Introduction
1.1 Goal of This Publication
(1)
How This Publication is Put together
This data book is the third edition of the Material
Flow Data Book: World Resource Flows around Japan (CGER-D022-'99), first
published in March 1999, and published for the second time in March 2003
(CGER-D022-2003). The third edition is updated with the addition of trade data
from 2003 and compiled similarly to the second edition, includes both the
Japanese original and English translation of the main text, as well as
trade-flow maps and trade matrices on electronic media (CD-ROM).
This data book consists of Chapter I – Introduction;
Chapter II – Method for Creating Trade-flow Map/Trade Matrix; Chapter III –
Trade-flow Maps; and the included CD-ROM. Due to limitations of space, most of
the trade-flow maps and trade matrices are contained on the CD-ROM; a portion
of the trade-flow maps are printed in Chapter III.
The figures contained in Chapter III and the CD-ROM
are the core of the data book. These figures contain data on the trade of major
resources, extracted and tabulated from UN Trade Statistics, and presented in
map and table form. Chapter II gives an overview of the method used to create
the trade-flow maps and trade matrices contained in this publication. This data
book presents data on material flows in terms of weight. In the UN Trade
Statistics, however, sometimes only monetary amounts are reported, and some
countries use different units of quantity measurement. Chapter II describes the
statistical method used to covert these values into units of weight. Chapter
III contains a collection of maps, and is put together in such a way as to
allow an overview of the trade flows of major resources between worldwide
regional blocks. For some commodities, a trade-flow map for trade among the
Asian countries was added. In addition to the trade-flow maps, the included
CD-ROM also contains trade matrices.
This chapter (Chapter I) contains some brief
explanatory notes for interpreting the figures in this data book. Section1.1
describes the purpose of this publication, including the background of and need
for the preparation of data on material flows, as well as the involvement of
the National Institute for Environmental Studies in this issue. Section1.2
defines the significance of the import and export of resources for Japan, and
contains a figure and some brief explanatory notes in order to get an overview
of material flows in Japan. Section1.3 describes the characteristics of the
resource trade-flow data contained in Chapter III and the CD-ROM, focusing on
the role of Japanese imports and exports in the world and the recent changes in
Asia.
(2)
A Society of Mass Production, Mass
Consumption, and Mass Disposal, and Environmental Issues
Japan and the other
industrialized nations take large quantities of resources from the natural
environment, and process them into a wide variety of products. By consuming
these products, our lives are made richer and more convenient. Meanwhile,
however, pollutants produced at the production and consumption stages, and
waste produced by consumed products, returns to the environment. The scale of
this cycle of material between people and the environment far exceeds the
environment’s capacity to regenerate its resources and clean up our waste.
Accumulation of carbon dioxide, CFCs, and other greenhouse gases in the
atmosphere is changing the global climate. Forested area is shrinking as trees
are harvested for fuel, building materials, paper and the like. These are prime
examples of how huge human-induced flows of materials are changing the
environment on the global scale. At a local level, we are running out of space
for landfills, and the incinerators for reducing the quantity of waste
encounter the environmental pollution with dioxins. In other words, the
majority of today’s environmental issues are linked to our socio-economic
system of mass production, mass consumption, and mass disposal.
Perspectives are widening from the
traditional focus on pollution, toward more global environmental issues and
sustainable development. It has thus come to be realized how important it is to
have a quantitative measure of natural resources and the environment. The
realization that the quantity of available resources and the environment’s
carrying capacity are limited is one of the fundamental awarenesses for
discussing sustainable development. Chapter 4, “Changing Consumption Patterns”
of Agenda 21, which was adopted at the 1992 Earth Summit, points out that the
current pattern of production and consumption of the industrialized nations is
not sustainable. More recently, the Johannesburg Declaration made at the 2002
World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) stated the need to change our
patterns of production and consumption, and protect and manage our natural
resources. In Japan, a Basic Environmental Plan was formulated in 1994, based
on the Basic Environment Law. This plan calls into question the socio-economic
activities and lifestyles of mass production, mass consumption, and mass
disposal, and declares the need to change to sustainable production and
consumption patterns, advocating a heightened awareness of the dangers of
pursuing material wealth alone. Additionally, in 2000 the Basic Law for
Establishing a Recycling-based Society was established, with the goal of
changing from the current economy fueled by mass production, mass consumption,
and mass disposal to a closed-loop economy.
