United Nations University Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability
Operating Unit Ishikawa/Kanazawa (UNU-IAS OUIK)OUIK Newsletter

Spring 2020

UNU academic students foraging for mushrooms＠Shunran-no-Sato, Noto cho (p9)Contents
Local Activities ・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・ Page 2• IMAGINE KANAZAWA 2030: SDGs Café 6th - 10th
• SDGs Mii’s Feast Project 6th - Final• Symposium “How Can Creative Culture Help Sustainability of the Cities”• Green Infrastructure Starting from Gardens in Temples and Shrines - Vol. 1• International Conference “Achieving SDGs Through the Conservation of GIAHS”• GIAHS Academic Programme 2019
• Hokuriku SDGs Stakeholder Meeting 2019
International Activities ・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・Page 11• IFLA the Cultural Landscape Working Group International Symposium
New Staff Member ・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・Page 11
Internship ・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・Page 12
Dear Readers・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・Page 121

crafts. I also would like to see Kanazawa create new
demand for crafts as the heart of Hokuriku."

IMAGINE KANAZAWA 2030: SDGs Café 6th – 10th
We continued to hold SDGs Café, a program begun in
April 2019 in partnership with local community
members. Part of the IMAGINE KANAZAWA 2030
project, SDGs Café is a forum where various stakeholders
take part in imagining Kanazawa in 2030. The last
newsletter covered the first five events. Here wesummarize events 6 through 10.

The 7th event was on a popular theme: "Kanazawa’s
Action for Climate Change."
Three speakers led a discussion on what citizens can doto address climate change: Kanako Oku (President,
Association for Re-Designing Earth’s Future), who shared
how she imagines Kanazawa in 2030, Ikuho Kochi(Kanazawa University), who introduced the topic, andMariko Aoumi (Kanazawa Eco Life Club), who led thesecond half.
Oku, a mother of two and co-operator of an inn
alongside her husband, talked about how student
climate movements overseas got her to recognize her
own responsibility to take action, leading her to launch
the association with community members who
resonated.

In the 6th event, participants explored development thatdraws on Kanazawa's unique cultural heritage. Jun Ura(President, NPO Syuto Kanazawa) spoke on the theme"Community Development with Culture," a concept vitalto plans for implementing the SDGs authentically.
Kanazawa has a rich heritage of traditions and culture,including many properties and buildings developed by
the Maeda family.
Despite their highconcentration along
the Japan Sea, suchproperties “aren’t
being used to theirpotential," said Ura,
noting that the firststep in grassroots
development is when citizens take a fresh look at theirlocal culture.
In the 17 SDGs, there is just one goal that addresses the
topic directly, and that's Goal 11: Sustainable Cities andCommunities. “I think there should be more. After all,it's hard to do development and sustainability together,"said Ura. He suggested, "Maybe we should become
more familiar with the culture that makes the region
special."

Kochi, who teaches environmental issues at Kanazawa
University, had just participated in a Climate Reality
Leadership Corps training in Tokyo organized by former
U.S. Vice President Al Gore. She shared the current dataon climate change she learned there along with Al Gore's
moving message. She also reviewed the current state ofclimate change while looking at data, which showed thatfossil fuel use is the greatest source of greenhousegases, and made suggestions on the kinds of solutions
that should be executed going forward. She stated that
we need to "do what we can now" before it's too late for
future generations.
Responding toKochi’s talk, Aoumi
commented, "We
need to respond as
a big team, not justeach person doing iton their own. I
would like to hear
the wisdom you all
have about what we can do to bring the different
movements together." She then led a discussion withparticipants about what entire communities can do.
OUIK Office Manager Mikiko Nagai, who served as
facilitator, commented: "Perhaps the best method is toswitch the energy we use to renewables. In 10 years we

The traditional crafts of Hokuriku and Kanazawa are one
aspect of the region’s culture attracting attention today,
as indicated by plans in 2020 to move the National Craft
Museum to Kanazawa, making it the first national
museum on the Japan Sea coast, and also to host theInternational Hokuriku Kogei Summit. Ura expressed his
expectations: "The crafts of places like Komatsu andKanazawa could continue to exist sustainably if local
communities rediscovered their value. I hope moving themuseum here will make the region a national hub for2

don’t want to be asked, 'Why didn't you do anything?'
Don’t we want to hear, 'Actually, there's this amazing
café called SDGs Café, and I heard it began there'? For
that to happen, I think we need to monitor thecommunity's greenhouse gas emissions and reducethem together."problems one by one? At the end of the day it might bequicker, and cheaper overall, if we try to create theconditions in which everyone is happy,” he said. Using
Paris's urban farms and San Francisco's water bottle refill
stations as examples, Hiroishi explained how a single
initiative can solve problems on multiple fronts and how
people with different ideas working together can change
entire social systems. When individuals are
overwhelmed, the important thing is cooperation, or
partnership. Ideally, partnership grows as more people
decide to share an actual problem and work together, hesaid. Hiroishi closed his talk with the observation:"Changing society is a challenge, and this café is afantastic forum for taking on such a challenge."

