IPSI Case Study Summary Sheet
Basic Information
Title of case study (should be concise and within approximately 25 words)
Socio-ecological linkages in Japan’s Urato Islands
Submitting IPSI member organization(s)Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo
Other contributing organization(s) (IPSI members and/or non-members)

Author(s) and affiliation(s)Akane Minohara and Robert Blasiak, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo
Format of case study (manuscript or audiovisual) Manuscript
Language
EnglishKeywords (3-5 key concepts included in the case study)
Urato Islands, eco-DRR, human-nature linkages
Date of submission (or update, if this is an update of an existing case study)
22 December 2015
Web link (of the case study or lead organization if
https://collections.unu.edu/eserv/UNU:3365/sitr1_sepls.pdf
available for more information)

Geographical Information
Country (where site(s) or activities described in the case study are located – can be multiple, or even “global”)
JapanLocation(s) (within the country or countries – leave blank if specific location(s) cannot be identified)Shiogama City, Miyagi PrefectureLongitude/latitude or Google Maps link (if location is identified)
https://www.google.com/maps/@38.3354431,141.0897264,13.25z
Ecosystem(s) (please place an “x” in all appropriate boxes)
ForestGrassland
Agriculturalx
In-land water
Coastalx
Dryland
Mountain
Urban/peri-urban
Other (Please specify)
Socioeconomic and environmental characteristics of the area (within 50 words)
The Urato Islands consist of four different islands, namely, Katsurashima, Nonoshima, Sabusawajima, andHojima, with a current total population of about 400 altogether. On 11 March 2011, the largest earthquake
and tsunami ever recorded in Japan’s history struck off the northeastern coast of Japan.
Description of human-nature interactions in the area (land-use, traditional resource management practices etc. – within 50words)

Aquaculture (oyster and seaweed (nori) farming) and small-scale coastal fisheries are the dominant maritime
production activities, while rain-fed agriculture on one of the islands themselves is largely a source of
supplemental foodstuffs for local consumption and for local sake making.

Contents
Status (“ongoing” or “completed”)
CompletedPeriod (MM/YY to MM/YY)
2011-2015
Rationale (why activities or policies described, or information shared in the case study are needed – within 50 words)
Although the magnitude of the earthquake and tsunami exceeded any such events in recorded history, acombination of strong community bonds, intimate knowledge of terrestrial and marine systems, and culturalrichness resulted in a robust and resilient response by local communities, which was further strengthened byexternal bonds developed with multiple diverse stakeholders.
Objectives (goals of activities or policies described, or of producing the case study – within 50 words)
To better understand the nexus of social, ecological and production processes that have shaped thecommunities in the Urato Islands as well as their surrounding landscapes and seascapes.
Activities and/or practices employed (within 50 words)

Field visits were conducted during 2011-2015. Community dialogue sessions were also organized to facilitate
multi-stakeholder dialogue among community members and external actors. Furthermore, a criticalassessment is provided of the concepts underlying ecosystem-based disaster risk reduction (eco-DRR) as
reflected in the revitalization of communities.
Results (within 50 words)
The community dialogue sessions are the basis for a substantial component of this research and have been
crucially important for the post-disaster recovery and revitalization efforts in the Urato Islands. As amethodology, community dialogue sessions using a similar approach could be broadly applicable within bothpost-disaster settings as well as communities struggling to address deep-seated challenges.
Lessons learned (factors in success or failure, challenges and opportunities – within 40 words)
Key factors that enable community dialogue sessions’ broad applicability include their inclusiveness, whichenables a range of stakeholders to both participate and feed their thoughts into change processes, and theultimate usefulness of such dialogue to serve as a catalyst for action, setting long-term change processes inmotion in an organic and locally-owned manner.
Key messages (within 40 words)
This research underscored how strong community bonds, supported by a solid knowledge base aboutsurrounding SEPLS and a wide range of coping strategies such as self-organization of managing the commonsand adaptive management through trial-and-error learning, can lay the foundations for an entire community’sresilience. This effect is further strengthened through external linkages with various stakeholders.
Relationship to other IPSI activities (if the case study is related to any other IPSI collaborative activities, case studies, etc.)
This case study originally appeared in the Satoyama Initiative Thematic Review v. 1. It is related to IPSI
collaborative activities in the Urato Islands and beyond with Tohoku University, Ministry of the Environmentof Japan, Ink Cartridge Satogaeri Project, CEPA Japan, e-front, Yamagata University and others.
Funding (any relevant information about funding of activities or projects described in the case study)
This work was made possible, in part, due to support from Japan Science and Technology Agency and JSPS
KAKENHI (Grant number 4403) “New Ocean Paradigm on its Biogeochemistry, Ecosystem and SustainableUse”.

Contributions to Global Agendas
CBD Aichi Biodiversity Targets (https://www.cbd.int/sp/targets/)
The table below shows based on the self-evaluation by author(s).  and  indicates the “direct” or “indirect” contributions to theCBD’s Aichi Biodiversity Targets respectively to which the work described in this case study contributes to.

Strategic Goal A

Strategic Goal BStrategic Goal C

Strategic Goal D

Strategic Goal EUN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdgs)
The table below shows based on the self-evaluation by author(s).  and  indicates the “direct” or “indirect” contributions to theSDGs respectively to which the work described in this case study contributes to.