(3) The National Institute for Environmental Studies’ Involvement in Material Flow Accounting
Thus, today’s society and economy are
characterized by huge quantities of material flows. In order to analyze the
relationship between society/the economy and environmental issues, it is
necessary to systematically track the flow of materials and energy between the
natural environment and economic activities, and among the various major
economic sectors. Environmental resource accounting, and Material Flow
Accounting/Analysis (MFA) in particular, is a powerful tool for accomplishing
this goal. For over 10 years, the National Institute for Environmental Studies
has researched environmental resource accounting via the Global Environmental
Research Fund. Japan depends on large amounts of imports of natural resources,
and is the world’s fourth-largest emitter of greenhouse gases. For this reason,
it is particularly vital for Japan to reflect global issues in its
environmental resource accounting, and we have thus focused our efforts on preparing
data to enable this. The data on the trade of natural resources contained in
this data book was created in this process.
Meanwhile, there is an active commitment
to Material Flow Accounting in Europe and other countries, and communication
and joint research is taking place on the international level. In November
1995, SCOPE (Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment), which was
leading a research project to develop indicators for measuring the achievement
level of sustainable development, held an expert workshop in Wuppertal,
Germany. At the workshop, it was concluded that Material Flow Analysis was one
of the most important fields of indicator development. The workshop spurred
four of the attending institutions to launch an international comparative
research project on material flows. These four institutions were Japan’s
National Institute for Environmental Studies, Germany’s Wuppertal Institute,
the United States’ World Resources Institute, and the Netherlands’ Ministry of
Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment. 1996 was spent creating a common
framework for analysis and gathering data, and in April 1997, the four
institutions jointly published their results1). Then in the fall of
2000, the results of the second period of research were published by 5
countries (Austria joined the group)2).
(4)
“Hidden Flows” and the Latent Meaning
of Resource Trade
This international joint
research project is based on the Material Flow Accounting framework developed
by the Wuppertal Institute. The initial stage of the project focused on
tracking the flow of resources from the natural environment (the Ecosphere) to
the sphere of human activity (the Anthroposphere), by cross-sectioning the flow
of resources at the boundary of these two spheres. This was due to a focus on
the issues of resource depletion and allocation, and the consideration for the
fact that all collected resources are potential waste, and the association
between resource flows in general and a host of types of environmental impact.
The biggest feature of this
framework is the focus on “hidden flows.” This refers to flows of materials
that are not caught by conventional means of tracking material flows, because
although they are harvested by people, they are not considered to be
commodities. Taking mining as an example, the quantity of soil and stone
removed during the mining process, and impurities removed when the ore is
processed, is much larger than the quantity of refined ore that actually enters
the economy. For countries like Japan depending on imports for the majority of
their mineral resources, this type of waste produced by the countries supplying
the resources does not show up on any table. This is a typical case of a
“hidden flow.” It should be understood that more resources are being consumed
than the imports we actually see. Other examples are the additional lumber harvested for wood
products, and the feed given to livestock. Note that the term “hidden flow” is
the English translation of the Wuppertal Institute’s (German) term “Ecological
Rucksack”, which was accepted by the international joint research project.
A similar concept has been
incorporated into the framework of the ecological footprint analysis3)
advocated by Wackernagel et al. An “ecological footprint” signifies the imprint
left on the earth by human activity, and is calculated as the area required to
supply resources and clean up pollution. This concept is an attempt at
measuring the size of the impact of human activities on the environment. Large
areas of land in the United States and other countries around the world are
used to produce the agricultural products that Japan imports, and the
ecological footprint is suited to expressing this situation.