The 8th theme was "What is Needed to Connect with
Others and Help Each Other? -Thinking About a New
Form of Partnership." Aya Kasama (Kanazawa City
Government), who worked on preparation of the
Kanazawa Future Scenarios (Kanazawa SDGs ActionPlan), shared how she imagines Kanazawa in 2030, andTakushi Hiroishi (Representative Director, K.K. Empublic)
gave useful input to the discussion.

Every one of the SDGs is broad in scope, unachievablethrough the efforts of any one person. This makes
partnership essential, "So important that partnership has
its own goal, Goal 17," said OUIK Office Manager Mikiko
Nagai, beginning the café by speaking on the importanceof partnerships for achieving the SDGs.
Kanazawa City, JCI Kanazawa and UNU-IAS OUIK
launched IMAGINE KANAZAWA 2030 in March 2019,advancing a process of thinking about action plans from2020 onward in true partnership with local citizens.
Kasama asserted, "We really want to follow a process
where everything is considered from a first-person
perspective, where everyone can believe that 'theKanazawa SDGs are our goals'—the targets we set, theaction plans we made, all the way to checking whether
we are following through on the actions." She said, "Mybiggest wish, or dream, is that in 2030, Kanazawa
becomes the place where it's natural and easy foreveryone to join hands when a problem needs to besolved."Next, Hiroishi, whoworks on various
partnershipprojects,
introduced
problem-solving
processes andmethods. “What is
a problem-freesituation? And is it really a good approach to solve

The 9th theme was "Thinking about Kanazawa’s Public
Transport in 2030." Participants discussed the question“How do we want transportation in Kanazawa to be in
2030?” from a citizen's perspective, especially as it
related to well-being and town attractiveness. Providing
ideas was Derk Loorbach (Director, Dutch ResearchInstitute for Transitions and Professor, Erasmus
University Rotterdam), pioneer of transition
management and visiting from the Netherlands, andimagining Kanazawa in 2030 was presented by Masahiro
Kagishi (Nihonkai Consultant Co., Ltd.), the mastermindand secretary of Kanazawa’s “machinori” bicycle rental
system.
What is transition?
In the context of sustainable development, transition is a conceptthat recognizes the need not only to build consensus at thegrassroots level, but also to develop problem-solving
methodologies that anticipate structural changes.

When traveling toBarcelona, Spain,
three years before theevent, Kagishi had
conducted a mobility
survey where heinterviewed local
transport businesses
about public transit. One interview question was "Why is3

mobility necessary?" The answers that came back said
"Happiness" and "Our mission is to support humanactivity and orchestrate happy urban living. To do that,
we provide mobility services." Taking this as a key
concept, Kagishi said he wants to realize "mobility(public transit) as a vehicle for people to accesshappiness." To achieve this means that stakeholders
such as citizens, businesses, local government, andretailers must share a common vision, like "happiness."
Derk, who is involvedin both research andreal-life applications,
next offered ideas on
ways to rebuild
mobility systems andmake the transition.
“For example,
climate change and biodiversity loss are recognizedworldwide, but there is no real action. People are awareof it and they even know the solution. How can we makea big change there? That’s what we focus on,” he said.
According to Derk, transition research is about
recognizing that sometimes we need to bring criticalthinking to the questions of why things don't change,
and what kind of change is possible. "When I talk abouttransition, some people take a negative stance and callme an idealist or a dreamer, saying it can’t be done, or it
costs money. But that's not true. It isn’t easy to believein the future, but increasing the number of people who
believe in change and the future is a part of thetransition process," he said. Transition begins whenthose people connect in useful ways and startexperimenting and trying different methods. As it grows,
the shape becomes visible. In Kanazawa, for example,
the number of bike lanes has increased considerably thepast few years. Likewise, things that will be considered
normal in the future but aren’t common now will
gradually become the norm.
In the closing Q&A session, there was a lively discussion
centered on tourism in Kanazawa and the bicycle
situation in the Netherlands.

