New aspects in coastal planning by citizen participation

Social and legal systems for coastal management in Japan have been fragmented since Japan began its modernization over a century ago. The demands made by each field and industrial sector resulted in systems being formulated to achieve optimal results for each individual field or sector, and in the initial stage, involved integrating domestic and imported western ideas step by step. Starting in the late 1990s, following the Earth Summit and the revolution in environmental thinking, citizen participation was promoted in Japan based on amendments to the River Law and Seacoast Act. The citizen sector is relatively free of pecuniary interests and other ties, so citizens can think about issues in a way that transcends the current dictates of conventional common sense. This paper introduces a case in Japan - a project to "set back", a sea wall at the river mouth where Nakatsu Tidal Flat is located in Oita prefecture and fronting the Seto Inland Sea in western Japan. This site is habitat to many endangered species such as the Japanese horseshoe crab. This case has come to be regarded in various contexts as a new methodology for domestic coastal management, landscape and habitat protection, citizen participation, social partnerships and coastal zone management. On the international level, the 1 ^st Asia and Pacific Water Summit was held in Oita in 2007. The Nakatsu example was introduced as a case of good practice of Japanese citizen participation and decision-making systems. In 2010, Nakatsu Tidal Flat was awarded the International Wetland Prize. These promotional activities have highlighted the importance of integrated coastal zone management, and are encouraging national and local governments to form new schemes.