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How did the Shogun address deforestation in Japan?
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The shogun responded to deforestation by implementing a national plan to reduce logging and replace destroyed forests. Under the new policy, one had to obtain special permission from the government for the harvest and use of wood. The shogun also encouraged the planting of trees.
Imagine this. It's the 1600s. You're living on an island, one of over six thousand in your country. The population is growing rapidly and gathering together into cities. Houses are springing up everywhere, and they are nearly all made of wood. Private homes aren't the only building projects, though. Huge royal palaces and gigantic temples are also in the works throughout your city and country. All of this construction requires wood, lots and lots of wood, for that is the standard building material in your land. Yet people still need wood for other uses, too, especially for fuel like firewood and charcoal.
You notice that the forests, once so grand and sprawling, are now dwindling, and that leads to more environmental problems. Trees prevent runoff that can lead to water contamination, but now with fewer trees, more pollutants are seeping into the water supply. This runoff also causes soil erosion...
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that creates all sorts of troubles, everything from a lack of nutrients in the soil (crops need those!) and flash flooding. Trees also help clean the air, so with fewer trees, even the air you breathe is becoming more polluted. Something needs to be done and fast.
Luckily, you live in Japan, and your leader, the shogun of the Tokugawa clan, is mindful of the problem of deforestation and is working to do something about it. Together with the feudal lords, he has worked out a system to protect and expand the forests. The lords, and even common farmers, have begun to plant large numbers of seedlings. It makes sense, right? If you cut down trees, you ought to plant more to replace them. Finally, someone has thought of that! The lords have also limited access to their forests, patrol them to make sure people don't steal the wood, and restrict the number of trees that can be cut (people need permission to cut timber now). The shogun has also issued an edict called the “Yamakawa Okite.” This edict is focused on preventing flash flooding, but because this problem is partly caused by deforestation, the edict includes a ban on digging up tree roots and an order to plant more trees. The shogun, the lords, and even the common people have banded together to gradually regain the forests.
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