Abstract
In recent times, there has been an increasing awareness of the traditional Japanese rural landscape, or Satoyama. Satoyama is observed to provide a “backyard” for rice paddies, to accommodate biodiversity hotspots, to act as a model of sustainable ecosystem management, and it represents Japan’s beautiful ancestral homeland. However, land-use changes, underuse of Satoyama, and non-ecological infrastructures have degraded the abovementioned qualities in recent decades. As the significance of the concept of Satoyama for a sustainable society is increasingly becoming clear, several movements have emerged, including the Satoyama Initiative by the government of Japan, and the Japan Sub Global Assessment led by the United Nations University’s Institute of Advanced Studies. Satoyama represents a model of sustainable society that maximizes the use of ecosystem services, which will also be helpful in an international context.
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This article was supported by a Grant in Aid for Science Research (20241009 and 18201008) from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.
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Morimoto, Y. What is Satoyama? Points for discussion on its future direction. Landscape Ecol Eng 7, 163–171 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11355-010-0120-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11355-010-0120-5