Summary

his session introduced initiatives in the Kurokawa district of Kawanishi City, Hyogo Prefecture— considered Japan’s foremost satoyama—alongside overseas examples of satoyama utilisation. It communicated the importance of satoyama and efforts towards its conservation and regeneration.

The first speaker explained that satoyama forests were woodlands converted from original evergreen broadleaf trees to faster-growing deciduous trees for fuel use. He described that the shift in fuel sources from woody biomass to oil, gas, and electricity in the 1960s led to the abandonment of satoyama forest management, resulting in neglected woodlands. Consequently, while satoyama forests have disappeared entirely from the Rokko mountain area, they are still being harvested and utilised in the Kurokawa district of the Hokusetsu region due to demand for high-grade charcoal for tea ceremonies. It was reported that preserving these satoyama forests has conserved the landscape and ecosystem, and they are also being utilised as venues for environmental education.

The second speaker highlighted that while linking international goals such as the Paris Agreement and Nature Positive to national strategies and policies remains a challenge, collaboration between cities – which account for the bulk of energy consumption and environmental impact – and rural areas rich in natural resources is crucial. He introduced initiatives based on the concept of Regional Circulating and Ecological Sphere to promote such collaboration, citing examples from Yokohama City, Kitakyushu City and Kanagawa Prefecture. He also presented cases from Nagpur in India and Udon Thani in Thailand, which are being advanced by the CES Asia Consortium.

Summary written by: KOJIMA Satoshi (IGES)