On 20 March 2025, UNU-IAS co-organized a symposium focused on recovery efforts on the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan following the 2024 Noto Peninsula Earthquake. Held in Kanazawa City, the event brought together international experts and local leaders from the Noto and Tohoku regions in Japan to discuss ongoing reconstruction efforts and disaster prevention for resilient communities using a multi-hazard approach.
Shinobu Yume Yamaguchi (Director, UNU-IAS) and Yuichi Kitamura (Deputy Director-General, Ishikawa Prefectural Planning and Development Department) delivered opening remarks. A keynote speech by Seiji Yanai (Specially Appointed Professor, Faculty of Bioresources and Environmental Sciences, Ishikawa Prefectural University) highlighted changes in the Noto Peninsula's satoyama and satoumi landscapes, including massive land uplifts that occurred as a result of the earthquake and torrential rains. He discussed how to restore these landscapes with consideration for the local rare species, and how to incorporate the newly emerging coastal landforms in disaster prevention education.
Youssef Nassef (Director, Adaptation Programme, UN Climate Change) stressed the crucial role of social solidarity and collective action in the Noto Peninsula recovery efforts. He praised local community initiatives that prioritize the preservation of cultural heritage and take into account special vulnerabilities such as an aging population that might be reluctant to relocate.
Speaking from a cultural and artistic perspective, Eva Kraus (Director, Bonn Bundeskunsthalle (Art and Exhibition Hall of the Federal Republic of Germany) shared examples of sustainable European architecture, highlighting the importance of climate resilience and the reuse of old materials. She underscored the need to green up cities to make them more biodiversity-friendly.
A panel discussion moderated by Tsunao Watanabe (Visiting Research Fellow, UNU-IAS Operating Unit Ishikawa/Kanazawa) featured case studies on post-disaster recovery in countries including Japan, Ukraine, and the United States. Experts and local practitioners shared insights on disaster recovery that goes beyond infrastructure and includes socio-ecological challenges such as ecosystem damage, livelihood disruptions, cultural loss and demographic changes. Panelists emphasized the importance of leveraging connections between people, nature and place for sustainable recovery that addresses social, environmental and economic dimensions.
In closing, Xiaomeng Shen (Vice-Rector in Europe, UNU-VIE; Director, UNU-EHS) highlighted the concepts of adaptation and hope as essential to effective post-disaster recovery and long-term resilience.
The symposium was co-hosted by UNU-IAS, the Ministry of the Environment, Japan (MOEJ), Ishikawa Prefecture, the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), and the Japan Foundation for United Nations University (JFUNU). It was supported by the Ecology and Civil Engineering Society (ECESJ), the Japanese Institute of Landscape Architecture (JILA), the Japan Conference on the Implementation of the 2030 Biodiversity Framework (J-GBF), the Keidanren Committee on Nature Conservation, the Environmental Restoration and Conservation Agency (ERCA), AEON Environmental Foundation, the Japan Society of Landscape Ecology (JALE), the Environment Research and Technology Development Fund S21, the Hokkoku Shimbun and the Hokuriku Chunichi Shimbun.
