A symposium, Guidelines for the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biodiversity in Okinawa, was held.

Location: 1st Floor Lecture Room, Okinawa Prefectural Museum and Art Museum

On August 23rd of 2019, the symposium was held to announce the program and its results to the public. The symposium was such a tremendous success and closed with a lot of people attending the symposium. Thank you for coming!

Lecture held by Okinawa Prefecture Natural Preservation Division introducing and providing information for implementing “Guidelines for the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biodiversity in Okinawa”.

Under this program, “Guidelines for Environment Conservation” were revised to enhance the methods used for preserving the environment in Okinawa. This revision was made to balance the preservation and utilization of biodiversity. The newly revised guidelines are called Guidelines for the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biodiversity in Okinawa (hereafter referred to as “new guidelines”). A symposium was held so that specialists from the field could give talks and hold panel discussions introducing the new provisional guidelines to the public.

During the lecture, Professor Yasuhiro KUBOTA (Faculty of Science, University of the Ryukus) explained how to evaluate and analyze local biodiversity using big data. Also, Special Researcher Masanao TOYAMA (Nanto Cultural Research Center, Okinawa International University) explained “bioculture” as introduced in the new guidelines to better understand where biodiversity and human culture intersect.

Overhead view of panel discussion

In the latter part of the symposium, five scientists who specialize in the utilization of biodiversity in Okinawa hosted a panel discussion [Chairman, Honorary Professor Kunihiro MIYAGI (Okinawa International University), Professor Yasuhiro KUBOTA (University of the Ryukyus), Special Researcher Masanao TOYAMA (Okinawa International University), Associate Professor Yoshihisa FUJITA (Okinawa Prefectural University of Arts), President Mitsuru MORIGUCHI (Okinawa University)]. The discussion was marked with interaction from the audience, giving a deeper sense of importance in thinking about the future of biodiversity in Okinawa.

Further symposia will be held as more provisional guidelines become available for other regions within Okinawa Prefecture (all tentative names; Yaeyama Islands, Miyako & Kumejima Islands, and islands adjacent to Okinawa Island to include Daito Islands) to introduce local nature and how to responsibly utilize biodiversity in each area.

Along with the guidelines release, booklets were prepared to explain how utilize biodiversity and maintain environmental records.
PDF available (Japanese only)