Satoyama-Satoumi Ecosystems and Human Well-Being - UNU-IAS ...

26 | Summary for Decision Makers
recognition that while satoyama and satoumi
are integrated ecosystems, nonetheless, they
vary in important ways (types of flora and
fauna, geography, etc.) as they exist in different
regions within Japan.
Impact of economic
responses
Fewer economic responses, at either the national
or regional level, have been undertaken
as compared to legal initiatives. This is due in
large part to the decline in economic value
of satoyama and satoumi resources in the last
half century, brought about by a decrease
in resource use through importation and
international trade, as well as by a declining
and ageing population that has fewer material
resource needs.
Taxation has been the primary form of economic
regulation of satoyama and satoumi,
both through taxes that penalise corporations
for polluting these landscapes, and use
taxes that distribute the cost of maintaining
these ecosystems to those who benefit. With
respect to the later, for example, the Forest
Environment Tax burdens citizens of various
regions with the costs of maintaining forest
satoyama whose benefits they enjoy (whether
directly, through recreation, or indirectly,
through protection the forests offer to water
supplies and their prevention of soil erosion).
Impact of social and
behavioural responses
Citizens, non-profit organisations (NPOs),
and non-governmental organisations (NGOs)
contribute significantly to satoyama and
satoumi management and conservation. This
is yet another instance where the government
has employed a strategy of decentralisation
to foster regional and local initiatives which
are thus more able to involve citizens and
citizens’ groups. Businesses have similarly
become more involved in such initiatives as
ways of enhancing their public image by very
visibly demonstrating corporate responsibility
for the environment.
Impact of technological
responses
Technology development aimed at increasing
yields of satoyama and satoumi resources
(provisioning services) while simultaneously
protecting those ecosystems (regulating services)
is increasing. In the case of satoyama
ecosystems, improvements in fertilisers and
pesticides management have meant better
yields while reducing damage to the ability of
satoyama to provide regulating services and
conserve biodiversity. Similarly, high resolution
satellite images allow better forestry
management; for example, by identifying
areas where insect infestation threatens
satoyama forest.
New technologies focused on satoumi
include improved aquaculture and fisheries
management techniques, which make greater
production possible without degrading the
satoumi ecosystem.
Impact of cognitive responses
There is growing recognition that traditional
methods as well as advanced scientific
knowledge must be integrated to protect the
biodiversity within satoyama and satoumi
ecosystems. This is not a call for a “return
to nature” but rather acknowledgment that
traditional knowledge historically has successfully
allowed for both use and protection
of these landscapes, and so has much to teach
us in the present.
Perhaps the most promising cognitive response
has been a rediscovery of the idea of
the “commons,” understood both as a system
of co-management of natural resources, and