Chair’s Summary

Chair’s Summary
1. Introduction
The GEA International Conference 2011 entitled “Building Sustainable Societies throughReconstruction, ~Working with the International Community for Regenerating Japan~” washeld in Tokyo, Japan on 14th and 15th of October, 2011.
The Conference was opened with the attendance of H.I.H. the Crown Prince, GEA
Chairman, Mr. Juro Saito and H.E. Mr.Yoshihiko Noda Prime Minister of Japan. DirectorGeneral of GEA, Ms. Wakako Hironaka presided over the Conference as its Chair.
The conference was organized by the Global Environmental Action (GEA) supportedby the Government of Japan, namely, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Finance,
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology, Ministry of Agriculture,
Forestry and Fisheries, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Ministry of Land,
Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, and Ministry of the Environment.
The Conference aimed to undertake a high-level policy dialogue in order to articulate
concrete measures to realize sustainable societies not only in Japan, but also in theinternational community, capitalizing Japan’s experience of the disaster.

2. Opening of the Conference
GEA Chairman, Mr. Juro Saito gave his opening speech. He expressed his heartfelt gratitude
for the swift supports from all over the world right after the Great East Japan Earthquake.
He said he expected the conference would discuss about how to improve quality of life
from international point of views and show a clear direction for the regeneration of Japan.
H.I.H. the Crown Prince, in his opening address, stated that he regarded this conferencemark the significant epoch to share Japan’s experience of the recovery from the disaster withthe eminent persons from the world. He expected that the conference have active discussion
and the outcome of which be announced toward the world.
Prime Minister Mr. Yoshihiko Noda, in his statement, said the disaster has brought Japana fundamental question on what social sustainability is. He highlighted the three important
points: preparedness to unexpected levels of natural disasters, the role of science andtechnology especially for nuclear management, and implementation of environment
and energy policy for the sustainability of the society, emphasizing introduction of therenewable energy as the key.
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As to Rio+20 to be held in June next year, he said Japan, as the presidency of CBD COP10,
was committed to lead the international action to realize Aichi Target. Lastly, he envisaged
that productive discussions by the collective wisdom from the world would contributeto productive discussions on the timely theme of building sustainable societies throughreconstruction.
Mr. Adnan Z. Amin, Director-General of International Renewable Energy Agency(IRENA), in his keynote statement, expressed his gratitude for Japan’s support inestablishing and taking forward the work of IRENA. He said that renewable energy could
make an essential contribution to reconstructing Japan’s devastated areas and communities,
and renewable energy could play a vital role in Japan’s energy landscape and in reviving
Japanese entrepreneurship, opening a new growth path for decades to come. He showed
the figures that in 2010, renewable energies supplied 20% of the global total electricity
generation and, constituted one quarter of global installed power capacity.
Noting the IPCC’s Special Report Special Report on Renewable Energy Sources and Climate
Change Mitigation (SRREN) released in Abu Dhabi in May 2011, he pointed out that close
to 80 percent of the world‘s energy supply could be met by renewables by mid-century ifbacked by the right enabling public policies.
He stressed that it was truly a moment of opportunity that must be seized, noting
developing renewable energies at a sufficiently rapid pace to restructure the energy mix
would lead to investment, jobs and sustainable economic growth as well as improve securityof energy supply and reduce dependency from fossil fuels.
He touched upon Japan’s R&D efforts in energy, and said it could increasingly continue totarget deployment of the best available advancements in infrastructure, renewable energy,
energy efficiency and smart grids.
He said the initiative to regenerate Japan and build a sustainable society throughreconstruction had seized the imagination of people all over the world and could position
Japan as a leader globally in the urgent search for sustainable solutions.
Mentioning innovative eco-model cities using renewable energy sources in the Tohoku
area, he described that this was an opportunity to change the way of thinking about energy
and urban planning. He said that IRENA hopes to share lessons learned from design andtechnology in post-disaster reconstruction projects such as the pilot eco-model cities tobenefit people all over the world.
In closing, he reiterated IRENA’s deep sense of solidarity with Japan for its the brighter
future that renewable energy can bring.

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3. Thematic Sessions
In the thematic sessions, the facilitator of each session steered discussions based on thelead presentations in accordance with the Programme of the Conference. Presentations andgeneral discussions are summarized as follows:(1) Session 1: Vision of a New Sustainable Society in Post-Reconstruction Japan
Shaping the future upon the experience of the Great Earthquake
Facilitator:
・Takejiro Sueyoshi (Special Advisor, Finance Initiative, UNEP)
Lead-off Speakers:
・Shiro Wakui(Professor, Department of Environmental and Information Studies, Tokyo
City University)
・Takashi Onishi(Professor, Department of Urban Engineering, Graduate School ofEngineering, the University of Tokyo)
・Bang-Fu Mo (Journalist / Writer)
Overviews of the 3.11 tragedy● Japan was hit by the triple-disaster; earthquake, tsunami and the accident of nuclear
power plants. Now, Japan is on its critical crossroad between successful regenerationand gradual downfall. Japan is expected to demonstrate to the world a sustainable
development model to be derived from Japanese eminent characteristics.
●

The Great East Japan Earthquake has lead to drastic change in the mindset ofJapanese people, including a shift in emphasis from private to public benefits as well
as from national to global interests. They started to doubt the values built upon theexisting social frameworks. These changes in people’s mind should be a basis of thereconstruction.

