In June 2026, Uniso Ciência, a science magazine issued by the University of Sorocaba in Brazil, published an article featuring the International Partnership for the Satoyama Initiative (IPSI). UNU-IAS serves as the secretariat of IPSI.
Titled “What Might the World Learn from Satoyama and Japan’s Sacred Forests?”, the article highlights IPSI’s efforts to revitalize and maintain traditional Japanese landscapes where people and nature live in harmony. It includes comments by Suneetha Subramanian (Research Fellow and Academic Associate, UNU-IAS) explaining how the Satoyama Initiative promotes a landscape approach that supports both ecological integrity and human priorities.
Excerpt:
Subramanian argues that, for satoyama landscapes to remain viable in the Japan of the 21st century, it is essential that they continue to hold some form of cultural significance for younger generations, particularly for those living in urban centers who are no longer directly connected to the rural way of life that, in earlier periods, sustained the socioecological dynamics of satoyama.
The magazine is available online in both English and Portuguese on the University of Sorocaba website.
