Protecting the environment
Environmental safeguards were central to planning for the Olympic Winter Games in Nagano, with the Organising Committee implementing a series of green initiatives while preparing for the event.
These included the creation of the Nature Conservation Study Council (NCSC), which looked at the environmental factors involved in the choice of venues. As a result, all the Alpine skiing events were staged at existing sites, while some venues were switched in response to environmental concerns. For instance, the downhill events, initially scheduled to take place on Mount Iwasuge in Shiga Kogen, were moved to Hakuba to preserve a natural forest area.
Some 70,000 indigenous trees were planted across the venues to compensate for the 11,000 trees cut down to make way for new competition sites. This reforestation drive was part of the Commemorative Olympic Tree-Planting Programme, an initiative that was repeated at Salt Lake City 2002. As a secondary measure, the timber from the felled trees was used in the construction of the new venues, such as the bridges at the Snow Harp and the suspended roof of the M-Wave.
Other conservation measures included the extensive use of low-pollution vehicles and the restoration of topsoil (the rich, top layer of soil in which plants have their roots) following construction work to aid the regeneration of native flora across several sites. Great care was also taken during road building to protect the environment. Impact studies were conducted, local flora and habitats protected, and water purity and the natural landscape preserved.
The discovery of nesting goshawks at the proposed biathlon venue in Hakuba led to the events being moved to an existing site at Nozawa Onsen and prompted the introduction of local wildlife protection regulations in 1994. The discovery of these birds of prey in the area also informed the creation in 1996 of the Nagano Prefecture Environmental Protection Research Institute, as it is now known. As well as conducting environmental research projects, disseminating information and liaising with academics, the institute monitored the goshawks in the years after the Games.
No permanent facilities were constructed at Happo’one, Mount Higashidate or Mount Yakebitai – three of the skiing and snowboard venues – while planning permission for the 149 temporary facilities erected at these sites had to be sought from the Japanese Environment Agency.
Packed into 2,600 sacks, some 122,000 PET bottles collected from across the Nagano region were used to lay part of the foundations of the giant slalom course at Mount Higashidate. The bottles were recycled after the Games. At Mount Yakebitai, meanwhile, water from the toilets installed at the venue was purified and used to make snow.
In addition to raising environmental awareness among local people, Nagano 1998 was also the catalyst for a number of recycling programmes. These included the official uniforms worn by all 24,000 Games personnel, which were manufactured from recycled materials. Thanks to new technologies, the fabric, zips and buttons used in the uniforms could be broken down and made into new materials again.