Threatened Habitat Research Activity

ThreatenedHabitatResearchActivity
*YouwillbegivenashortreadingpassageaboutathreatenedhabitatinJapan.
Otherstudentswillbegivendifferentreadingpassages.Readyourscarefullyandbe
readytoanswerquestionsaboutit.Useyourdictionaryifyouneedto.
*NowlookattheThreatenedHabitatResearchFormonthenextpage.
Trytofillitout,usinginformationfromyourreadingpassageandfromother
students.(Justextractthemainpointsandtrytouseyourownwords.)
Askquestionslikethis:
Whathabitatdoyouhave?
Whatproblemsisyourhabitatfacing?
*Listenandwritedowntheanswerstoyourquestions.Dontreadorcopyother
studentsreadingpassagesornotes.Ifyoudontunderstand,askforarepetitionor
anexplanation.
Sorry,couldyousaythatagain?
Sorry,howdoyouspellthat?
Sorry,doyouknowwhatthatwordisinJapanese?
Wetlands
Wetlandsprovideaperfecthabitatformanyspeciesofyoungfishorstopoversfor
migratorybirds.Sincewetlandsareusuallylocatednearinhabitedareasanddonothave
anyimmediateeconomicvalue,reclamationworkisgoingonthroughoutJapan.
Comparedtoforestareasinthedeepmountainsorcoralreefs,wetlandsaremuchmore
accessibleandthevisualimpactofreclamationworkissmaller.Despitetheprotestsof
manypeople,suchreclamationworkhasrecentlyoccurredinAwasehigatainOkinawa
andIsahayahigatainKyushu.Tosavewetlandsitisimportantthatpeopleand
governmentsbegintorecognizetheirecologicalandlongtermbenefitsratherthanjust
theimmediateeconomicbenefitsofdevelopment.
anexplanation.
Rivers
ThereareveryfewnaturalriversleftinJapan.Nationwide,damconstructionandso
calledriverbankprotectionworkcanbeseeneverywhere.Coveringtheriverbankswith
concreteandstoppingthenaturalflowoftheriverwithdamsaffectstheentirehabitat
surroundingtheriver:thefish,insects,birds,animals,soilandtrees.OntheKawabe
RiverinKumamoto,thelargestdamprojectinKyushuispresentlyunderway.These
largeprojectsarecontinuingeventhoughtheoriginalreasonsthatweregivenfortheir
constructiondecadesagoarenolongervalid.Peopleandgovernmentsmustbeginto
treasurethenaturalvalueofJapansriversandreviewwhetheroldprojectsstillinthe
planningstagesarestillnecessarytoday.
anexplanation.
Coastline
Japansnaturalcoastlineisdecreasingandasaresultthisvaluablehabitatforwildlifeis
facingacrisissituation.Runawayconstruction,resortandmarinadevelopmentaswellas
socalledcoastprotectionwork,wherehundredsofconcretetetrapodwallsare
constructed,areallresponsibleforthisloss.InHenoko,onthemainislandofOkinawa,
areaswheretheendangereddugongfeedonseaweedareinacriticalsituationduetothe
planofconstructingreplacementfacilitiesfortheU.S.militarybase.Thelivingneeds
andsituationofwildlifemustbeconsideredsincetheseprojectsmayhaveadramatic
effectontheirlives.Unlessthegovernmentbeginstoconductenvironmentalassessment
studiesbeforetheseprojectsarecarriedout,thesituationmaybecomeirreversible.
anexplanation.
Satoyama
Uncontrolledurbandevelopmentforhousing,themeparks,superstoresetc,iscausing
thedisappearanceofneighboringnature,knownasSatoyama,inJapan.Thanksto
natureconservationefforts,theimpactofthe2005EXPOinAichiontheKaishoForest
wasgreatlyreducedbutthiseventstillhadasignificantimpactofthesurrounding
environment.Satoyamaisourimmediatenaturalenvironmentandofferspeopleofall
agesaplacetoenjoyandlearnaboutthebeautyandimportanceofnature.Thereforethe
wayoursurroundingforestsandnaturalareasareutilizedneedstobereviewedand
solutionsfoundthatallowforthemtobeenjoyedbythelocalpopulationinwaysthatdo
notnecessitatetheirdestruction.
anexplanation.
Forests
UnnecessarydeforestationisstillunderwaythroughoutJapan.Naturalforestsprovidea
habitatforawiderangeofspeciesandareareasofgreatbiodiversity.However,natural
forestsarebeingcutdownforhousingprojects,damsandroadsorreplantedwithfast
growingcedar,whichprovidelittlefoodorshelterforanyofthenaturalinhabitants.In
Aya,inMiyazakiPrefecture,theKyushuelectriccompanyhaserectedelectricwire
towersinthemiddleofanaturalforestthatlocalpeoplefeelshouldbeaNational
HeritageSite.Itisimportantforustoreconsiderthetruevalueofforesthabitatsforall
speciesandforthegovernmenttochangeitsforestrypractices.Insteadofonly
emphasizingforestsshorttermeconomicbenefitstheyshouldrecognizetheirtrue
worththatmustbepreservedforfuturegenerations.
THREATENEDHABITATRESEARCHFORM
HABITAT:
PROBLEM:
EXAMPLE:
SOLUTION:
HABITAT:
PROBLEM:
EXAMPLE:
SOLUTION:
HABITAT:
PROBLEM:
EXAMPLE:
SOLUTION:
HABITAT:
PROBLEM:
EXAMPLE:
SOLUTION:
HABITAT:
PROBLEM:
EXAMPLE:
SOLUTION:
Discusswithyourpartner
1.WhataresomeofthenaturalhabitatsyouhavevisitedinJapan?(E.g.,Ioftenvisitthe
KamoRiverinKyoto.)
2.Doyouhavesomefavouritenaturalhabitats?Describethem.(E.g.,Ireallylovethe
coastlineonthewestsideoftheTangoPeninsula.Therearetallcliffsandemptybeaches
whereyoucanseesomanyseabirds.)
3.Whichofthefollowinghaveyouseenandwheredidyouseethem?
a)Landorseareclamationb)Concretedriverbanksc)Damsd)Tetrapodwalls
e)Plantedcedarforests
Whataresomeadvantagesanddisadvantagesoftheabove?
4.Besidesthoseintheactivity,whataresomeotherthreatstonaturalhabitats?
5.WhataresomeactionsthatJapanesepeoplecantaketoprotectJapansnatural
habitats?

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