.” Continuous production of diverse values

lation once in a few years. This will lead to enhancement

around OWS through collecting the wisdom of diverseof genetic diversity of the population, and at the same

stakeholders such as the community residents, organiza-time the different populations maintain a unity that sharestions, academic experts, governments and non-pro¿t orga-

common characters of the species. The existence of spa-

nizations, etc. will lead to an appropriate balance between

tially isolated populations and genetic exchanges among

nature recovery/restoration and community development.

them lead to sustainable existence of a species.

This will lead to establishment of a sustainable community that coexists with OWS.

2‑2) Promotion of potential habitat analysis

According to the historical records of migrating and3. Oriental White Stork to become a common species

breeding storks, and the results of potential habitat analy-

The goal of reintroduction is to make OWS, currently

sis, it is possible that new populations are established inclassi¿ed as Category IA (critically endangered) (Ministryother regions of this country. The breeding grounds canof Environment 2002) under the Law for the Conservation

be either regions where multiple pairs have their territo-

of Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, and is at

ries in a group, or only a pair breeds spatially isolated

a risk of extinction worldwide (IUCN 2011), to become afrom other populations.

common species. This may cause some transformation in

Further analysis of potential habitats will make it pos-Tajima District, especially in Toyooka, where OWS has

sible to scienti¿cally determine which of the two targets

become an icon and a symbol for pride of the region(group or single) to be set for each region. But, this will

owing to its rareness. Although the transformation cer-

become possible only after the decisions and preparations

tainly is a result of the glorious success of reintroduction,

are made by the implementing agency of the region where

this problem will have to be overcome sometime in thethe new population is to be established. And negotiations

future. Of course it is needless to say that the ¿rst success-with the Agency for Cultural Affairs that manages OWS

ful reintroduction of OWS will be engraved in history as

as the national natural monument is indispensable.

the pride of Hyogo Prefecture and Tajima District centered

It is hoped that the joint researches by HPOWS withupon Toyooka City. The science and practice aiming at rein-

regions outside of Hyogo, included in the achievement of

troduction and conservation of OWS practiced in Tajima

the short-term target, will become the milestone forDistrict so far is a challenging attempt, not only domesti81

Reintroduction（2014）3: 67 ‒ 86

cally but also internationally. If OWS becomes a common

experimental trials to achieve the target, and assessing

species one day, the history and the efforts by the people

the result

concerned will shine gloriously more than ever before.

6) IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature

and Natural Resources)–A global conservation network established in order to make political recom-

Concluding Remarks

mendations, promote awareness raising activities andMarch 2013 is the 60th year anniversary since the desig-

assist conservation organizations for conservation ofnation of OWS to national natural monument in Marchnatural environment and realization of sustainable use

1953.

of natural resources

There are only few scienti¿c studies on wild popula-7 ) Guidelines for Re-introduction–Policy guidelines

tions of OWS and thus its ecology is still not known very

drafted by the Re-introduction Specialist Group of thewell. The design of reintroduction of OWS thus cannot

IUCN ʼ s Species Survival Commission (SSC) in

but use adaptive management approach as was described

response to the increasing occurrence of re-introduc-in the promotion plan.

tion projects worldwide, and consequently, to the

It should be noticed ¿nally that in making up this Grandgrowing need for speci¿c policy guidelines to help

Design we needed to refer to so many affairs: ecology andensure that the re-introductions achieve their intended

behaviour of OWS that were evidenced for the ¿rst timeconservation bene¿t, and do not cause adverse side-

after the experimental release, societal / environmental

effects of greater impact

changes caused by many kinds of improvements, and8) ecosystem–Ecological concept of nature that comparesawareness raising activities implemented in parallel withbiological community and its abiotic environment as a

the reintroduction project. Adaptive management approachmaterial circulation system

can be based solely on the evaluation of what has been9) biological community–A group of organisms living in

done before. Plans are to be promoted in future by feedinga speci¿c area connected through diverse relationships

back the knowledge and evaluating results so far achieved

represented by the prey-predator interaction

and accumulated.

