High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development 2021
Side Event
Healthy Planet, Healthy People:
Role of the Satoyama Initiative for Green and Blue Recovery
Date and Time: 9 July 2021, 7:30-9:00am, NY time zone
Organizers: Convention on Biological Diversity (lead organizer),
Ministry of the Environment of Japan, UNDP, GEF SGP, IGES, and UNU-IAS (co-organizers)
Venue: Virtual event - Zoom Webinar Format
Here is the link for the webinar registration:
https://undp.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_fiBlsk3kRiyQW_jqmyPC7Q

Simultaneous translation will be provided for English, Spanish and French
Description:
In line with the key theme of the 2021 HLPF, this side event will highlight the role of socio-ecologicalproduction landscapes and seascapes (SEPLS) under the Satoyama Initiative in achieving theSustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as well as its contribution to the sustainable and resilient
recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and to the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, which isdue to be presented at the fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP15) to the CBD inKunming, China, in 2021. Accelerating local action and addressing climate change issues are also key
to achieving the SDGs. The event will focus on the role of local actions as well as the landscape andseascape approaches, which promote the economic, social and environmental dimensions ofsustainable development in an inclusive and effective manner.
The event will highlight how the Satoyama Initiative helps to accelerate protecting the planet andbuilding resilience (SDG 13, 14 and 15), while also addressing poverty and food security (SDG 1 and 2),
human health and well-being (SDG 3), reduced inequalities (SDG 10), and responsible consumption
and production (SDG 12), building justice and strong institutions (SDG 16), and fostering partnership(SDG 17). It will also focus on how the Initiative is contributing to important elements of the Post-2020
Global Biodiversity Framework such as spatial planning and restoration, protected areas and othereffective area-based conservation measures, and productivity, sustainability, resilience of biodiversity
in agricultural and other managed ecosystems.
Following the successful high level event last year, this time, we will be hearing voices and sharing
knowledge and experiences from the field, as well as promoting continued and expanded high levelsupport and engagement to the Satoyama Initiative. Participants in the event will share key lessons
from the Satoyama Initiative, and explore ways for upscaling and mainstreaming them into global andnational policy dialogues. The event will also share key lessons learned from the COMDEKS and otherinitiatives under the Satoyama Initiative, to explore avenues to institutionalize landscape and seascapeapproaches in national and sub-national policies as a critical contribution to the UN Decade onEcosystem Restoration, Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, Paris Agreement and other key
global agendas.
The Satoyama Initiative
The Satoyama Initiative is a global platform that promotes societies in harmony with nature in
production landscapes and seascapes. It consists of over 270 organizations, governments, CSOs,
academic institutions, and private sector members.
The Community Development and Knowledge Management for the Satoyama Initiative (COMDEKS)
was launched in 2011 as a flagship program of the Satoyama Initiative and its international partnership(IPSI), a global effort to promote sustainable use of natural resources in the landscapes and seascapeswith local communities. COMDEKS is funded by the Ministry of the Environment of Japan (MOEJ)
through the Japan Biodiversity Fund (JBF) of the CBD Secretariat (SCBD), and implemented by UNDP inpartnership with MOEJ, SCBD and the United Nations University Institute for the Advanced Study of
Sustainability (UNU-IAS). COMDEKS activities are delivered and implemented in 20 developing
countries through the GEF Small Grants Programme (SGP), a decentralized funding mechanism
implemented by UNDP with 27 years of experience providing small grants to civil society andcommunity organizations for projects addressing global environmental issues.
The Satoyama Development Mechanism (SDM) provides small grants of up to $10,000 each tograssroots projects that maintain and enhance biodiversity in SEPLS, in line with the IPSI Strategy andPlan of Action. The SDM was established jointly by the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies(IGES), UNU-IAS, and MOEJ in 2013. It has so far financed 48 projects in 22 developing countries, and it
coordinates activities to enhance their visibility to attract additional resources.
Event Outline:
Moderator
Ms. Yoko Watanabe, Global Manager, GEF Small Grants Programme, UNDP
Opening and Introductory Remark:• Mr. David Cooper, Deputy Executive Secretary,
Secretariat of the Convention on BiologicalDiversity• Ms. Adriana Dinu, Deputy Assistant Administrator,BPPS, United Nations Development Programme

Total 10minutes(5 minseach)

Introductory Video: Small Grants Programme and theSatoyama Initiative

2 minsPanel Discussion: Voices from the Field – Landscape andSeascape approaches for Green/Blue recovery

Total 30mins(6 minseach)

Panelists:• Ms. Boucar Nanatao Ismail, SGP National
Coordinator, Niger - Multi-stakeholder governancefor landscape and seascape management• Ms. Patricia Mencay Nenquihui Nihua, President ofAsociación de Mujeres Waorani de la Amazonía
Ecuatoriana (AMWAE), Ecuador - Traditional
knowledge in managing landscape (Indigenouswomen representative)•Fiji - Women’s empowerment throughlandscape/seascape approach- film
• Mr. Ibrahim Kışla, Guneskoy Cooperative, Turkey Innovation and green jobs (youth representative)• Ms. Dang Kien, Community Entrepreneur
Development Institute (CENDI), Vietnam Implementation of Satoyama Development
Mechanism (Local Business representative)
Discussion and Q&A
Remarks on Implementation:• Prof. Shinobu Yume Yamaguchi, Director, UNU-IAS• Prof. Kazuhiko Takeuchi, President, Institute for
Global Environmental Strategies

Total 10mins(5 minseach)

Concluding Remarks: Looking Forward and Upscaling:• Mr. Hiroyoshi Sasagawa, State Minister of theEnvironment, Ministry of the Environment, Japan,
Satoyama Initiative and Green Recovery: futureprospect• Mr. Carlos Manuel Rodriguez, CEO andChairperson, Global Environment Facility –Landscape/Seascape approach and Local Action:
GEF-8 strategy and beyond

Total 10min(5 minseach)

Wrap up