In Tokyo, a symposium on the theme of “Biodiversity and its Interdependence with Agriculture, Food and SATOYAMA” was held to celebrate the International Day of Biological Diversity 2008. The symposium was co-organized with the United Nations University, United Nations University Institute of Advanced Studies, Global Environment Information Centre, Ministry of the Environment, and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. There were 226 participants in total.

Panelists consisted of a farmer who practices eco-friendly agriculture, an expert on agricultural product distribution, a researcher who is working on a project to restore SATOYAMA in order to reintroduce Crested Ibis into the wild, and a researcher from UNU-IAS engages in the SATOYAMA Sub Global Assessment. The discussion focused mainly on the following points.

Contribution of Japanese traditional agriculture, which focuses on rice cultivation, for biodiversity conservation Biodiversity damage caused by agriculture which emphasizes productivity What actions are necessary for agricultural producers, distributors and consumers in order to expand agriculture which encourages biodiversity conservation Many opinions, such as reformation of consumer consciousness, were expressed vigorously from the audience. For the program contents, click here.

Photo of the panel dicussion

In addition, the Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute (FFPRI) and Waseda University Environmental Research Institute (WUERI) held a joint symposium, with support from the Forestry Agency and the Ministry of the Environment, at Waseda University in Tokyo. It was entitled “Biological Diversity in Satoyama – Harmonizing Forests and Agriculture” and was held on 22 May 2008, the International Day for Biological Diversity. About 120 people joined this symposium.

The symposium focused on SATOYAMA, a typical traditional landscape in Japan, and featured lectures and poster presentations focused on biodiversity in SATOYAMA. It dealt with the following subjects:

Photo of the audience

Estimating forest biodiversity in Satoyama landscape, Satoyama Forests and ecosystem services, Conservation of ecosystem services in grasslands and wetlands, and biodiversity and environmental economics. Then, active opinions based on the lectures were exchanged in the subsequent panel discussion. For the program contents, click here.

Further information on the FFPRI/ WUERI symposium on “Biological Diversity in Satoyama – Harmonizing Forests and Agriculture” is provided here.