10) genetic exchange–Flow of genes through mating11) sustainable management–Sustainable conservationand management

Glossary1) Oriental White Stork Reintroduction Promotion Plan–

deposits caused by Àooding of rivers

Formulated by the “Liaison Committee for Reintroduc-13) haplotype–In a narrow sense, it represents mitochon-tion of the Oriental White Stork” (chaired by the Direc-

drial DNA polymorphism. The mitochondrial DNA is

tor General of the Tajima District Administration Of¿cestable because of no recombination, thus haplotype isof the Hyogo Prefecture), in order to establish the basic

utilized to reveal the maternal linkage of a groupprinciples for the reintroduction of the Oriental White14) genetic diversity–Diversity among individuals of theStork and set out the direction for promoting the effort

same species of organisms from the perspective of2) re-introduction–An attempt to introduce a species in an

genetics

area which was once part of its historical distribution15) spiral of extinction–The process of extinction progress

range, but from which it has been extirpated or becomein a spiral manner while multiple elements intertwine

extinctwith each other3) population–A group of organisms of a species thatinterbreed and live in an area4) strain–A group of individuals across generations thatare related genetically5) adaptive management–A framework to improve amethodology through setting a target, implementing8212) Àoodplain–Plains or wetlands created by sediment16) territory–An area defended by an individual or a groupof animals
17) breeding season–A season when an animals mate,build nests, lay eggs (or give birth) and care for theiroffspring18) gene pool–A whole body of genes that can be mixed

Grand design for reintroduction

in a region. A population is considered to be a group ofwhich an individual animal can maintain its health andgenes

behave in a normal manner19) Àock and gathering–A spatial assemblage of two or33) ecological engineering –Concepts and skills that con-more individuals with uni¿ed behaviour is a Àock, andtribute to improvement of environment for organisms

one without that is a gatheringtaking advantage of ecological theories and civil engi-20) floater–Solitary individuals that live close to thebreeding territory or in other areas

neering34) source–A population where the number of individuals21) ARGOS data–A database of location data, etc. which

increase in the meta-population and that becomes theare transferred from transmitters (attached to storks) toorigin for spreading of individuals into other populations

polar orbit satellites and receiving stations, which canbe utilized through internet
22 ) minimum convex polygon method–A method tode¿ne an area by linking the outermost recorded positions of animals
23) home range–An area of inhabitation where an indi-vidual animal moves around usually24) stakeholder–Individuals and organizations that havevested interests or are socially related25) habitat–Place and its environment that an individual

or a population use for living, in general it has a speci¿c spatial structure that is unique to each species
26) GIS (Geographic Information System)–A technologythat enables integrated management and processing,and visual display of data with location information(spatial data), enabling advanced analysis and quick
decision making27) generalist–It is also called an euryphagous animal. An

animal that feed on variety of organisms
28) biomass–Quantity of organisms in an area represented

by weight or volume29) ecological farming–A farming method with more than
30％ reduction of chemical fertilizers and pesticides

compared to the conventional farming in order to promote sustainability of natural cyclic functions of farming while reducing the impacts of them to the environment30) paddy ¿eld ¿sh ladder–A ladder for ¿sh installed onwater channels so that ¿sh can run into paddy ¿elds. It
is installed in order to conserve the biodiversity of ¿sh,etc. in the paddy ¿eld areas31) conventional farming method–A general farming

method in terms of quantity and frequency of fertilizers
and pesticides utilized by majority of producers in the

References
Blakiston, T, Pryer H (1878) A catalogue of the birds of Japan.
Ibis 7: 207 – 250.
IUCN (1998) IUCN Guidelines for Re-introductions. Prepared by
the IUCN/ SSC Re-introduction Specialist Group. IUCN
Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. 10 p.
IUCN (2011) IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version
2011.1. [http://www.iucnredlist.org]
Iwasa S (1936a) Kounotori. Hyogo-ken Hakubutu Gakkai-shi 11:
21 – 27. (in Japanese)
Iwasa S (1936b) Kounotori (II). Hyogo-ken Hakubutu Gakkaishi: 12: 59 – 61. (in Japanese)
Ministry of Environment (ed) (2002) Endangered wild animals ofJapan, Aves. Ministry of Environment, Tokyo, 278 p. (inJapanese)
Murata K, Satou M, Matushima K, Satake S, Yamamoto Y (2004)
Retrospective estimation of genetic diversity of an extinct
Oriental white stork (Ciconia boyciana) population in Japan
using mounted specimens and implications for reintroduction programs. Conservation Genetics 5: 553 – 560.
Muto S, Suzuki T (1967) Analysis of remaining mercury obtained
from the carcasses of the Oriental White Storks gained in
Obama and Toyooka. Japanese Journal of Applied Entomology and Zoology 11: 15 – 20. (in Japanese)
Nara National Research Institute for Cultural Properties (2011)
On the oldest domestic Oriental White Stork footprint discovered from the ruins of Ikeshima Fukumanji Iseki, (inJapanese, published on 18 May)
Niwa K (1892) Tori Nikki. Japanese Journal of Zoology 4: 271 –
273. (in Japanese)
Onuma A, Yamamoto M (2009) Economic analysis on reintroduction of the Oriental White Stork in Toyooka City, Hyogo
Prefecture. Mita Journal of Economics 102(2): 3 – 23. (inJapanese)
Sakamoto M (1966) Kounotori. Kobe Shinbun Co. Ltd., Kobe,
104 p. (in Japanese)
Toyooka Nourin Suisan Shinko Jimusho (2008) Towards development of ecological farming that allows coexistence with
the Oriental White Stork. Tajima District Administration
Of¿ce of Hyogo Prefecture, Toyooka, 7 p.
Yasuda K (1987) Edo Shokoku Sanbutucho. Shobunsha, Tokyo,
139 p. (in Japanese)

