Turn forest stewardship into measurable ecosystem value
Oji HoldingsSummary
Manage forests as multifunctional assets that protect water, soil and climate-regulating ecosystem services through conservation and restoration.
Context
Oji Holdings Corporation manages approximately 637,000 hectares of forest across seven countries. CENIBRA in Brazil accounts for the largest forest area at approximately 249,000 hectares within the Atlantic Forest biome, followed by their forests in Japan at approximately 188,000 hectares. Through an evaluation of natural conditions using the WWF Biodiversity Risk Filter, the forests of CENIBRA and those in Japan were identified as particularly important for the provision of ecosystem services and other indicators, such as ecosystem integrity and biodiversity importance.
Recognizing that long-term business resilience depends on maintaining these ecosystem functions, Oji forest stewardship approach combines sustainable production, conservation and restoration. Rather than managing forests solely as a source of timber, the company manages them as assets that generate multiple nature's contributions to people, consistent with the objectives of Target 11 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. One company-owned forest in Japan has also been registered under the international conservation framework known as Other Effective area based Conservation Measures (OECMs), contributing to Target 3 also known as the “30by30” global target to conserve at least 30% of land and sea areas by 2030.
In Japan, Oji quantified the ecosystem services generated by its forests in 2024, estimating a contribution of approximately 550 billion yen per year: water resource conservation including water resource recharge, flood mitigation, and water purification (204bn yen), prevention of soil erosion and landslides (275bn yen), biodiversity conservation (43bn yen), and air quality, health and recreation (28bn yen). The company estimates the daily water-source recharge of its 188,000 ha of company-owned forests in Japan at approximately 5.1 million m3/day, equivalent to the daily water usage of around 16.9 million people.
Location of the initiative: Brazil (Minas Gerais, Atlantic Forest biome – CENIBRA) and Japan (Tokushima Prefecture, Shikoku – Naka River watershed)
Solution
Oji’s forest stewardship approach includes complementary mechanisms. This case study focuses on two examples: direct land stewardship in Brazil, and a market-based collective-financing model in Japan.
Brazil
CENIBRA manages approximately 107,000 hectares of conservation forests alongside production forests (142,000 ha). Through mosaic forest management, conservation and production areas are managed together to maintain biodiversity, watershed functions, climate resilience.
CENIBRA conserves approximately 4,500 water sources within CENIBRA's managed landscapes plus an additional 1,225 water sources on third-party land since 2017. By 2024, 378 reservoirs had been established to address declining rainfall and seasonal water stress, improving groundwater recharge and dry-season resilience. Soil compaction risk is addressed through subsoiling techniques, with knowledge shared with local farmers. In 2025, CENIBRA restored 264 hectares of natural forest and established 480 hectares of ecological corridors outside company-owned land, in partnership with local landowners.
Japan
Oji's Tomioka Mill in Tokushima Prefecture in Japan is one of several industrial water users dependent on the Naka River, a 125 km river with an 874 km2 watershed that has experienced repeated droughts and floods. In 1996, nine water-dependent companies formed the Naka River Industrial Water Users Council around the principle that "those who use water have a responsibility to conserve forests." The Council now has 13 member companies.
In 2026, the Council began paying Naka Town – whose land is over 95% forested, 74% of it plantation mainly composed of conifer trees– to convert selected plantation areas into mixed conifer-broadleaf and broadleaf forest. Naka Town generates "Carbon Plus" credits (carbon sequestration plus biodiversity co-benefits) from this conversion, which the Council purchases, creating a direct funding channel from downstream industrial water users to upstream forest restoration.
Impact
Sustainability Impact
Nature impact
Brazil
Water-flow regulation: real-time streamflow monitoring lets CENIBRA assess water availability by micro-watershed and voluntarily reduce withdrawal when stress is detected, reducing impact on water shared with local communities
Soil retention and soil health: fertility and physical-property monitoring informs measures like appropriate fertilizer application and subsoiling to restore soil structure and water retention
Habitat connectivity and ecosystem resilience: vegetation recovery on fragmenting land forms ecological corridors that function as wildlife migration routes, extended beyond CENIBRA's own land through collaboration with local farmers
Protection of watersheds and natural vegetation: the mosaic landscape approach lets conservation forests act as wildlife habitat and natural buffers, reducing pest spread and sediment runoff
Japan
Biodiversity monitoring and forest-type conversion: converting conifer monoculture to mixed conifer-broadleaf and broadleaf forest is assessed through a digital MRV system combining biodiversity big data, field monitoring, UAV LiDAR and satellite data, evaluating species diversity, vegetation structure, habitat connectivity and vegetation productivity on an annual basis
Social impact
Brazil
Protected watersheds support water resources relied upon by surrounding communities; restoration projects beyond the company-owned forest estate contribute to landscape resilience, supported by environmental education programmes.
