Biodiversity
KDDI is engaging in a variety of activities for diversified contribution to the preservation of biodiversity based upon the KDDI Action Guidelines on the Preservation of Diversity established in the KDDI GREEN PLAN 2012-2016.
Green by ICT
Acoustic Observaton of Ganges River Dolphin
Since 2005, KDDI R&D laboratories - a KDDI Group organization - has been collaborating with the University of Tokyo, the Indian Institutes of Technology, and WWF India [1] on a conservation project involving the Ganges River dolphin, which is facing extinction due to changing river environments.
The Indian government has enacted strict conservation measures, such as prohibiting fishing, in waters designated as Ganges River dolphin habitats, but the murky waters the dolphins inhabit makes it difficult to visually monitor the effects of these measures, and their biology is not generally well-known. Given these circumstances, determining the Ganges River dolphin's aquatic behavior has become a priority for understanding its biology and enacting more effective protection measures.
The clicking noises and high-frequency sounds in the ultrasonic range that Ganges River dolphins emit in the water can be used to understand the environment that surrounds them. KDDI R&D laboratories has designed an underwater acoustic observation device and developed technology to determine location based on recognized clicking sounds. These efforts are contributing to biological research on the relatively unknown Ganges River dolphin and appropriate conservation activities. Continuing this biological research, in December 2011 acoustic observations were begun on the Irrawaddy dolphins that live in the Mahakam River on the island of Borneo. In this way, KDDI plans to continue increasing its contribution to the preservation of biodiversity through the applica tion of existing technologies.
- [1] World Wildlife Fund (WWF): An organization for environmental preservation active in approximately 100 countries around the world
Assembling a hydrophone (underwater microphone) array
Stakeholder Feedback
Mr. Tamaki Ura
Professor Director
Underwater Technology
Research Center
Institute of Industrial Science
The University of Tokyo
By creating robots that could dive in the sea, we became interested in whales and dolphins that behave in the same way. The dolphins inhabiting rivers and lakes are very familiar animals to humans. Around the year 2000, we got sound data from wild Baiji dolphins and start on analyzing their movements based on them. Unfortunately, Baiji dolphins are believed to have already become extinct. Dolphins that inhabit highly turbid water cannot see their surroundings, so they rely on sound. We determined to create technology that could help in observing them, understanding their behavior and protecting dolphins that are in danger of extinction. We can distribute information on dolphins in real time, that are swimming around, unseen to humans, so that we will be able to cultivate interest among people throughout the world.
KDDI R&D laboratories has advanced technologies involving sound, data processing, and information communication, and is at the cutting edge of underwater technologies, as demonstrated by its subsea cables. Conducting joint research, we established observation stations in India, in the Ganges River and in Chilika lagoon, where we continue to observe the Ganges River dolphins and Irrawaddy dolphins. In 2012, we are constructing a base in the Mahakam River in Indonesia. We are delighted to be able to apply communications technologies to the benefit of dolphins.
Green with customers and employees (Green Road Projecď˝”)
Walk Project
KDDI has introduced "Walk Project" as a type of "Green Road Project" environmental preservation activity that encourages customer participation. In "Walk Project," customers use "au Smart Sports Run & Walk," a service that supports the use of au mobile phones while taking part in sports. For each kilometer that a customer runs, walks, or bicycles, KDDI donates one yen toward environmental preservation in Japan. This project started in 2008 with the dual aims of "encouraging customers to enjoy beauty of nature through walking and running" and "teaming up with customers on efforts to protect the environment." In FY2012, we added a click-on-a-charity function (one click earns one yen) to the campaign site, and enhanced the site to encourage even more customers to participate.
Going forward, while providing customers with enjoyable services KDDI plans to continue developing services that will contribute to environmental preservation.
Presentation of donations collected through Takao-san Walk
Expansion of Forest Conservation Areas
Through the employee-participating social contribution project " +α Project" (see p.37) and other efforts, KDDI employees have taken part in forest conservation programs in 17 locations in Japan alongside our customers.
Forest Conservation Activities at "Tennozan"
We voluntarily participate three times a year in bamboo grove trimming and planting at Tennozan, which straddles the borders of Kyoto and Osaka prefectures, in cooperation with the local forest maintenance and planning committee.
In October 2011 we were presented with an award by the town of Oyamazaki-cho in Kyoto Prefecture. In December 2011 we collected and donated 120 bundles of firewood to eight facilities, including nursery schools, homes for the aged, temples and shrines, making effective use of the material removed through forest thinning.
Forest Conservation Activities at "Tennozan"
Forest Conservation Activities at "Mount Fuji"
The forest plantations on the western slope of Mount Fuji in Narusawa-mura, Yamanashi Prefecture have been suffering major damage from a caterpillar infestation. KDDI has joined with a number of other corporations and associations in the Organization for Industrial, Spiritual and Cultural Advancement International (OISCA) Mount Fuji Reforestation Project for the planting of a variety of broad-leafed species.