The considerations used to
select resource-trade data to incorporate in this data book include these
hidden flows and the concept of the ecological footprint, as well as absolute
quantities imported by Japan (e.g. fossil fuels and iron ore). This criteria
applies to meats, grains, non-ferrous metals and the like.
(5)
Using this Data Book
The goal of this data book
is to provide a reference for thinking about resource-related environmental
issues, recognizing Japan’s place in worldwide resource trade. It therefore
includes a large number of color maps based on the collected data, in order to
facilitate an intuitive understanding. Additionally, the numerical data used to
create these figures is also included, in order to enable its use in model
analysis incorporating trade data and other research studies. Meanwhile, companies
are starting to trace material procurement as part of their Life-Cycle
Assessments and other environmental evaluations, and one issue in this is
grasping the environmental impact of natural resources procured abroad. We
believe that this data book will be a useful reference in this field as well.
1.2 Overview of Japan’s Material Flows
Although the main focus of
this data book is facilitating the understanding of the place of Japanese
imports in the world, it is also essential to get an overall understanding of
material flows inside Japan, and the place of imported resources within these
flows. Thus, we will here summarize the data relating to material flows in
Japan, and compare it internationally.
Over the past decade, there
has been a call in Japan for the need to get a grasp of material flows in the
country as a whole, mainly from the point of view of promoting recycling. Since
the fiscal 1993 edition, the Japanese Environment Agency’s Environmental White
Paper has included calculations of the material balance. The information in
this publication is based on the data that the authors prepared as part of the
above-mentioned international joint research project, and the Environmental
White Paper has used the same calculation methods since the fiscal 1997 version.
Moreover, in the Basic Plan for Establishing a Recycling-based Society,
formulated in 2003, indicators and numerical objectives based on material flow
analysis were agreed upon4).
According to the fiscal 2005
edition of the Environmental White Paper, a total of about 1,090 million tons
of resources were taken from the natural environment in Japan in the year 2002.
Adding to this the approximately 710 million tons of imported resources, and
the 60 million tons of imported products, a total of about 1,860 million tons
of new materials entered the Japanese economy that year. By weight, more than
40% of these new sources are imports. Adding to these materials the flow of
recycled resources, approximately 2,100 million tons of materials passed
through the Japanese economy.
Fig. I-1 shows the balance
for fiscal 1995 between materials input into the Anthroposphere from this
environment, and the materials output from the Anthroposphere into the
environment. On the output side, what is generally tracked as “waste” includes
about 50 million tons of municipal solid waste, and about 400 million tons of
industrial waste. As industrial sludge, livestock manure, and the like contain
considerable amounts of water, the dry weight of this waste is considerably
lower. The input resources outweighs the output wastes. Some of this remainder
is returned to the environment in a form not normally considered waste, and
some remains stockpiled in the Anthroposphere.
Of the material flows that
return to the Ecosphere from the Anthroposphere in a form other than waste, the
largest is the emission of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere resulting from
the combustion of fossil fuels. Because carbon dioxide is emitted into the air
in a gas state, it is hard to get an intuitive sense of how much is being
released. Performing this type of calculation, however, shows that carbon
dioxide, currently the focus of much attention for its contribution to global
warming, is actually humankind’s most weighty waste product. In addition, the
food that we eat, and the agricultural products fed to livestock, are emitted
into the Ecosphere by human and animal respiratory and excretory systems,
mainly as carbon dioxide and water. There are also products produced by humans
whose use presupposes that they will be emitted into the environment. These
include fertilizers, agricultural chemicals, and solvents for paints.
Thus, about 700 million tons
of resources flow from the Anthroposphere to the Ecosphere in a number of
forms. Further, 110 million tons enter the Anthropospheres of other countries
as exports. Correcting the balance of resource flows for water, the remaining
approximately 1,200 million tons remains in the Anthroposphere, adding to human
stockpiles. Most of these stockpiled resources take the form of buildings and
other structures, i.e. roads, bridges, dams, river embankments, waterworks,
sewage systems, and other public works (infrastructure), office buildings,
houses, factories, and the like. These stockpiles also include increased
ownership of cars, appliances, furniture and other durable consumer goods,
stocks of plant equipment, and the like. Most of these durable goods are
disassembled and discarded after their lifetime has ended, and so these
increased stockpiles are actually latent waste.
