UICN - Unión Internacional para la Conservación de la Naturaleza

Rio+20 and Biodiversity Japan

20 February 2012 | News story

CEC members Osamu Abe, Masahiro Kawatei and Makiko Imai, with Akiko Domoto and Naoya Furuta, announce the creation of a volunteer initiative linking Rio+20 to the United Nations Decade on Biodiversity.

Makiko Imai, CEC member

A number of individuals from Japan who were involved in  the launch of the United Nations Decade on Biodiversity (UNDB) in Kanazawa, Japan, on 17 December 2011 feel that Rio+20 in June 2012 offers an opportunity to build very important momentum to remind international society about the importance of biodiversity and "Living in Harmony with Nature". Rio+20 is the 20th-year celebration from Rio Earth Summit, birthplace of the Convention on Biological Diversity.

The individual volunteers formed the initiative called "Rio+20 and Biodiversity Japan" . For information, please visit the Facebook page >> 

Our members includes key players such as Akiko Domoto, involved in the negotiation of CBD and also former board member of IUCN, and Naoya Furuta, a current IUCN member, among others.

Professor Abe, and the initiative's Secretary General, Masahiro Kawatei, are members of the IUCN Commission on Education and Communication. CEC member Makiko Imai is a member of the secretariat of this initiative. Participants in the new initiative include:

• DOMOTO, Akiko (Biodiversity Japan)
• TAKEUCHI, Kazuhiko (Vice Rector, UNU)
• WAKUI, Shiro (Professor, Tokyo City University)
• YOSHIDA, Masato (Chairperson of IUCN Japan)
• ABE, Osamu (Professor, Rikkyo University)
• NAKASHIZUKA, Tohru (Professor, Tohoku University)
• KOSAKA, Ryo (Associate Professor, Nagoya City University)
• FURUTA, Naoya (Senior Project Officer, IUCN)
• KUSAKARI, Hidenori (Vice Chairperson of IUCN Japan)
• KURECHI, Masayuki (President, Japan Association for Wild Geese Protection)
• KASHIWAGI, Minoru (Co-Chair of Ramsar Network Japan)  
• and many more...

At the global kick-off of the UNDB, we prepared the draft and that was adapted as "Ishikawa Declaration". The Ishikawa Declaration calls on the participants to the Rio+20 Summit, scheduled for June 2012, to give high priority to the biodiversity agenda and fully integrate the Aichi Biodiversity Targets as an integral part the Summit’s expected outcomes. Read more >>

The  Rio+20 and Biodiversity Japan initiative made comment on the Rio+20 zero draft and will keep actively involved in the Rio+20 process.

For more information, contact CEC member Makiko Imai, e-mail: makiko@yukikazet.com, www.yukikazet.com