C.W. Nicol

C.W. Nicol (Clive William Nicol, born 17th July 1940 in Neath, Wales; C.W.ニコル C.W. Nikoru) is a Japanese environmentalist, conservationist and writer of Welsh descent. He has written many fiction and non-fiction books, notably children's stories and his autobiographical work, C.W. Nikoru no Boku ga Nihonjin ni Natta Riyuu (C.W.ニコルのボクが日本人になった理由 'C.W. Nicol's 'Why I Became a Japanese'). Nicol became a Japanese citizen in July 1995.

Nicol is well-known to the Japanese public as a face of conservation. He arranged park ranger training courses to improve management of Japan's national parks, and has spoken regularly on woodland issues and deforestation. He is sympathetic to Japanese whaling, which has earned him some international criticism, but has also attacked Japanese policies on international trade and domestic green policies. He turned 45 acres of Japanese woodland into a national park called Afan Argoed ('Valley of Woods' in Welsh; アファンの森 Afan no Mori 'Afan Wood'), run by the C.W. Nicol Afan Woodland Trust (C.W.ニコル・アファンの森財団 C.W. Nikoru Afan no Mori Zaidan); this was later twinned with Afan Forest Park, Cymmer. He has also been an occasional actor in television advertisements, and is a karate black belt.