Fig.I-1 Material Balance in Japan (1995,
in millions of tons)
1.3 Overview of Global Resource Trade Flows
This section provides an
overview of the characteristics of the trade of natural resources between the
various regions of the world, based on the worldwide trade-flow maps in Chapter
III of this publication and the included CD-ROM. Particular focus is placed on
the role of Japanese imports and exports in this flow. As this overview focuses
on the flow of resources between the world’s regional blocks, intra-block trade
(e.g. trade between European nations) does not appear on the maps. Information
about intra-block trade can be obtained from the trade matrices contained on
the CD-ROM. Additionally, the arrows from one regional block to another
represent the balance of trade; in most cases, resources are actually being
traded in both directions. This can also be confirmed in the trade matrices on
the CD-ROM. Note that the printing of historical trends was minimized, in order
to reduce the number of color-print pages. Trade-flow maps showing historical
trends of major commodities can also be found on the CD-ROM.
Note that this data book
focuses on trade-flows of resources taken from the Ecosphere, and materials
with low levels of processing. Data on machinery, chemicals, and other
commodities with high levels of processing have been excluded. Resources are
exported from resource producers to resource consumers with little or no
processing, but are also exported as highly processed products. Recently,
exports of products have been trending upward. Home appliances in particular
were once mostly domestically manufactured, but in recent years, an increasing
number of them are being imported.
For this
reason, it is necessary to take note of the hidden resource consumption behind
trade of highly processed products, in order to accurately ascertain resource
consumption. This topic, however, will be left for a future opportunity.
(1) Flow
of Main Resources
Figs. 1-A to 1-E show trends
in worldwide trade of the following three main types of resource from 1983 to
2003: fossil fuels, biomass (agricultural, forestry, and marine resources), and
base metals. Of these, the largest flow in terms of quantity is fossil fuels.
The flow of exports from the oil-producing countries of western Asia etc. to
Japan and Europe is particularly notable. Other noticeable trends are the
increase of imports to other countries of Southeast Asia besides Japan (fossil
fuels and metals), and the increase of exports (metals) from South America.
Figs. 2-A to 2-E show flows
of biomass broken down into food and wood resources, and flows of base metals
broken down into ferrous and non-ferrous metals, excluding fossil fuels, which
dominate the figures above. These figures show that North America is a major
source of non-fossil fuel resources. Additionally, the southern hemisphere –
e.g. Australia, South America, and Africa – is a major supplier of base metals.
Japan, along with Europe, is shown to be a clear net importer of resources.
Figures point to an increase of imports of base metals into Asia which began to
be noticeable even before 1998, and which from 2003 has become more prominent
still. This is to be discussed in (4), below.
(2) Flow
of Food Resources
Figs. 3 to 8 show the flow of
food resources. Figs. 3 and 4 show trade in meats, classified into beef,
chicken, pork, mutton, and other. Although Japan’s imports make up a rather
small proportion of worldwide trade in food commodities, this amount has been
growing in recent years. Trade on a worldwide level is on the rise. Although
Europe and North America do import some foods, they stand out as overall
suppliers. Figs. 5 and 6 show trade in fish and shellfish. Japan’s imports make
up a large part of total trade, and the levels of imports are growing rapidly.
Additionally, other Asian countries besides Japan are also becoming more
involved in trade in this area. Figs. 7 and 8 show trade in grains, classified
into wheat, maze, rice, barley, and other. It is clear from the data that North
America is a major exporter to other regions worldwide. Although Japan is also
an importer, since the flow to other regions is also large, its relative
contribution to total trade in this area is small.