The 10th event wasdedicated to "SDGs x
Sports" and invited
Sachi Haida (Deputy
General Manager,
Business Planning
Department, andhead of Hometown
Promotion Office, Zweigen Kanazawa Football) to
imagine the Zweigen Kanazawa football team's identityand activities in 2030. Joining to introduce the topic was
Cosmo Takagi (Research Associate, UNU-IAS OUIK and
Project Research Associate, Keio University), who played
football in Brazil as part of a study-abroad program.
Zweigen Kanazawa is a J2 League football club thatcounts all of Ishikawa Prefecture, including Kanazawa, as
its hometown. Their club philosophy means "Making'fight' local tradition," which expresses their desire to
make the fighting spirit a new tradition in Ishikawa,
where many things are described as traditional. The clubalso strives to be a beloved member of the community,
holding soccer classes and many other hometown
activities. According to Haida, the club hopes to"become the pride and symbol of Ishikawa residents by2030" and to "join everyone in the region in making
Ishikawa and Kanazawa an exciting place to live." Haida
closed by saying, "We plan to carry out SDGs projects
and community partnerships and more activities with
our stakeholders to make Ishikawa a place where you
can feel more alive."

Next, Takagi presented examples of football teams
working on the SDGs and environmental and social
issues in different countries. One example was the UK's
Forest Green Rovers FC, which is recognized as theworld’s greenest football club, certified even by theUnited Nations. They installed solar PV panels on theirstadium which help supply all of the electricity thestadium requires with solar power. Kawasaki Frontale inJapan has contributed to SDGs Goal 4: Quality Education
by donating math workbooks so kids can learn
arithmetic through counting football game scores. Takagi
said, "It would be great if we could create ‘Goal 18:
Fostering a Rich Sports Culture’ or something to make
SDGs action useful and fun while protecting Kanazawa’s
4

culture," suggesting how Kanazawa could implement theSDGs in a manner that fits its identity.
The closing group discussions produced many ideas,such as "Incorporate traditional crafts into sports
merchandise" and "To connect with the goal of reducing
food loss and waste, athletes could visit schools and help
students eat all of the food, or enjoy a meal together
while talking about nutritional balance."

gathering to insect observation. Chestnut (kuri) trees areplentiful in this region, in part because they weretraditionally used in daily living, to make firewood andcharcoal, for example. This time, participants prepared adish called kachiguri, made from boiling chestnuts froma wild species called shibaguri.
While thechestnuts wereboiling, children
learned aboutsnakes bylooking at
photos and ashed skin.
Exploring thesatoyama demands caution in autumn, when vipers(mamushi) come out to mate and are more prone tobite. The children learned that some snake species havea fixed number of rows of scales on their body, and thatby counting scales on the thickest part of a snake skin,
one can determine its species. The children were
fascinated by the snakeskin, something they don't often
see.
After that, they looked at water insects and azuki beans
planted between the rice fields, giving a full-sensory
experience of autumn satoyama and lessons about theirconnection to various lifeforms. They even found rare
Cybister chinensis diving beetles, making it a memorable
time.

SDGs Mii’s Feast Project 6th - FinalOUIK has been supporting educational activities that use
GIAHS Noto's Satoyama and Satoumi to promotesustainability. In May 2019 the Maruyama Group, which
conducts community educational activities in Wajima
City, Ishikawa, in cooperation with Mii Elementary
School, started an environmental education projectcalled the SDGs Mii’s Feast Project. For the last year,
participants have been learning about local nature andtraditions, and their connections, through the process of
preparing tasty foods based on the picture book Let’s
Make a Harvest Feast! Getting out of the classroom tolisten to the stories of local people, make food withfriends, think on their own, and get their hands dirty
nurtures the children’s creative thinking, pride incommunity, and appreciation for nature in satoyama.
Continuing from the previous newsletter, here wesummarize the 6th to the final event.

The 7th event, held in November, was a "roundup"
session focused on international food issues, tastingfood from various countries, and desalinating the warabi
no shiozuke (salt-cured bracken fiddleheads) which they
made in the spring.
First, Yoko Tomita from OUIK talked about global foodissues from an SDGs perspective. They then discussed
hunger issues while looking at the UN WFP’s Hunger
Map. The students checked different countries on a
globe placed on their table, saying things like "It'sserious in Africa" or "Japan is completely fine." Thechildren seemed to understand that people who live indeveloped countries need to be serious about fighting
hunger, because climate change and the economic
activities of developed countries are causal factors.

