Editor’s Note
This innovative initiative by the Kobe-based NPO “Hitotsubu no Shinju” connects forestation directly to marine health, specifically pearl cultivation. By offering a pearl as a token of thanks, it creates a tangible link between the donor and the environmental cause.
To improve the marine environment for pearl cultivation by creating rich forests, the non-profit organization (NPO) “Hitotsubu no Shinju” (One Pearl), based in Kobe and led by representative Yozo Takahashi, is calling for donations of 1,000 yen per share for tree planting. In return, donors receive a single pearl as a “membership certificate.”
Japanese pearls harvested from Akoya oysters once accounted for about 90% of the world market. However, due to environmental degradation and increased production from China, output has fallen to about half of its 1993 level of approximately 68 tons.
In response, stakeholders from the pearl industry, including cultivation, processing, and sales, established the NPO in March of this year. They planned a tree-planting campaign funded by donations, based on the idea that “increasing broadleaf forests will allow nutrients from leaf litter to be carried from rivers to the sea, fostering the growth of plankton, which serves as food.” Approximately 250 people have participated so far.
The funds are planned to be used for tree-planting activities in prefectures with active pearl cultivation, such as Mie, Ehime, and Nagasaki.
The website for “Hitotsubu no Shinju” is http://www.npo-hitotsubu.com