(3) Flow of Wood Resources
Fig. 9 shows trade of wood
resources, classified into roundwood, sawnwood, wood manufactures, pulpwood
(e.g. woodchips), pulp, and paper. Japan imports wood in many forms from North
America, Southeast Asia, Australia, the former Soviet Union, and other
countries. Thus, its wood imports make up a fairly large proportion of total
world trade. In addition to Japan, Europe is also a major importer of wood
resources, and although not shown in the figure, there is also a great deal of
trade within Western Europe. In recent years, Asian countries other than Japan
have been increasing their imports of pulp and paper from North America.
Figs. 10A-E show historical
trends focusing on the Asian region. In Southeast Asia, Malaysia and Indonesia
stood out for their export levels; however, recently this trend has been
diminishing. Additionally, while in the past most exports were in the form of
roundwood, recently there has been a shift towards importing such processed
products as sawnwood and plywood, pulp, and paper. The rise in the quantity of
such imports by China has been striking, and the country now ranks alongside
Japan as a major importer.
(4) Flow of Metal Resources
Figs. 11 to 16 show the flow
of metal resources. Firstly, Fig. 11 shows trade of iron ore, steel, and scrap
iron. Australia and South America are major exporters of iron ore, while Japan
and Western Europe used to be major importers; in recent years, the rise in
imports to the countries of Southeast Asia has been particularly striking.
Japan and Western Europe are major exporters of steel; imports of iron ore to
these regions are being exported as steel. Another notable trend has been the
increase of steel exports to countries in the Southeast Asian region other than
Japan, and this region also imports scrap iron from various countries.
Fig. 12 shows a detailed
view of the Asian region. As can be seen in the figure, there has been a
striking rise in imports of iron ore, steel, and scrap iron to China from a
wide range of countries. Steel exports from Japan reach many Asian nations
including China. In recent years, imports of iron ore and scrap iron to Korea
have been on the rise, and as a result, Korea has begun to export steel to
Japan and China. Additionally, imports of iron ore and steel to China are
surging, and its trading partners are numerous. As mentioned at the beginning
of this section, it must also be noted that steel travels the world in many
processed forms, i.e. as industrial machinery, automobiles, ships, and other
transportation machines, and other products.
Fig. 13 shows trade of
aluminum ore (bauxite), alumina, and aluminum (including refined aluminum).
Australia, South America, and Africa are major producers of bauxite, and export
bauxite and alumina to consumption/processing centers in Japan, Southeast Asia,
Western Europe, North America, and the like. In the case of imports to Japan,
however, a high percentage is in the form of refined metal aluminum from the
producing country. In the case of Japan, the large amount of electric power
required to refine aluminum is prohibitively expensive in Japan, and is
believed to be a factor leading to this shift in trade pattern.
Fig. 14 shows trade in base
metals other than iron and aluminum. Trade is classified and tabulated in terms
of ore, and refined metal. As with iron and aluminum, Australia, South America,
and Africa are producers of this category, and are major exporters as well.
Additionally, Japan, Southeast Asia and Western Europe are the principal net
importers, and imports to Southeast Asia are increasing in this case as well.
Fig. 15 shows trade in
base-metal ore, classified as copper, nickel, zinc, lead, and others. Imports
of copper and nickel ore to Japan make up a large proportion of worldwide
trade. Europe is also a major importer of zinc and other ores. Although
countries in Southeast Asia besides Japan export copper and nickel ore to
Japan, in recent years their imports from other regions have been rapidly
increasing.
Fig. 16 shows a breakdown of
trade in the refined versions of these metals. In terms of producers, South
America is major exporter of copper, Australia is a major exporter of lead and
zinc, and in recent years, exports from the former Soviet Union have also been
noticeable. Although Japan is a major importer of copper ore, it is an exporter
of refined copper. Aside from copper, imports of the refined versions of these
metals to Japan are small, showing that unlike the example of aluminum, above,
these metals are being refined domestically. There is a similar trend between
Western Europe and Japan, in that Western Europe is a large importer of these
metals, and also an exporter to the Asian region. Again, the Southeast Asian
region imports from around the world to a striking degree.