The 6th event, held in October, offered a full taste ofsatoyama in autumn, everything from chestnut
5

Next, they looked at food spreads around the world,using the book Hungry Planet: What the World Eats, byPeter Menzel and Faith D'Aluisio. They gave
presentations on the things they noticed in the photos offamilies in different countries with one week's amountof the food they eat. Lots of ideas emerged: "There's a
lot of bread. Maybe bread is their staple?" "There are a
lot of vegetables but no meat." "Big family! Their clothes
are so different from those in Japan." The types andamount of food varied widely between countries andregions, as did family personalities, and many of thefoods seemed foreign to the children.
Next, Yuki Hagino(President, MaruyamaGroup) taught how todesalinate the salt-cured
bracken fiddleheads
everyone made in May.
According to Hagino,using a copper pot whenboiling and desalinating
vegetables is a wisdom
passed down from older
generations. Copper ionsattach to the chlorophyll,
which keeps the ingredients from changing color.
At the end, it was time to taste some international food.
Mr. Suzuki (Maruyama Group) cooked a dish called tô,which he often ate in Burkina Faso, OUIK’s intern Felix
cooked rösti from Switzerland, and Tomita prepared
toast with Vegemite, a popular condiment in the UK andAustralia. Food varies widely with the location,
environment, and culture where people live. Hagino
closed with the comment, “Nowadays, you can eat foodfrom all over the world wherever you are. But please
don’t forget the taste of the local foods you grew up
with.”

until spring. The same ritual is performed in February 9of the following year to send the deities out and pray for
an abundant harvest. Because they had helped gather
ingredients at previous events over the last year, 12
students from 4th, 5th, and 6th grades participated in
the ritual of offering food.

When the festival ceremony began, the host drew thedeities in from the fields, saying, "The rice field kami hascome back! Let's welcome them!" calling to members of
the house and directing the deities to the hearth. After
offering some warm amazake (sweet mild sake), they
then guided the deities to the bath for some relaxation.
The feast followed. At the table, two meals wereprepared, one each for the husband and wife deities.
Forked daikon, a masu box heaped with red rice, and astew (nishime) of bracken and osmund fiddleheads,
daikon, carrots, konjac, and deep-fried tofu. There waseven a side dish called aimaze, with sautéed daikon,
carrots and crushed soybeans (uchimame). Many
generations ago when there were no refrigerators andmeat and fish were harder to come by, uchimame werea valuable protein source. And a majestic sea bream—
complete from head to tail—and large balls of ohagi
mochi. Soup and pickles. Such an elaborate meal
signifies that "rice farming is laborious and tiresome, so
please eat your fill!"

In the 8th and final event, students participated in an
ancient festival in Okunoto (northern part of Noto
Peninsula) called Aenokoto. Every year on December 5,
farmers give thanks to the year's rice harvest by inviting
the deities of the rice field into their house, where theydraw a bath and offer food to give the deities a break

Five 6th graders spoke on behalf of the group. "Kami of
the rice fields, these are the salted fiddleheads weforaged in May in Maruyama. This is the agodashi wemade in July in Suzu. These are the chestnuts wegathered and then dried and pounded in October in
6

Maruyama." After a hearty "Thank you!" from everyone,
the event closed with a taiko performance. The deities of
the rice field must certainly have enjoyed this year's
feast prepared by Mii Elementary School students.
Satoyama in places
like Mii offers a buffetof choices fordelighting in nature's
gifts and making
things by hand. It's
important that adults
create an environment
for elementary school
students and otherchildren in the heightof their receptivity tocome in full-sensory
contact with local
nature and wisdom
derived from the land.

production and consumption; a "plastic-free month";
and a campaign where neighboring cities competed in
SDGs implementation. Catrysse closed with thecomment, "I said that culture connects people, butmusic especially so. It is the universal language of all
countries. It can transcend language barriers anddifferences in culture and background. And
incorporating the SDGs into public policy is essential formaking our towns a warm place for future residents, forcreating a place for all people to live in security."