Japan
The Council model spreads the cost and responsibility of upstream forest conservation across 13 industrial water users, reducing shared exposure to drought and flood risk for downstream communities and businesses along the Naka River.
Climate impact
Brazil
Forest conservation and restoration support climate regulation by maintaining carbon stocks and increasing sequestration; CENIBRA has also initiated research into producing biochar from forest residues as a stable carbon sink, aiming for practical implementation as a climate countermeasure.
Japan
Converting conifer plantation to mixed and native forest is expected to increase carbon sequestration relative to monoculture, which forms part of the Carbon Plus credit's value; as a collectively financed, enabler-type initiative, the quantified GHG effect will be reported once MRV monitoring data is available.
Business Impact
Benefits
Strengthens resilience of forestry operations by maintaining critical ecosystem services
Reduces exposure to water-related, climate-related and ecosystem-related risks
Supports long-term forest productivity and resource security
Strengthens the evidence base for Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) reporting and nature-related transition planning
In Japan, spreads the cost and risk of securing water supply across a 13-company council, reducing any single company's individual exposure
Costs
Investment in watershed restoration and conservation activities, including forest restoration, riparian vegetation management, and measures to improve water retention/quality
Ongoing resources for monitoring ecosystem health, water-related outcomes, and biodiversity indicators
Staff time and technical expertise to design, implement, and manage ecosystem-service initiatives
Collaboration costs with local stakeholders, communities, research institutions and implementation partners
In Japan, the cost of purchasing Carbon Plus credits from Naka Town (shared proportionally among Council member companies)
Implementation
Typical Business Profile
Most relevant for companies that manage significant land assets; depend on freshwater, soil health or ecosystem services; operate in forestry, agriculture, food, land-intensive manufacturing or natural-resource sectors; are developing nature-related strategies or transition plans; or share a watershed or water source with other industrial users, making a collective, council-based model (as in Japan) relevant.
Approach
Identify the ecosystem services on which the business and surrounding stakeholders depend.
Assess priority locations where ecosystem degradation could create operational, environmental or social risks.
Protect existing high-value ecosystems and critical ecosystem-service areas.
Integrate conservation and production objectives through landscape-scale management (in Brazil, mosaic forest management combining conservation and production forests)
Restore degraded ecosystems and reconnect fragmented habitats (in Brazil, ecological corridor and restoration programmes with landowners and in Japan, funding conversion of conifer plantation to mixed/broadleaf forest via credit purchase)
Monitor ecosystem-service indicators (Brazil: streamflow and soil monitoring; Japan: annual biodiversity MRV using UAV LiDAR and satellite data)
Engage communities, landowners and other stakeholders where ecosystem outcomes depend on wider landscape action (in Brazil, local farmers and landowners and in Japan, 13-company industrial water users' council partnering with the upstream municipality).
Integrate findings into business planning, risk management and transition-planning processes.
Stakeholders Involved
Brazil
Internal:
CENIBRA forest management and sustainability teams.
External:
Local communities: within a 2 km radius of the forests CENIBRA manages, identified through field assessments, interviews and socioeconomic indicators. By 2025, CENIBRA had mapped 293 communities, including 60 Indigenous and Quilombola communities. CENIBRA holds regular consultations and runs a communication channel, “Talk to CENIBRA”; in 2025 it conducted 1,047 dialogues involving 41,703 participants. When concerns are raised, CENIBRA responds through consultation and operational adjustments, such as reviewing transport routes, schedules and work procedures. Dialogues and agreements are recorded, tracked and managed in internal systems to support monitoring, traceability and follow-up.
Local farmers and landowners: partners in the ecological corridors outside company land and recipients of shared soil management knowledge.
Research institutions and local authorities.
Japan
Naka River Industrial Water Users Council: 13 member companies, including Oji’s Tomioka Mill, formed in 1996 around the principle that “those who use water have a responsibility to conserve forests”. Members share the cost of purchasing Carbon Plus credits.
Naka Town local government: the upstream forest landowner and Carbon Plus credit generator.
MRV technology and data partners: satellite, UAV LiDAR and biodiversity big-data providers.
Key Parameters To Consider
Brazil
Maturity: Mature, long-established forest stewardship and mosaic management
Timeline: Generally long-term to realize ecosystem-service and watershed benefits
Lifetime: Long-term / ongoing management commitment
Prerequisites: Land stewardship responsibilities, ecosystem-service monitoring capability
Geographical factors: Applicable in forested landscapes/watersheds, particularly Atlantic Forest biome contexts
Japan
Maturity: Early-stage, the Carbon Plus credit-purchase mechanism launched in 2026
Timeline: Council formed 1996; forest-conversion financing began 2026
Lifetime: Structured as an ongoing commitment
Prerequisites: A shared watershed with multiple industrial water users willing to co-fund upstream conservation; an upstream landowner able to generate recognized carbon/biodiversity credits; access to MRV technology
Geographical factors: Most applicable where multiple companies share exposure to the same watershed or water source