Main

The Mitsui & Co. Environment Fund

Introduction to Grant Projects

Koga-no-Mori Ryoka Network (KGF)

Cooperating to improve skills and cultivating volunteers to encourage greening in Lanzhou on the western edge of China's Huangtu Plateau

Activity grant

Project Description

Greening wasteland in Lanzhou, located on the western edge of China's Huangtu Plateau. Specific activities include:
(1) Promoting 'triple hydration forest creation', a method for effectively using rainwater to cultivate vegetation, devised for greening marginal areas.
(2) Using seeds from triple hydration forests in other forests to increase resistance to pest damage.
(3) Developing new greening technologies, such as transplanting mycorrhizal fungi.
(4) Awareness-raising activities such as sharing greening-related information, and holding exchanges and symposiums.
(5) Establishing local volunteer groups and encouraging citizen participation.

Fields
Preservation of surface soil and forests
Grant year
FY2007 Activity Grants
Grant term
3 years
July 2007 - June 2010
Grant amount
10,350,000 yen
Activity region
Lanzhou, Gansu Province, China
A planting initiative in Lanzhou, Gansu Province, China

Overview of the Organization

Masayuki Yano, Executive Director
Representative
Masayuki Yano, Executive Director
Establishment
2002
Establishment purpose
KGF was established with the aim of planting trees, nurturing forests, and encouraging co-existence with the environment in the mountain areas to the north and south of Lanzhou, in China's Gansu Province, as a symbol of the friendship between China and Japan. In the medium-term, it aims to establish volunteer groups to conduct greening activity in the city in order to advance tree planting in cooperation with the local people. In the short-term it will widen its network by creating a framework for tree planting tours enabling Japanese to experience tree planting on the Huangtu Plateau. It also holds annual tree planting events in Sumiyoshiyamate in the Rokko Mountains near Kobe, Japan, cultivating various tree species that aid mountain conservation.
Main area of activity
Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan
Staff
11 part-time staff members, 321 full members
Annual operating budget
3 million yen in 2005, 3 million yen in 2006, 6 million yen in 2007
Recent activities
From 2002 - 2006, the first stage of the project, it planted about 57ha of trees in mountain regions to the north and south of Lanzhou, Gansu Province, China. This included about 132,000 Chinese thuja. As a second stage, it plans to plant another 100ha between 2007 and 2009. For the second stage it will plant shrubbery species that are resistant to drought, such as sandcherry, and use the triple hydration forest creation method instead of traditional watering. It is also conducting surveys in Lanzhou in preparation for creating local volunteer groups, and holding lectures in local schools and universities to build awareness of the tree planting. Going forward it will also visit local companies and to investigate the possibility of them providing support for these volunteer organizations. It will also continue planting species like quercus serrata, japanese cherry, and Japanese elm in Sumiyoshiyamate in the Rokko Mountains near Kobe.