Symposium “How Can Creative Culture Help
Sustainability of the Cities”
Date: 2019/10/16
Venue︓Kanazawa Bunka HallThis was followed by a panel discussion. The theme was"Creativity Bridging Craft and SDGs" and was moderatedby Mikiko Nagai, OUIK Office Manager.
To start, Yukina Yasue (Senior Managing Director,
Universal Design Ishikawa) spoke on the role of craft art
in enhancing inclusion and on projects and outcomes in
Kanazawa, citing tea ceremony with tea bowls made bypeople with disabilities and Dialogue in the Dark as
examples.
Next, Woralun
Boonyasurat(Director, Institutefor Social
Research, Chiang
Mai University)
introduced
examples ofsustainability incrafts and folk art from Chiang Mai, Thailand. According
to Boonyasurat, the arts and culture are a centerpiece of
Chiang Mai's vision, and the city is planning events anddeveloping action plans focused on its uniqueness anddiversity. She emphasized that "strengthening theCreative Cities Network and transmitting it to the next
generation is vital for our city."
Lastly, OUIK
researcher Juan
Pastor-Ivars gave atalk on traditional
Japanese gardens as aplatform for the SDGs
and how they can beused to achieve theSDGs targets. Pastor-

The UNESCO Creative Cities Network is a network ofcities worldwide that aim to use cultural resources, orcreativity, as a driving force for sustainable
development. The network includes more than 180 cities
focused on crafts and folk art, music, media art, andother creative fields. Kanazawa, designated as a Creative
City of crafts and folk art in 2009, held the UNESCO
Creative Cities Network Crafts and Folk Art Subnetwork
Meeting 2019 to commemorate its 10th anniversary.
This symposium was hosted by UNU-IAS OUIK as a side
event.
OUIK Director Tsunao Watanabe opened the event witha review of the previous decade and an invitation to theattendees to explore answers to the event’s theme.
Bernard Catrysse(Director, Arts
Flanders Japan) gave akeynote speech titled,“Voice of the SDGs
Played by the Music
Creation City, Ghent."
Ghent, Belgium, asister city ofKanazawa, joined the UNESCO Creative Cities Network inthe music field in 2009, the same year as Kanazawa. A
self-described "pocket-sized metropolis," Ghent is asmall but ancient city focused on achieving the SDGs in
its aim to be an enjoyable place to live and work.
Catrysse introduced several examples of city initiatives,
many linking problem-solving to cultural activities. These
included Ghent en Garde, a project for sustainable food7

Ivars said that Japanese gardens bring together threeelements: people, crafts, and nature. He gave numerous
examples of how gardens are tied to arts and crafts,
serving as a studio or providing resources to lacquerartisans and silk dyers, or as a space for tea ceremonies.
"Gardens connect people with nature. By preserving
gardens, we can maintain that connection," he said.
After the three presentations, a discussion involving theaudience was held. One person asked a question about
initiatives in Chiang Mai, another told a story fromexperience, and another talked about the importance of
having shared values and collaborating as a network.

changes in land use and the natural environment.
"Investigating ways of using the natural environmentthat exist unchanged from long ago can reveal how
people can relate to nature sustainably, or industries
that fit the environment of the local land," she said.
The talks were followed by a garden cleaning. Breaking
into three groups, the participants got to work, mostly
gathering fallen leaves that had accumulated with thepassing autumn. Garden architect Tsukasa Nakami, who
happened to be present, shared some expert knowledge
and techniques that the public don't often learn about,such as how to care for moss. With more than a dozen
participating, the garden was clean in about an hour.
Participants got a physical sense of how challenging it
would be for the owner or manager to do this work allby themselves.

Green Infrastructure Starting from Gardens in
Temples and Shrines – Vol. 1
Date: 2019/10/22
Venue︓Shinrensha Temple
This workshop held at Shinrensha Garden combined theregular garden cleaning with a seminar taught by Kota
Maruya (Kanazawa University) and Kei Sakamura (Japan
Advanced Institute of Science and Technology). Special
guest Tamano Hayashi (Ryukoku University) gave the
keynote speech.
OUIK Research Associate Juan Pastor-Ivars began with an
explanation of the day's activities. Most of the extant
traditional gardens in Kanazawa, of which there aremany, face conservation challenges, and this cleaning
workshop was proving effective as a new garden
management system. Some 340 volunteers had
participated thus far, and the activities were becoming
increasingly integrated into the daily lives of local
residents. Pastor-Ivars asked participants to fill out aquestionnaire before and after the cleaning. The results
showed that positive emotions increased and negative
emotions decreased as a result of cleaning the garden,
suggesting that cleaning benefits participants as well as
garden owners.
Next, Hayashi,
visiting from
Ryukoku
University in Shiga
prefecture, spokeon envisioning
culturallandscapes of thepast. If the cultural landscape and biodiversity ofJapanese gardens in Kanazawa is a micro perspective,
Hayashi’s talk was more about the macro perspective.
Using a map of the area around Lake Biwa in Shiga,
participants observed connections between people andnature from a macro level. Most of Japan's naturallandscape is what's known as "secondary nature," ornature that has been deliberately managed by humans.
This type of nature has continually changed withchanges in human lifestyles and social order. Hayashi’s
research focuses on the natural environment andcultural landscapes of the past, and investigating

