A research group consisting of Masaru Endo, a doctoral student at the Graduate School of Science, Hokkaido University, Naoyuki Mikami, an associate professor at the Hokkaido University Organization for the Advancement of Higher Education, and Takako Ikeda, a specially appointed lecturer at the Hokkaido University Organization for the Promotion of Education, has recently become a problem in Sapporo. Citizens examined the infestation of brown bears and countermeasures, and proposed the results to Sapporo City.
According to Hokkaido University, although Sapporo is a large city with a population of about 200 million, the surrounding forests are a habitat for brown bears. In 2021, a brown bear appeared in a residential area in Higashi Ward, which became a big topic.In response to the Sapporo City plan to revise its basic plan for brown bear countermeasures in March 2023, the research group held an online citizen meeting in February to exchange opinions on countermeasures.
In addition to 16 randomly selected citizens aged 12 and over, administrative officials and researchers were invited to the citizens' meeting to hear their opinions on how to respond to the appearance of the city and how to prevent it from entering the city.A questionnaire survey is conducted for the participants after the end.
As a result, it was found that the opinions of citizens were diverse.It was also revealed that the conference participants had a certain amount of knowledge and interest in the brown bear problem, but they had little experience of actually encountering brown bears, and they expressed their opinions based on information they saw and heard in the media.
The research group said that the sharing of the brown bear policy of Sapporo City and the improvement of the sense of ownership as citizens.Furthermore, considering that it might be necessary to create a forum for Sapporo residents to discuss measures against brown bears, I made the report public and proposed the results of the research to the city of Sapporo.
