ABSTRACT
This chapter describes project activities related to green rebuilding, in the belief that restoration of biodiversity and ecosystem services will restore people's livelihoods, benefiting farming, fishing and the major industries of Tohoku. It focuses on a consortium of environmental organisations affiliated with the Tohoku University Ecosystem Adaptability global centres of excellence programme, established in 2008. The chapter involves non-profit organisations, industry, local and national government and civic groups. The basic idea is that rehabilitation of a community cannot happen in a sustainable way without sensitive management of basic ecosystems. In addition to the loss of human life, the tsunami caused massive damage to coastal ecosystems. Many sandy beaches were swept away and intertidal wetlands thrust below sea level. To assess the impact of the tsunami on ecosystems and their recovery status, research teams, led by Jotaro Urabe and Takao Suzuki of Tohoku University, have monitored biological systems in tidal flats, islands and rice paddies in Fukushima and Miyagi.