After the cleaning, participants filled out the usualquestionnaire and had a discussion session where they
made suggestions for future activities and ways to utilize
the garden. Spending time in a garden surrounded bynature gave these urbanites the chance to connect withnature, talk to other people, and deepen relationships
through a common purpose. The participants seemedenjoyed learning in the beautiful garden, and everyone
seemed satisfied.
International Conference “Achieving SDGs Throughthe Conservation of GIAHS”
Date: 2019/10/30
Venue: Kanazawa Bunka HallUNU-IAS has been conducting a three-year (begun in
January 2018) comparative research project with the
National Institute of Agricultural Sciences of the Korea
Rural Development Administration (RDA) on FAOdesignated Globally Important Agricultural Heritage
Systems (GIAHS) and Nationally Important Agricultural
Heritage Systems (NIAHS) around the world. Thisconference was held to share experiences from bothcountries on the GIAHS designation’s impact andconservation challenges, with a particular focus on therelevance of GIAHS conservation to achievement of the
SDGs.
8Closing remarks were then delivered by Shinji Terasaki(Director, Ishikawa Prefecture Satoyama Promotion
Office). He thanked the RDA and all of the attendees,
expressed future aspirations, and drew the four-hour
conference to a close.

Reporting on GIAHS and NIAHS activities in Korea were
Dr. Dae Yong Hwang (senior agricultural researcher,
RDA), Dr. Myeong Cheol Jeong (researcher, RDA), Jong
Gon Kim (head of the Hadong Tea Producers Association,
Hadong County), Dr. Hag Yeo You (research committee
member, Chungnam Institute), and Yoo Jick Lee (VicePresident, Korea Rural Heritage Association). They spokeon the many functions of traditional tea farming in
Hadong, and on the sustainability of the Geumsan
Traditional Ginseng Agricultural System.
From Japan, Dr. Osamu Saito (Academic Program
Director, UNU-IAS), Junko Owada (Japan GIAHS Expert
Committee member), Naoyuki Kaneda (Director,
Planning and Finance Section, Suzu City), and Tomoe
Aota (Deputy Director, Agriculture and Fisheries
Department, Shiga Prefecture) shared their analysis ofnatural capital and ecosystem services in the integratedsocial and ecological systems of Noto; the linking of art,
GIAHS and SDGs in Suzu; and the Lake Biwa System,
which is undergoing GIAHS application.
Dr. Evonne Yiu (UNU-IAS Research Fellow) moderated apanel discussion on the revitalization of GIAHS regions
and their contribution to achievement of international
goals such as the SDGs. Lee said that in Korea, the SDGs
are still mainly taken up by the central and provincial
governments, so he was impressed by Suzu City's efforts
at the municipal level. He hopes to see the SDGs used asmonitoring indicators for the GIAHS action plan in Korea.
Given that the low public profile of GIAHS is a challengeshared by Japan and Korea, Aota suggested that theSDGs could be helpful in raising GIAHS awareness, since
the SDGs have gained wider recognition among
companies and civil society in Japan.
Koji Nakamura (Kanazawa University Emeritus Professor
and Japan Chairman, East Asia Research Association for
Agricultural Heritage Society (ERAHS)) summarized theconference discussions. He stressed that the challenge of
GIAHS conservation only gets harder after designation,and that the cycle of monitoring, action plan revision,and upscaling must be pursued with all stakeholders in
the region. Human resource development is therefore
crucial, he said, highlighting the success of the GIAHS
Meister program in Ifugao, Philippines, which he has
worked on for many years.

GIAHS Academic Programme 2019
Date: 2019/11/9-11
Location︓Noto area
The second GIAHS Academic Programme was held. Its
aim is to contribute to sustainable development by
providing capacity development training to candidates
from mainly developing countries who will support
GIAHS designation and regional revitalization in theirhome countries. As in the previous year, the three-day
trip was co-organized by Ishikawa Prefecture, UNU-IAS
academic programme, and OUIK. Seventeen
international students from UNU, Kanazawa University,
Nagoya University, Tohoku University, and Tokyo
University of Agriculture and representing 13 countries
visited the Noto region to study development initiatives
that utilize Satoyama and Satoumi.

