Implementing Nature Positive through Landscape Approaches

On 15 July 2026, UNU-IAS will co-organize a side event of the Global Nature Positive Summit 2026 in Kumamoto City, Japan. It will introduce practical examples of landscape approaches from three Japanese citites: Kurobe, Minamisanriku and Karatsu; a Japanese implementation model based on tripartite collaboration among NGOs, businesses and local governments; and the International Partnership for the Satoyama Initiative (IPSI), a network that supports knowledge sharing and collaborative action. It will also discuss the roles of different stakeholders in implementing Nature Positive through landscape approaches.  

Achieving Nature Positive requires taking into account the diversity of ecological, social and cultural conditions across regions, while focusing on the interlinkages between mountains, rivers, villages and the sea within landscapes and seascapes. From this perspective, landscape approaches have been promoted as long-term processes that facilitate dialogue and collaboration among stakeholders with diverse perspectives and values, while helping to reconcile different priorities, objectives and needs in the use and management of local resources.

Participation 

This side event to open to participants of the Global Nature Positive Summit 2026. To attend the summit, please register in advance. 

Language  

Please note that this event will be held in Japanese only, with no interpretation provided.

Programme

Subject to change

Moderator: Maiko Nishi (Department of Global Coexistence Studies, College of Bioresource Sciences, Nihon University; Visiting Research Fellow, UNU-IAS)

14:15–14:25 Landscape Approaches and the International Partnership for the Satoyama Initiative

• Ichiro Hama (Programme Coordinator, UNU-IAS; Deputy Director, IPSI Secretariat)

14:25–14:35 Japanese Nature Positive Approach: A Practical Model of Collaboration among NGOs, Companies and Local Governments

• Kazuki Harada (The Nature Conservation Society of Japan)

14:35–14:45 "Nature-Positive Design": Bridging Scientific Knowledge and Local Practical Knowledge

• Hirotsugu Odagiri (Graduate School of Life Sciences, Tohoku University)

14:45–15:15 Panel Discussion

Moderator: Akihiro Dazai (Graduate School of Life Sciences, Tohoku University / Sustainability Center)

Panellists:

• Hirotaka Matsui (Mitsubishi Estate Co., Ltd.)
• Takuya Hasegawa (Graduate School of Life Sciences, Tohoku University / Fisherman Japan)
• Yoji Natori (Akita International University / Conservation International Japan)

Organizers

This event is organized by The Nature Conservation Society of Japan; the Graduate School of Life Sciences, Tohoku University; and the Sustainable Business Laboratory, Department of Global Coexistence Studies, College of Bioresource Sciences, Nihon University, and co-organized by UNU-IAS, Conservation International Japan (CIJ) and Akita International University.