Dec. 19, 2023Marubeni CorporationNakagawa CorporationDeepForest Technologies Co., Ltd.
Marubeni Corporation (hereinafter, “Marubeni”), Nakagawa Corporation (hereinafter, “Nakagawa”), and DeepForest Technologies Co., Ltd. (hereinafter, “DeepForest”), have entered into a collaborative agreement to actively engage in the creation of J-Credit in the forests managed by Nakagawa in Tanabe City, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan, as part of their commitment to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and carbon neutrality by 2050 (hereinafter, the “Project”).
Despite forests covering 67% of Japan’s landand approximately half of the country’s artificial forest reaching the age for deforestation, the reforestation rate* remains at only 30% due to low timber prices and the high cost of afforestation. The Project aims to improve the reforestation rate by simplifying the surveying of reforested areas in Tanabe City through the use of drones, and the data collected will be used to create and sell J-Credits, thereby establishing a revenue-generating model for forest owners.
Marubeni, in its mid-term management strategy “GC2024,” has positioned its green strategy as a fundamental policy for enhancing corporate value and is working on environmental afforestation Projects in the Philippines, Angola, and Malaysia, as well as domestically in Noshiro City, Akita Prefecture, to increase both the environmental and economic value of forest resources. In this Project, Marubeni will support the creation and certification of J-Credits derived from domestic forests and handle the sales of the created J-Credits.
Nakagawa, a venture company based on the concept of “forestry without cutting trees,” focuses on reforestation by planting trees in harvested areas. Based in Tanabe City, Wakayama Prefecture, Nakagawa manages its own reforested forests and will handle dialogue with local stakeholders and the development and implementation of forest management plans within the Project. Furthermore, Nakagawa is advancing efforts to regenerate forests comprised of Ubamegashi (Quercus phillyraeoides), a species of oak used for the production of Kishu Binchotan charcoal, a specialty of Wakayama Prefecture, by planting seedlings grown from acorns by local children. A portion of the revenue generated from the Project will be allocated to support these efforts.
DeepForest, a startup originating from Kyoto University, is advancing forest digital transformation (DX) by providing an analysis system capable of measuring individual trees using drones and AI. There have been no instances of J-Credits being registered using data surveyed by drones equipped with lasers, and this Project aims to be the first in Japan to create J-Credit by acquiring and analyzing the necessary forestry data.
Through the Project, the three companies will collaborate to address current challenges in Japanese forestry, such as improving the reforestation rate by returning profits to forest owners and promoting the use of forest data. In the future, they also aim to preserve biodiversity in the region and obtain certification as a nature coexistence site recommended by the Ministry of the Environment. By creating a system that utilizes the newly added environmental value and technology of forests in collaboration with the local community, they seek to explore new ways of forestation in Japan.
* The ratio of the area of artificial forests planted to the area of artificial forests that have been harvested.
