Transfer Register) system for chemical substances that are suspected of being harmful to human health and to ecosystems. Under the PRTR system, businesses voluntarily identify and report to the government the amount of chemical substances that are released to the environment or transferred as waste materials; and the government aggregates the data from businesses and publishes them with estimated results of release quantities outside notification. Continued from the previous year, the second aggregate result was published in March 2004, and requests for the disclosure of individual data are being accepted. It is important to further promote risk communication to enable all parties, including citizens, industries, and the administrations, to share accurate information on chemical substances and to improve communication with each other.

### 6. Ensuring the Coexistence of Man and the Nature

## (1) Ensuring the Coexistence of Man and the Nature in Japan

When we look at the current state of the natural environment in Japan, we see that natural forest is in decline while vegetation in planted forest, arable land, and other areas are increasing.

The areas of seaweed beds and tidal flats as well as natural coastlines are also in decline.

The Red List, which contains threatened wildlife species, listed 2,663 species that are facing extinction. They represent a little more than 20% of mammals, amphibians, brackish water and freshwater fish, and vascular plants (tracheophyte), a little less than 20% of reptiles, and a little more than 10% of bird species inhabiting Japan.

Furthermore, 62 species have been designated national endangered species of wild fauna and flora pursuant to the Law for the Conservation of Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, including two species of mammals and 39 species of birds.

In view of this situation, the new National Biodiversity Strategy has been approved in March 2002. The new National Strategy presented the following three main pillars as the basic principle for implementing practical and specific measures: (i) “strengthening conservation” to deal with the problems of species extinction, decline in wetlands, and alien species; (ii) “nature restoration” to actively rehabilitate and restore vanished nature in addition to conservation; and (iii) “sustainable use” of all national land, including community-based woods and rural landscapes and urban areas, or in other words, to advance the conservation of bio-

Changes in Total Emissions of Dioxins

Base year	49.0~51.9	60.6~62.6	68.8~68.9	75.2~75.3	87.7~88.1	90.7~91.0

Source: Ministry of the Environment

Changes in Vegetation Naturalness over Time

(%)

Vegetation Naturalness Survey	1st National Survey (implemented in FY 1973)	5th National Survey (implemented in FY 1994—1998)	Increase/decrease
Natural vegetation of grassland and moorland	1.1	1.1	0.0
Natural vegetation of forest	21.7	17.9	-3.8
Substitutional vegetation close to natural vegetation of forest	4.5	5.3	0.8
Substitutional vegetation of secondary forest	21.0	18.6	-2.4
Planted forest	20.8	24.8	4.0
Substitutional vegetation of high profile grassland	1.9	1.5	-0.4
Substitutional vegetation of low profile grassland	1.6	2.1	0.5
Fruit orchards, mulberry plantations, tea gardens, and other horticultural areas	1.5	1.8	0.3
Paddies, fields, and other arable land, residential area with abundant trees	22.7	21.1	-1.6
Urban land, developed tracts, and other zones where plant life is virtually nonexistent	3.1	4.3	1.2
Natural bare land	—	0.4
Open water	—	1.1
Other (areas bare of vegetation, category unknown)	—	0.0
All Japan	100.0	100.0

Note: Natural bare land, Open water, and Other were not included in the 1st Survey

Source: Compiled from the Ministry of the Environment, The 1st and 5th National Surveys on the Natural Environment.

Changes in the Area of Tidal Flats in Japan

Note: Hyogo and Tokushima prefectures were not surveyed in the 5th Survey (FY 1998).

Source: Compiled from the Ministry of the Environment, The 2nd, 4th and 5th National Surveys on the Natural Environment.