region32) individual maintenance–Maintaining a condition in83

Reintroduction（2014）3: 67 ‒ 86

AppendicesStork4‑2) Ecological farming aiming at enhancement of biodi-

versity is being promoted

Points of Attention for Reintroduction of the Oriental White Stork
Objectives4‑3) Adequate environmental education for enhancementof biodiversity and conservation of rice paddy ecosystem is being conducted4‑4) Adequate cooperation with local government is avail-able for promotion of reintroduction

Following points of attention were compiled based on4‑5) Adequate cooperation with scientists represented by

the systematic knowledge gained through the experience

professional ecologists is available for promotion ofof OWS experimental release in Hyogo Prefecture. Please

reintroductionnote that those who wish to apply them will have to discuss thoroughly with Hyogo Prefecture and obtain permission from the Agency for Cultural Affairs and theMinistry of Environment.

Action Plan
Short and mid-term action plans need to be developed
for release, settlement, breeding, population management,
environmental improvement, establishment of social sys-

Locational Requirement

tem, etc.

1. Historical inhabitation records

It is desirable to select historical nesting sites
2. Flight records of the Oriental White Stork

It is desirable that there are landing records of wild

Funding
The following types of funding need to be assured witha long time span

individuals or individuals released from other regions

1) Funding for improvement of environment

3. Natural Environment2) Funding for stork transportation

The following conditions will have to be met3‑1) Potential(1) Topographic condition
There should be topographic characteristics that meet3) Funding for establishment and maintenance of releasebases (in case of the soft-release)4) Funding for captive breeding, habituation and treat-ment of storks

the conditions for the settlement of the Oriental White

5) Funding for monitoring storks out in the ¿elds

Stork6) Funding for promotion of coexistence with the local(2) Habitat condition
There should be spatial structures that offer nesting,community including environmental education
7) Funding for securing human resources and training

feeding and roosting sites within the area with the topographic conditions outlined in a)(3) Enough evidential information should be available fordetermining a) and b)3‑2) Potential for improvements (possibility of improving

the environmental potential)(1) There should be plans to establish preferable nest sites(2) There should be plans to improve foraging conditions

Human Resources
The following human resources need to be secured1) Personnel for captive breeding and habituation
2) Personnel for capturing and rescuing storks
3) Personnel for research and data analysis
4) Personnel for joint promotion with communities includ-ing environmental educationand to increase the food availablity through civil engineering methods
4. Social environment

The following conditions have to be met4‑1) Understanding and cooperation of the public should

be obtained for coexistence with the Oriental White84

Facilities
The following facilities should be prepared as needed
1) Captive breeding facility and that as the release point

in some cases
It is desirable that there are wetlands or paddy ¿elds

Grand design for reintroduction

with ecological farming as the foraging ground existing in
the vicinity of the facility2) Habituation facility

・Preliminary draft of the Grand Design

June 27, 2011: The Fourth Meeting on・Draft of the Grand Design

3) Rescue facility
4) Research and data analysis facility

Knowledge and Technologies
The implementing entity of reintroduction will need toOperational Guidelines of the Oriental White
Stork Reintroduction Measures Committee(Establishment)

acquire the following knowledge and techniques in an

Article 1 The Oriental White Stork Reintroduction Mea-

organized manner. Trainings should be offered from spe-sures Committee (hereinafter referred to as the “Confer-cialized institutions (Hyogo Park of the Oriental Whiteence”) shall be established in order to make delibera-