(5) Flow
of Fossil Fuel Resources
Fig. 17 shows trade in fossil
fuels, broken down into coal, petroleum (both crude oil and petroleum
products), and natural gas. As is well known, Western Asia is a major exporter
of petroleum. Other exporters include the former Soviet Union, South America,
and Africa. Coal exporters include Australia, the former Soviet Union, North
America, and Eastern Europe, while Japan and Western Europe are importers. As
natural gas cannot be transported without a pipeline or liquefaction plant,
trade is limited to countries with these facilities. Japan imports liquid
natural gas from Indonesia and other countries.
REFERENCES
Cited Reference
1)
Adriaanse,
A., Bringezu, S., Hammond, A., Moriguchi, Y., Rodenburg, E., Rogich, D., &
Schuetz, H. (1997) Resource Flows - Material Basis for Industrial Economies -, World
Resources Institute, Washington D.C., 66pp. (http://materials.wri.org/pubs_newsviews.
cfm?PubID=2742)
2)
Matthews E.,
Amann, C., Bringezu, S., Fischer-Kowalski, M., Huettler, W., Kleijn, R.,
Moriguchi, Y., Ottke, C., Rodenburg, E., Rogich, D., Shandl, H., Schuetz, H.,
van der Voet, E., & Weisz, H. (2000) The Weight of Nations –Material outflows
from industrial Economies-, World Resources Institute, Washington D.C., 125pp. (http://materials.wri.org/weightofnations-pub-3023.html)
3)
Wackernagel,
M. & Rees, W. (1995) Our Ecological Footprint, New Society Publishers,
160pp.
4)
Moriguchi,
Y. (2003) Indicators and numerical targets of material flows for a
recycling-based society, Journal of Japan Society of Waste Management Experts,
14, 242-251
[Related Research Topics]
Global Environmental Research Fund
Fiscal 1991 Feasibility
study on establishing environmental accounting system
Fiscal 1992 – 1994 Establishment
of environmental and natural resource accounting system
Fiscal 1998 – 2000 Studies
on integrated environmental economic analysis towards a sustainable global
society
Fiscal 2001 – 2003 Development
of environmental accounting and indicators for measuring sustainability at
company, industry and national level
Fiscal 2004 – Study
on material flow models to assess achievement towards sustainable production
and consumption
[Related Major Publications
in English]
Moriguchi, Y. (1999) Material Flow Data Book -World Resource Flows around Japan- (CGER-REPORT D022), National Institute for Environmental Studies.
Moriguchi,
Y. (1999) Recycling and waste management from the viewpoint of material flow
accounting, Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management, 1(1), 2-9.
Moriguchi,Y.
(2001) Rapid Socio-Economic Transition and Material Flows in Japan, Population
and Environment, 23(1), 105-115.
Moriguchi,
Y.(2002) Material flow analysis and industrial ecology studies in Japan, in R..Ayres
& L. Ayres (ed.), A Handbook of Industrial Ecology, Edward Elgar, 301-310.
Bringezu,
S. & Moriguchi, Y. (2002) Material flow analysis, in R..Ayres & L.
Ayres (ed.), A Handbook of Industrial Ecology, Edward Elgar, 79-90.
Moriguchi, Y. (2003) Material Flow Data Book -World Resource Flows around Japan- Second Edition (CGER-REPORT D033), National Institute for Environmental Studies.
Hashimoto, S. & Moriguchi, Y. (2004) Data book: material and carbon flow of harvested wood in Japan (CGER-REPORT D034), National Institute for Environmental Studies, 42pp.
Hashimoto,
S. & Moriguchi, Y. (2004) Proposal of six indicators of material cycles for
describing society’s metabolism: from the viewpoint of material flow analysis, Resources,
Conservation and Recycling, 40(3), 185-200.
Hashimoto,
S., Moriguchi, Y., Sito, A. & Ono, T. (2004) Six indicators of material
cycles for describing society’s metabolism: application to wood
resources in Japan, Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 40(3), 201-223.