japanese here

Aioi-yama-no Shizen-o Mamoru-kai
Let’s preserve nature in Aioi-yama for our children and future generations!
Look!  This is what the Nagoya City has been doing at Aioiyama.
A Letter to Everybody in the World Who Loves Nature
Fireflies at Aioiyama by Lian Hearn
Do you know of the City plan of road construction across the “Aioi-yama Ryokuchi (Forest Reserve)”?
 

     
“Aioi-yama Ryokuchi” with 123.4 hectares in ecologically rich area is located in Tempaku-ku, Nagoya. Now the road construction plan has been activated. The plan was originally drawn way back in Showa 32 (1957). After half a century later, the Nagoya City had its plan approved in Heisei 5 (1993) and has been ready for digging and started to dig in March, Heisei 16 (2004). However, this road goes right across at the center of the forest reserve, and its influence on the ecosystems would be quite enormous. Particularly this construction rout is to run through the greatest habitat of hime-botaru, or small geo-(not aquatic) fireflies in the City or even in the nation.

The Nagoya City says one of their road construction purposes is to ease traffic congestion at the intersections of Nonami and Shimada so as to reduce the traffic cutting through residential areas. However, they do not have any data or evidence to support their aims. Moreover, heavier traffic congestion is obvious with few bridges over the Tempaku River.

“Aioi-yama-no Shizen-o Mamoru-kai” was organized in May, 2000 to examine and debate if the planned road across this forest is really necessary and inevitable, and to acknowledge important roles this forest has in our lives with changes in styles.  

Please come to Aioi-yama and taste its charm by walking in the forest.  And please join us in speculation on this road construction across the forest.