Special issue: conservation of Satoyama endangered species in the era of depopulation and aging

Excerpt

Satoyama landscape are generally described as multiple landscape units including agricultural lands, forests, and residential areas, frequently characterized with mosaique or patchwork type of land use as result of lasting interactions between human and physical nature. The term has been increasingly gaining salience since 2010 when the CBD COP 10 was held. As one of the international process, the International Partnership for the Satoyama Initiative (IPSI) was launched and established. Although the uniqueness of the landscape has been paid attention because of its various values in society and ecosystem, the focus of conservation at species level remained at the rare species. Less attentions for conservations were paid to species in secondary nature including Satoyama due to their relatively high reproductivity and habitat being not limited in specific limited areas. In recent years, however, collection of these species for commercial trading purposes beyond the reproductions of such species became their serious threat with increased decline in populations and habitats. To address such challenges, legal and institutional amendments were implemented. Japanese government designated three species commonly called as “Satoyama rare species” in 2020, namely, giant water bug (Kirkaldyia deyrollis), golden venus chub (Hemigrammocypris rasborella), and Tokyo salamander (Hynobius tokyoensis), based on the Act on Conservation of Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora Article 4 (6) endangered category II (vulnerable). The species are orally referred to as “endangered species of Satoyama”. In such circumstance, this special issue focus on conservation of the Satoyama rare species. It includes (1) a review of their biological and ecological characteristics and conservation methods (Natuhara 2021), (2) a review and analysis of existing conservation actions (Shimpo 2022), and (3) a survey and analysis of local perceptions on the species and conservation actions (Uchiyama et al. 2022). The first review is covering key literatures of the Satoyama rare species and their conservation methods. It provides scientific basis of the conservation policies and actions and remaining tasks for future scientific research. The second review and analysis gives an overview of conservation actions and their motivations. Understanding the detected detailed trends of the conservation can facilitate the future conservation actions and involvement of stakeholders. The third survey and analysis indicate gaps of local perceptions on the species and conservation actions between different generations. Sharing and understanding such gaps between multiple generations can avoid miscommunications between various stakeholders and facilitate their collaborations. These three papers contribute to the academic fields of landscape ecology, environmental management, and related fields. Furthermore, practical implications are provided from the papers, and they can be used and referred by policy makers and practitioners in charge of landscape and species conservation in Satoyama. The Satoyama landscape or similar land uses can be found in different regions of the world as IPSI was established and it is still actively managed by international collaborations. Furthermore, such landscapes types are frequently symbol or linked with identity of the community, traditional and local knowledge, traditional local characters (or terrior in French) of the place. Given such importance, the implications provided by the reviews and case study of this special issue are instrumental for science, policy and local communities alike across regions. …