Stork (HPOWS), Tama Zoological Park of Tokyo) andtions regarding scientific knowledge on thegovernment organizations (Toyooka City, etc.)

reintroduction of the Oriental White Storks imple-

1) Knowledge and techniques for captive breeding andmented by the Hyogo Park of the Oriental White Stork

habituationand promote full-Àedged reintroduction2) Knowledge and techniques for capture(Functions)3) Knowledge and techniques for retention

Article 2 The Committee shall make deliberations on the4) Knowledge and techniques for monitoring

following matters:

5) Knowledge and techniques for data analysis(1) Matters related to the principles of releasing the6 ) Knowledge and techniques for cooperation with

regional community

Oriental White Stork(2) Guidance and advices for captive breeding andrelease of the Oriental White Stork

Legislative Procedures
The Oriental White Stork is being protected as national(3) Other matters necessary to realize full-Àedged reintroduction of the Oriental White Stork

natural monument under the Law for Protection of Cul-

(Organization)tural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs), and as

Article 3 The Committee shall be consisted of 10 mem-

critically endangered species under the Law for the Con-bers or less listed in the attached table

servation of Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora

2. The members of the Committee are those with aca-

(Ministry of Environment). Transportation, captive breed-

demic expertise and are appointed by the Super-ing, release, capture or management of storks in the rein-

intendent of Education, Hyogo Prefectural Board

troduction efforts require legal permission in advanceof Education(Chair)
Article 4 A Chair shall be assigned for the Committee

Process of the development of the Grand Designfor the Oriental White Stork Reintroduction(by the Oriental White Stork Reintroduction
Megsures Committee)

2. The Chair shall be selected from the members of the

February 23, 2011: The First Meeting on

4. In cases where there were accidents to the Chair or

Committee
3. The Chair shall oversee the activities of the Com-mittee and represent the Committee

・Results of experimental release and its evaluation

when the Chair is absent, a member appointed by・Full-Àedged reintroduction (establishment of sustain-

the Chair in advance will replace the Chair in under-able wild population)
April 19, 2011: The Second Meeting on・Outline of the Grand Design
・Establishment of quantitative targets

May 10, 2011: The Third Meeting on

taking his/her duties.
(Meetings)
Article 5 Meetings shall be convened by the Chair
2. Persons other than the members of the Committee

shall be requested to participate in the meetings in85

Reintroduction（2014）3: 67 ‒ 86

cases where the Chair determined it necessary.
(Honorarium)
Article 6 Honorarium, speci¿ed separately, shall be provided when a member engaged in duties of the Committee including its meetings.

(Expiration of the guidelines)
2. This operational guidelines shall expire as of Decem-

ber 31, 2011.
(Special clause for convening meetings)
3. The ¿rst meeting to be convened under these opera-(Travel Expenses)

tional guidelines shall be convened by the Chief of

Article 7 Travel expenses, speci¿ed separately, shall be

Division of Social Education of the Hyogo Prefec-

provided to members when attending meetings or trav-

tural Board of Education, regardless of provision ineling in order to engage in duties of the Committeethe ¿rst paragraph of Article 5.

(Administrative Matters)
Article 8 Administrative matters of the Committee shallbe conducted by the Division of Social Education of the
Hyogo Prefectural Board of Education, in cooperation
with the Hyogo Park of the Oriental White Stork.

Member List of the Oriental White Stork Reintroduction Measures Committee
Hiroaki Iwaisaki, Kyoto University(Auxiliary Provision)

Shuichi Kitoh, University of Tokyo

Article 9 Items not listed above and those that need to

Shingo Miura, Waseda University (Chair)

be speci¿ed for the operation of the Committee shall be

Kiyoshi Nagai, Tama Zoological Park, Tokyode¿ned separately.

Yoshihiro Hayashi, Yamashina Institute for Ornithology

Supplementary Provisions

Yukihiro Shimatanai, Kyushu University(Effective Date)
1. This operational guidelines shall become effective

as of January 1, 2011.

86

Shigeru Yasuda, Hyogo Institute of Agricultural andFishery Community
Yoshihiro Yamamoto, Hyogo College of Medicine