Ichiro Hama is a Programme Coordinator for the Biodiversity and Society Programme and Deputy Director of the Secretariat of the International Partnership for the Satoyama Initiative (IPSI).
He began his career at the Ministry of the Environment, Japan (MOEJ), where his work included serving as a National Park Ranger and contributing to national policies for the conservation and management of national parks. He subsequently worked at the Forestry Agency of Japan and the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
From 2022, Mr. Hama worked on the negotiations and national implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) as a member of MOEJ’s Biodiversity Strategy Office. He also served as the National Focal Point for the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), coordinating engagement with IPBES and leading efforts to host IPBES task forces in Japan.
From 2024, he was responsible for international environmental cooperation and policy at MOEJ. As the National Focal Point for the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), he participated in international processes including the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) and the UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), while promoting synergies across international policies and initiatives on biodiversity, climate change, land and ecosystems, and sustainable development.