Satoyama Initiative: How Can Japan Make It More Well Known?

Japan's Ministry of Environment is trying hard to introduce the Satoyama Initiative. They are using Youtube (but not allowing the wonderful 10 minute long video by Green TV Japan to be embedded - why?)

- Yet it is a very worthwhile project, with images from Aritagawa, Tsurugashima, and Korea, the Philippines, and elsewhere in Asia:

Youtube: The Satoyama Initiative:Toward a rural society in harmony with nature

Japan gave the name of the Satoyama Initiative to establishment of universal philosophy for sustainable maintenance and use of natural resources such as Satoyama Landscape and the efforts to promote it, and now propose and address it to the world.

The English is so-so, yet don't let that hold you back. There is more - much more - over at the website, Satoyama Initiative:

Satoyama landscape, a traditional Japanese socio-ecological production system, is an example of multi-functional land use practiced in many parts of the world.

Satoyama-like landscapes have sustained millions of people for thousands of years. Yet, with the various forces of modernization and urbanization, such systems are being undermined or abandoned, and many ecosystems degraded and the corresponding communities weakened. In recognition of the potential of satoyama-like land use systems to enhance human well-being and biodiversity, the Satoyama Initiative aims to promote the rebuilding of sustainable ties between humans and the natural environment through optimized use and management of land and natural resources.

The Satoyama Initiative is a global effort led by the Ministry of the Environment of Japan and the United Nations University Institute of Advanced Studies. The hope is that Satoyama will be a part of the CBD/post Nagoya 2010 strategy. I like it - a lot. With all the talk about climate change, now is the time to focus on real issues, and loss of biodiversity is not negotiable. Without seeds and breeds, we have no food.

Traditional satoyama-like landscapes are those shaped and maintained by humans. While leading lives centered on agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishing, the human inhabitants exert an influence on the local natural environment through land and natural resource usage and management techniques. These practices are conducted in accordance with the local area’s special natural features and ecological processes: thus satoyama-like landscapes help conserve biodiversity. Further, the diverse ecosystem services provided by these landscapes contribute to resolving food security, poverty, energy and climate change challenges.

The CBD Executive Secretary Dr. Djoghlaf (who was born in Algeria, north Africa) notes that in Nagoya, the Satoyama Initiative will be used by other countries to continue benefiting from knowledge and traditions to protect this knowledge for themselves and for future generations. And how to highlight the scientific aspects of this old tradition of living in harmony with nature...



Rice seed varieties image from Sweet Pepper Cafe, including the popular koshihikari, akitakomachi, red rice, black rice, genmai, and many more!