Special Report LAST UPDATE June 3, 2010
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August 8, 2009 Peace Boat Forest – helping to create a carbon-offset programme onboard
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On the outskirts of the Gobi Desert in Mongolia, livestock grazing is contributing to the desertification of the area. The grazing is a direct consequence of Japanese consumption. (Photo courtesy of Nakanishi Takeshi)
Every year towards the end of March, yellow sand from the Gobi Desert is swept up into the atmosphere by passing weather systems en route to Japan, landing in Japan as gritty yellow snow or, mixed with rain, like mud. Generally regarded as a sign of the beginning of Spring, this fairly recent phenomena is generally believed by the Japanese public to be the result of pollution emitted by recently developed Chinese industry, yet ironically Japanese consumption is partially a cause of this situation.

Straddling the border between Mongolia and China is one the world’s largest deserts, the Gobi Desert, and it is growing. The soil quality near the desert's extremities is quite poor and unable to support much plant life, yet due to the general poverty of these regions and the lack of job diversity many local people use these areas to graze livestock, particularly cashmere goats used to grow cashmere wool that is exported to Japan for use in the textile industry. The goats not only eat grass, but also the roots of the grass, removing all traces of vegetation to hold the soil in place and aiding in the desertification of the area.
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Mr Nakanishi planting a tree with a local Mongolian. Businesses can purchase a sticker for JPY 1,450, which comes with a serial number, the co-ordinates for a tree planted on the Carbon Free Consulting land and a guarantee that the tree will not die of thirst. The progress of the tree may be monitored using these co-ordinates and a GPS based program such as Google Earth. (Photo courtesy of Nakanishi Takeshi)
Onboard Peace Boat as a guest educator from Vancouver until Yokohama, Nakanishi Takeshi is the founder of Carbon Free Consulting, a company that consults with businesses about their carbon emissions and ways to reduce them. Carbon Free Consulting goes through the consumption and practice of businesses and calculates the collective amount of carbon they emit. They then work together to try and devise methods by which the business can reduce its emissions or offset them by investing in certain projects such as tree planting or reforestation.

One such reforestation project is on the outskirts of the Gobi Desert in Mongolia, where Mr Nakanishi has an agreement with the Mongolian government for a 100-hectare tract of land. The government guarantees that any trees planted within the area will be cared for for a minimum of 30 years and will not die of thirst. Trees are planted twice a year by local Mongolians from lower socio-economic areas, whose job is also to take care of these trees over time. Specialist tree doctors also make periodic visits to ensure the wellbeing of the trees. So far, Mr Nakanishi has already planted 500,000 trees in the area, all a variety of a local genus of pine, the Mongolian Larch.
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Onboard Communication Coordinator Fujimatsu Rin pictured outside the Peace Boat Forest Board. Participants that purchased a Carbon Free Consulting sticker were given a paper leaf to place on the board, representing the number of trees that will be planted in the 66th Peace Boat Global Voyage forest. So far more than 160 stickers have been purchased by particants.
Many participants onboard Peace Boat’s 66th Global Voyage have learnt about many various contemporary environmental issues as they have travelled around the world, seeing environmental degradation or conservation schemes first hand in different countries and listening to lectures from various environmental experts onboard the ship. Many participants aware of these issues want to affect change in the world but are uncertain how to take the first step. So, upon learning of Mr Nakanishi’s Carbon Free Consulting reforestation project, Peace Boat decided to offer the opportunity to participants to purchase Carbon Free Consulting carbon offset stickers whilst on board, which will in turn allow a tree to be planted in Mr Nakanishi’s Mongolian desert reforestation project. It is hoped that a 66th Peace Boat Global Voyage forest will ensue, helping to combat climate change around the world whilst also combating the desertification of the Gobi Desert, yellow snow in Japan and simultaneously creating regional, sustainable jobs in impoverished regions of Mongolia.