OUIK is a unique unit that has been operated jointly by the Japanese regional governments of Ishikawa Prefecture and Kanazawa City, and the organization of the United Nations. Directly connecting regional fields and the world has enabled OUIK to carry out a wide range of activities through innovative approaches that cannot be found elsewhere.
OUIK is engaged in community-based research to preserve Ishikawa’s biocultural diversity. We will disseminate the results of our research globally, as a regional model for sustainable development , and contribute to international discussion and problem-solving from this region.
Ishikawa’s Satoyama and Satoumi have not only produced the food culture, traditional crafts, architecture and landscapes of each region; they have also facilitated the development of the urban culture of Kanazawa for generations. In addition to promoting level collaboration among regions, OUIK seeks a new, creative relationship between the city and Satoyama-Satoumi that goes beyond the conventional relationship of a supply area and a consuming area. We are disseminating information on Ishikawa, with its abundant nature and culture, as a model of preservation of biocultural diversity to the world through our research activities. Our approach can be divided into the following three areas:
- Global Networking: connecting grass-roots activities to the global community;
- Collaboration with Regions: promoting mutual learning among communities across asia for biocultural diversity conservation; and
- Development of Human Resources: global promotion of the value of regional resources.
