The Pacific: no stranger to the Satoyama Initiative

9 October 2012, CBD COP 11, Hyderabad India - The Satoyama Initiative, an initiative that promotes traditional practices that aim to balance human needs with nature through conserving human-influenced natural environments such as farmlands, is gaining momentum as a global movement through the International Partnership for the Satoyama Initiative (IPSI).

Launched in Nagoya Japan, two years ago, the initiative held its third Global Conference consisting of a General Assembly followed by a Public Forum in Hyderabad India before the opening of the 11^th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity.

The Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), a member of the IPSI, took part in these events.    

L - R Mr. Bruce Jefferies, SPREP, Mr. Wataru Suzuki Secretariat of the
 International Partnership for the Satoyama Initiative

“There are opportunities for the IPSI to benefit from our on the ground experience in the Pacific region that can help strengthen nature conservation worldwide through sharing lessons we have learnt,” said Bruce Jefferies, the Terrestrial and Ecosystem Management Officer at SPREP.

“In the Pacific a lot of the Satoyama Initiative is part of our everyday way of doing business and we can contribute a lot and this could open windows for partnerships.”

Satoyama promotes and supports socio-economic production landscapes, with the aim of realising societies living in harmony with nature, where both biodiversity and human well-being are maintained.

An example of a Satoyama-like system in the Pacific is the idea of the shifting cultivation system. The system, commonly practiced in the Melanesian region, involved the traditional concept of making a garden in the forest and following harvesting, moving to another site, thus letting the previously cleared landscape restore and regenerate.   The ridge to reef concept is another example of the Satoyama approach – this involves designating a combination of land uses, including protected areas, into a mosaic of different resource management approaches.

The Satoyama Initiative is expected to contribute significantly to achieving the three objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity – conservation of biodiversity; sustainable use of biodiversity; and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits from the use of genetic resources.

"At the General Assembly the Strategic Plan of this initiative was passed and endorsed, and there was significant interest for a member from the Pacific Islands to be a member of the steering committee.  While much of the information shared in the working groups is work that is being done in the Pacific region, there were some new and innovative ideas discussed that could be modified to work in our region.

The Public Forum of the Satoyama Initiative Assembly saw delegates divide into three working groups to discuss the Indicators of Resilience in Socio-ecological Production Landscapes and Seascapes, Creating Synergy between Traditional Knowledge and Modern Science and, Multi-stakeholder collaboration towards sustainable production and consumption.

For more information please visit:  http://satoyama-initiative.org/en/