KDDI employees and their families have been taking part in this project, with about 3000 trees over a three-hectare area having been planted in the three-year period beginning in 2008. The problem of deer eating the saplings has recently arisen, so volunteers will begin covering the saplings in nets during the year ending March 31, 2013.
Forest Conservation Activities at Mount Fuji
Forest Conservation Activities at "Kaisho Forest"
In Japan's Chubu region, KDDI participates in the Kaisho Forest and Company Liaison Project, which promotes a model for cooperation among Aichi Prefecture, local communities and companies in forest improvement and rejuvenating forest areas. An activity that commenced on the site utilized by Expo 2005 Aichi Japan, Kaisho Forest is an effort to foster harmony between people in nature and encourage a new regional society. In March 2011, 23 employees and their families volunteered to participate in forest thinning activities.
Forest Conservation Activities at "Kaisho Forest"
Forest Conservation Activities at "Kajika-mura Maple Forest"
KDDI volunteers participate in Miyagi Prefecture's Miyagi Countryside Forest Restoration Project for forest improvement, cultivation and effective use, which is aimed at preventing global warming, preserving biodiversity, and protecting waterways. In November 2011, 32 employee volunteers and their family members participated in brush-clearing and saw-toothed oak thinning in the Kajika-mura Maple Forest. They also experienced firsthand the charms of a village forest through activities such as mushroom hunting and preparing Hattou temple cuisine, as well as inserting spawn for shiitake mushroom cultivation in the saw-toothed oak logs obtained through thinning.
Forest Conservation Activities at "Kajika-mura Maple Forest"
Forest Conservation Activities at "Mount Ono-se"
KDDI and the Shikoku Branch of OISCA have made an agreement to cooperate in the planting of 1,500 trees per year over a five-year period beginning in the year ended March 31, 2012 over an area of 25,000 square meters on Mount Ono-se in Mannoucho, Kagawa Prefecture that has been damaged by fire. 23 employee-volunteers planted 150 mountain cherry trees as part of this effort in November 2011.
Wild cherry tree planting
Forest Conservation Activities at "Patchwork Forest"
KDDI has been participating with the NPO Sanson-juku in the Creating a Patchwork Forest Project in Kurogi-machi, Yame City, Fukuoka Prefecture. This project consists in the thinning of unsound Japanese cedar and cypress tree groves and the planting of other conifers and broad-leafed trees to create a richer ecosystem. In September 2011, a total of 30 participants, including KDDI employees and other volunteers, worked to clear grass and vines around wild cherry trees and saw-toothed oak trees.
Forest Conservation Activities at "Patchwork Forest"
Forest Conservation Activities through the "Hiroshima Forest Planting Forum"
27 KDDI employees and their family members participated in the Hiroshima Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Bureau Hiroshima Forest Planting Forum in the Chugoku region in November 2011. They conducted unwanted plant removal for about two hours under the direction of the forum coordinator. After the work was finished, the area that had been cleared was again being reached by sunlight.
Forest Conservation Activities through the "Hiroshima Forest Planting Forum"
Creation of the "KDDI Manual Recycling Forest" in Nagano
KDDI is a supporting partner in the Nagano Prefecture Forest Foster Parent Program, and donates a portion of the revenues from user manual recycling to the Nishi Saijo Property District in Nagano. The KDDI Manual Recycling Forest was created at Matsushiro-machi Nagano city in August 2011, as a result of this donation, where brush clearing, thinning and other forest improvement work is in progress.
Sign for the "KDDI Manual Recycling Forest"
Corporate Forest Pact with the Shimanto city in Kochi Prefecture
KDDI is a supporter of the Forest Creation Business with Corporate Environmental Leaders Program run by Kochi Prefecture, and has entered into the Joint Forest Creation Partners Agreement. The donation of a portion of the sales of used paper generated through user manual recycling has led to the creation of the KDDI Manual Recycling Forest in Shimanto, where brush clearing, thinning and other forest improvement work is in progress. KDDI was also a sponsor in the au Smart Green Road Project 6th Shimanto-kawa Walk. We donated a portion of our sales of used paper to the Shimanto-kawa Foundation, and provided an "eco-planter" made of wood obtained through thinning operations in the Shimanto-kawa valley as a 6Km Course Completion Memorial.
Sign for the "KDDI Manual Recycling Forest"
Planting KDDI Manual Recycling Trees Around Tokyo
Many people in Tokyo are concerned about the shade trees lining the streets, and KDDI is an active participant in the Green Tokyo Fund's "My Tree Program" for increasing the number of roadside trees.
As a supporter of this program, KDDI has been donating a portion of the sales of used paper generated through user manual recycling to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government since 2010. This has resulted in the planting of KDDI Manual Recycling Trees in the vicinity of the Tokyo Dome, the Meiji Shrine, and other Tokyo locations, with the user manuals returned by our customers reborn as the 1,060 trees planted as of November 2011.
KDDI Manual Recycling Trees in the vicinity of the Tokyo Dome