On the first day they visited the Maruyama Group,
dedicated to land-based living in Wajima City; anagricultural volunteering activity; and an oyster farm in
Anamizu. They listened to the stories of people who
moved to the region, and saw various examples ofcollaboration with local people.
9

On the second day,the group learned
about a system inwhich low-valued
local timber can beexchanged for local
currency, andvisited a "timber
station" wherethese exchanges
take place. Next,
they visited
Shunran-no-Sato, afarm inn wherevisitors can get ataste of realsatoyama life, andforagedmushrooms withguidance from its director-general, Kiichiro Tada. In theafternoon, they returned to Wajima and visited the
Nigyou Washi studio, where they make paper using
traditional methods. Here, the students tried their handat papermaking using materials gathered from nearby
satoyama.
On the morning of the final day, the group toured amorning market in Wajima. Then they moved to aconference room at Noto Airport and listened to a talkby Koji Ito (Associate Professor, Noto School, Kanazawa
University) on the Noto Satoyama Satoumi SDGs Meister
Training Program. This program seeks to develop young
leaders who will play a role in utilizing natural resources
to revitalize the Noto region, which struggles withpopulation aging and decline. Because graduates arealso involved program lectures, students can conduct
research and gain knowledge in a range of fields.

In their presentations, the students presented theirresearch with additional insights into Noto's satoyama
gained over the previous three days, along withstrategies and ideas for addressing regional challenges.
The ideas were plentiful, including how to increase
visitors to the region, a joint program for engaging
domestic and international students in local activities,
and a promotional strategy for eco-tourism. Local
community members also participated, and a lively
discussion unfolded for three hours. The students willcontinue doing research to give shape to their ideas.

Hokuriku SDGs Stakeholder Meeting 2019
Date: 2019/12/17
Venue︓The Kanazawa Theatre
This meeting was held as a regional version of the
Stakeholders Meeting for Revision of the SDGs
Implementation Guidelines hosted at the UNU
Headquarters on September 6, 2019. Businesses, local
governments and citizens involved in SDGs action across
Hokuriku discussed the region's future and presented asustainable plan for the next generation.
In his opening
remarks, Kazuhiko
Takemoto (Senior
Visiting Professor,
UNU-IAS) spoke on
the importance of themeeting being held ina rural area when the
SDGs Implementation Guidelines were set to be revisedaround the same time.
Next, special guest
Kentaro Endo,
Counselor of the
Cabinet Office
Regional
Revitalization
Promotion
Secretariat, gave agreeting andexplained national policies for achieving the SDGs andregional revitalization.
Tokutaro Hiramoto (Associate Professor and Director,
SDGs Promotion Centre, Kanazawa Institute ofTechnology) shared information and explained the
purpose of the meeting and how to proceed with the
breakout sessions.
The meeting was divided into five subsequent sessions,and each group produced a specific plan for Hokuriku in
2030 in the form of a scenario.
1. What kind of city is livable for everyone?
2. Innovation: Production in our local communities andtransmission to the world
3. Education: Careers and learning in a 100-year lifetime
society

A student presentation and a discussion session were
held in the afternoon. This academic programme is partof the UNU-IAS Trans-disciplinary and Graduate
Research Seminar (TGRS). Students conduct threemonths of preliminary research on the main theme,
population aging and decline, and on one of three subthemes, education, sustainable livelihoods, and tourism.
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4. Partnership: A mechanism that brings together
people’s strengths in our local communities
5. Diversity: Diversity and inclusion in decision-making

Landscape Architects (IFLA) in Seoul, Korea. The themeof the symposium, hosted by Seoul National University,was "Historic Cultural Landscapes: Succession,
Sustenance and Sustainability."
Pastor-Ivars presented his research on the sustainable
conservation of Kanazawa's Nagamachi district,traditional gardens and other historic culturallandscapes, and exchanged ideas with researchers fromother parts of the world.
On his final day, he visited cultural and historic heritage
sites from Korea's Silla period, including gardens andsacred mountains, which are recognized as candidates
for the UNESCO World Heritage list.

