Strengthening NIPPON PAPER GROUP's Seedling Production Business Promotion System for the Wider Adoption of Elite Trees
~ Establishment of"Elite Trees Promotion Office”in Raw Materials and Purchasing Division~
Nippon Paper Industries Co., Ltd.
Nippon Paper Industries Co., Ltd. (head office : Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo,President and Representative Director: Toru Nozawa, hereinafter referred to as"the Company”) is an elite tree with the characteristics of Japanese cedar,Japanese cypress, and Pine, with low pollen and excellent growth potential elite trees In order to accelerate the spread and expansion of the spread of such products*1, we established the elite trees Promotion Office in October within the Forestry Department of the Raw Materials and Purchasing Divisionto strengthen thepromotion structureled by NIPPON PAPER GROUP.
The Framework Policy 2023 (Basic Policy on Economic and Fiscal Management and Reform 2023), which was approved by the Cabinet in June this year, clearly stated that the government will work together to combat hay fever, and included accelerating measures against forest sinks and promoting reforestation as part of the Green Transformation (GX). In particular, with regard to hay fever countermeasures, based on the"Overall picture of hay fever countermeasures”formulated in May this year, the Hay Fever Control Initial Intensive Response Package will be compiled in October, and the necessary budget is expected to be included in the economic measures. In addition to the characteristics of low pollen, elite treesalso have excellent growth, so they can reduce reforestation costs by improving CO2 absorption and shortening the undercutting period. For this reason, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries has set a target of 30%*2 offorestry industryseedlings by 2030 and more than 90% by 2050 in"Green Food System Strategy”.elite trees
Based on these national policies,the Company have been working in step with the Forestry Agency and prefectural governments to establish a production system for 10 millionelite tree seedlingsper year by FY2030. forestry industry Based on the Seed and Seedling Act Of the seven areas in Japan that areJapanese cedarseed distribution areas,the Companyhas been certified in Akita Prefecture (1st ward), Shizuoka Prefecture (3rd ward), Tottori Prefecture and Hiroshima Prefecture Northern (4 wards),seed plantationHiroshima Prefecturescion plantation (5 wards), and Kumamoto Prefecture and Oita Prefecture (6 wards). (scheduled to open in mid-November in Akita Prefecture), and we are developing a production system forelite tree seedlingsin collaboration with local forest seed cooperative members and new producers. In order to further strengthen cooperation with our partners and accelerate the spread of the vaccine, we will establish a new Elite Tree Promotion Office to strengthen thepromotion structurefor the seedling production business together with Nippon Paper Lumber Co., Ltd.and Nippon Paper Trading, which are in charge of seedling sales.
In addition,the Companywill brand the seedlings that combine the tree-related technologies we have cultivated so far as the"Amazing seedlings™”series. In the future, we will continue to develop our business with the whole group centered on"Amazing seedlings™”ofelite trees.
"Amazing seedlings™”Series
・Japanese cedar・Japanese cypresshas a production period of 1 year (usually 2~3 years)
・Excellent rooting and good survival, so early growth is good
・elite treesuses seeds obtained from a closedseed plantation(Honshu)
・Flexible production and shipment are possible according to forest managementPlan.
The Company"a comprehensive biomass company shaping the future with trees”, we will contribute to the construction of acirculation-oriented societyby promoting the spread of biomass products while maximizing the various values of forests based on the Company Green Strategy.
*1elite trees, etc.
In the Special Measures Act on Thinning, etc., it refers to seedlings derived from specified mother trees (specified seedlings) designated by the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries as having particularly excellent characteristics related to growth in order to improve the CO2 absorption and fixation capacity of forests. The criteria for designation of specific mother trees include those with growth ability that is more than 1.5 times that of conventional lines, pollen content that is less than half that of commonJapanese cedar and Japanese cypress, excellent wood rigidity, and no bending of trunk straightness.
*2 Forecast for production offorestry industryseedlings in 2030
According to the Forestry Agency, the production of seedlings as of 2022 is about 65 million, of which 2.88 million (4.4%)elite trees. In the future, it is estimated that 100 million seedlings will be needed by 2030 due to the expansion of reforestation, and if 30% of them areelite trees, the production will be 30 million.