Societies in Harmony with Nature

This side event of the 2024 High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) will highlight the role of the Community Development and Knowledge Management for the Satoyama Initiative (COMDEKS) in achieving the SDGs and key targets under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), including those on ecosystem restoration, protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs). It will highlight the role of local actors, civil society and local communities in designing and implementing innovative, inclusive, sustainable and locally-led solutions that address the triple planetary crises of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution. It will also discuss the linkages between poverty reduction, local resilience and empowerment and ecosystem restoration.  

The event will feature voices from both high-level experts and in-the-field practitioners to amplify their diverse knowledge and experiences, particularly on practical implementation of the Satoyama Initiative, COMDEKS, and the GBF. Participants will have the opportunity to share key experiences and lessons and explore means of upscaling and mainstreaming these into national and global policies. 

Participation

This event will be held online at 8:00–9:30 EDT (21:00–22:30 JST). 

Participation is open to all. Please register in advance.

Please note that participants in UNU events may appear in photography, screen captures, videos and/or audio (see disclaimer). 

Language 

This event will be held in English with Spanish and French translation available virtually.

Programme 

08:00 – 08:04 Opening

•  Marcos Neto (Assistant Administrator and Director, UNDP)

08:05 – 08:27 High-level Remarks

• Ministry of the Environment, Japan (TBD): COMDEKS-4 and Japan’s Contribution to the GBF
• Keiji Nishizawa (President, Keidanren Committee on Nature Conservation): Private Sector Contribution to COMDEKS and the GBF
• Shinobu Yume Yamaguchi (Director, UNU-IAS): International Partnership on Satoyama Initiative and the GBF

08:28 – 08:32 COMDEKS Video

08:33 – 09:13 Overview of the Satoyama Initiative and COMDEKS & Panel Discussion

• Kazuhiko Takeuchi (President, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies): Overview of the Satoyama Initiative and SEPLS
• Rissa Edoo (COMDEKS Partnership Specialist, UNDP GEF-SGP): Overview of COMDEKS Phase 4

09:14 – 09:29 Q&A

09:30 Closing

• Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (SCBD) (TBD)

Organizers  

This side event is co-organized by the Keidanren Committee on Nature Conservation (KCNC), the Ministry of the Environment of Japan (MOEJ), GEF Small Grants Programme at UNDP, SCBD and UNU-IAS. 

Background  

COMDEKS was launched in 2011 as a flagship program of the global Satoyama Initiative, which aims to build on mutually beneficial human-nature relationships, where the maintenance and development of socio-economic activities (including agriculture, fishing and forestry) aligns with natural processes. Phase 4 of COMDEKS will seek to catalyze and drive integrated local actions and provide concrete contributions to the implementation of the GBF, and promote the sustainable use of biodiversity resources at the socio-ecological production landscapes and seascapes.