During the session, members first looked over materials
such as the NRI Future Chronological Table 2020-2100
and the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications’
TECH Strategy for the Future. Then they drew up a visionof what work styles and lifestyles might be like in 2045.
Next, members created a “persona,” a hypotheticalperson whose life they would simulate through an
example scenario, including specific details of their life
story and turning points. After the afternoon breakout
sessions, the scenarios were reported to and received
feedback from students who joined the meeting on their
way home from school. Many ideas were shared, such as
the systems that will be enabled by technologicaladvances and changes in family structure.
Tsunao Watanabe(Director, OUIK) thengave the closing
remarks, expressing his
hopes for future
promotion of the SDGs
in Hokuriku. He also
gave words ofappreciation to the participants and the students whojoined the final sharing session.

New Staff Member

SayakoKoyamaResearch Associate
She completed MSc
Conservation Science at
Imperial College London in
the UK. After working at anenvironmental consultancy
in Tokyo and experienced conservation related work as apark ranger in Ogasawara Islands, she worked as afreelance translator especially in the field ofenvironmental conservation. She then moved to
Ishikawa Prefecture and was entrusted to support
OUIK’s research. She also worked as a staff member ofKanazawa University on the Satoyama Satoumi Meister
Training Program. At present, she works as a research
associate of OUIK focusing on biocultural diversity in
Noto region and Noto GIAHS (the Globally Important
Agricultural Heritage Systems). She also supports Noto
SDGs Lab. in Suzu City as a collaborative researcher.

IFLA the Cultural Landscape Working GroupInternational Symposium
Date: 2019/11/16-20
Location: Seoul, Korea
OUIK Research
Associate Juan
Pastor-Ivars
attended the
Cultural LandscapeWorking Group
international
symposium of theInternational
Federation of11

affected and whose lives have been affected by the
spread of the virus.
OUIK decided to postpone or cancel several events andactivities, including the event "Japanese Garden and
SDGs" scheduled for 29 February in Tokyo. We
appreciate your understanding in this decision toprioritize the health and safety of everyone involved.
We will continue to shift our activities to online until the
spread of the virus is contained.
More information can be found on the website andOUIK's Facebook page.
We hope that this situation will be resolved as soon as
possible, and that everyone will stay safe until then.

Internship

Maythawee
Ratchatawijin
4th year student,
Department ofTransdisciplinary Scienceand Engineering, School ofEnvironment and Society,
Tokyo Institute (Internship:
Dec 2019 – March 2020)OUIK Staff

Three months as an intern at OUIK help me understandabout 1) activities in OUIK, 2) biocultural diversity in
Ishikawa and Kanazawa and 3) career path as a
researcher. By participating as a staff in “Hokuriku SDGs
stakeholder meeting 2019” and “SDGs café #9 –Kanazawa transportation in 2030”, I learned about
inclusive decision-making in city level. I found Kanazawa
citizens active and well-aware of biocultural diversity
reflecting the result of UNESCO designation of Kanazawa
as creative city. My main contributions at OUIK are 1)
designing new look of OUIK website including blogs
extracted from booklet’s chapter to boost online accessand 2) producing video promotion for Japanese garden
research project. From mentioned work, I gained deeper
understanding of Japanese garden’s role in biocultural
diversity conservation that it serves the city not only
through aesthetic elements but also through ecologicalservices. As I got to join team meeting and see theresearch progress from proposal planning, report writing
to public outreach, my career path as a researcher
becomes clearer. Since my interest falls between science
communication and community-related research, I see
how both interests meet in real situation and got highly
motivated. The opportunity to be in the city that is richin biocultural diversity and surrounded by talented andinspiring people also induces my personal growth inmany ways. I deeply appreciate this chance andencourage those who are interested in similar
experience to pursue this internship opportunity.

Published: April 2020
Operating Unit Ishikawa/Kanazawa (OUIK)UNU Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability
Shiinoki Cultural Complex, Ishikawa Prefecture 3F
2-1-1 Hirosaka, Kanazawa, Ishikawa, 920-0962 Japan
Tel: +81-76-224-2266 Fax: +81-76-224-2271
EMAIL: unu-iasouik@unu.edu
URL: www.ouik.unu.edu

Dear ReadersThanks for your support and collaboration with OUIK.
During the last fiscal year, we were able to conduct our
research activities with the cooperation of local
communities and various partners.
This fiscal year, we will continue our work on conserving
biodiversity and creating a sustainable society in
Ishikawa and Kanazawa.
Due to the spread of COVID-19, a state of emergency has
been declared in Ishikawa Prefecture. We would like toexpress our heartfelt sympathy to those who have been
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