Paradigm shift of sense of value● To cope with a severe catastrophe, everyone has to help oneself at first, and supports
from the public organizations and community are indispensable. After the disaster,
people rediscovered the value of bonding among members of a local community or“kizuna (tie)”, which is sometimes forgotten under the shade of economic growth. The
reconstruction of a community should emphasize the importance of the value createdby local identity composed of its history, culture and livelihood.
●

Acknowledging the “environmental carrying capacity” and appreciating bounty
from the nature should be our starting point. The “Industrial Revolution” aiming to

12 |maximize economic profits should be displaced by “Environmental Revolution”, theidea of which is to prioritize conservation of intangible assets, such as natural capitaland cultural diversity.
●

Traditionally, Japanese people live in harmony with nature and are good at avoiding thecritical impact of natural disasters while partially accepting small one. The concept ofresilience should be nurtured through upgrading social system and lifestyles.

●“Disaster Prevention” is ideal, but complete prevention was not possible as we faced
the level of disaster that exceeded our imagination in reality. Therefore, a new concept
to minimize damages, “Disaster Reduction,” should prevail as a guiding principle. To
mitigate the damages, we need to pay attention to hardware (e.g. infrastructures) as well
as software (e.g. emergency evacuation drills). In addition, the newly developed city
should be designed compactly, retreating from the sprawled urban areas that are much
more vulnerable to the natural disasters, since the rural population is declining.

Defining guiding principles toward reconstruction● Long-term community planning should be developed based on the “environmental
carrying capacity” while paying attention to the regional characteristics and encouraging
active participation of the local residents.
●

The current centralized and homogenized society needs to be transformed into more
decentralized and diversified one. The regional development plan should be designed
to formulate clusters of self-sufficient cities in a decentralized manner with respect toenergy, information, transportation accessibility, and natural ecosystems. It is expectedthat local people have ownership, share the common values, and feel prides of theircommunity.

Modalities to achieve the guiding principles● To design an autonomous and sustainable society, following modalities should beapplied and utilized;< Regional development>● Soft measures in addition to hard infrastructures play vital role to re-create thevibrant Tohoku region. Such measures contain a) formation of clusters composed ofentrepreneurship and nature-technology, b) creation of "Reconstruction Company,”aiming to accelerate the reconstructing process, in partnership between public andprivate sectors, c) promotion of sustainable tourism, and d) establishment of special
zones enabling decentralization of power, financial incentive, and regulatory reform.
<Energy>● Energy policy has been developed from the viewpoint of low-carbon and stable supply,| 13

and now “safety” has emerged as a new pillar in energy policy. We need to abandon
nuclear power, which is uncontrollable in case of an accident. Renewable energy, suchas wind, solar, geothermal and biomass energies, improves energy self-reliance andrevives local industries.
<Agriculture, fishery and forestry>● Primary industries, such as agriculture, have multiple societal functions including
income generation, job creation, and protection of the local community and its
landscape. It is essential to evaluate and enhance those different functions so thatprimary industries can be sustainable, competitive and attractive.
<International cooperation>● It is responsibility of Japan to disseminate the lessons learned from the reconstruction
which would contribute to improve the global sustainability. International society
observed with surprise the very calm attitude of Japanese people at the event ofdisaster, which attributed to Japanese mental characteristics as well as physicalpreparedness such as reserving emergency packs on a routine basis.

(2) Session 2: Creating Communities Where the Elderly Live Feeling Reassured
Support social infrastructure for the elderly, children and others,transportation, hospitals schools, municipal services, shopping, etc.
Facilitator:
・Hikaru Kobayashi(Professor, Faculty of Environment and Information Studies, Keio University)
Lead-off Speakers:
・Ulf Ranhagen(Chief Architect, SWECO Sweden; Professor in Urban Planning, KTH-RoyalInstitute of Technology)
・Shuzo Murakami (Chief Executive, Building Research Institute (BRI))
・Mariko Saigo (Urban Planner)
Inevitable for considering a community focus on elderly● The vulnerability of elderly in the face of disasters was illustrated by the statistics ofthat people over 60 years old accounted for 65.2% of the death caused by the Great
East Japan Earthquake, which largely exceeded in its proportion in demographic
composition.
●

The experience of Hanshin Earthquake(1995) shows that mutual cooperation among
a community not only prevented death in isolation but also contributed to maintain thehealth level of the people even under the harsh conditions.

14 |Community development initiated by local people● Reinforcement of community bonds or ties and promotion of local culture will be
required to revitalize the affected areas. Without relying on the exogenous values, theendogenous and autonomous frameworks for community development (e.g. community
developing authority initiated by local people) should be formulated with making
maximum use of local resources and unique characteristics such as history and lifestyle.
●

The population was increased by 2 – 3 times, while the urban area expanded by 20 – 30
times in Ishinomaki City. The mainly affected area by the Great East Japan Earthquake
was those urban areas sprawled after the World War II. Not to repeat recent disaster,
it is important to establish the compact city within its historical geographical boundary
while keeping and further developing its traditional features.

●

It must be effective for revitalizing a community and reinforcing its bonds tomake major public spaces (e.g. public center, hospital, park, café, and train station)
comfortable and enjoyable using locally produced materials and traditional technologies.

●

The experience of Minamata city tells us that it is possible to transform negative
heritages of environmental pollution into positive asset values through collaborative
activities of citizens to restore the local community bonds, implement environmental
measures, promote local products, and thereby revitalize the community.

City planning● Sweden takes a method of city planning called Symbiocity as also applied in Canada,
Russia, China, under which “health, sense of security, quality of life” are created basedon the holistic harmonization of economy, environment, society, culture and space.
There is an example of a city where the maximum distances from a bus or tram stop to
public or commercial facilities are limited within 300-400m so that elderly people canalso enjoy liberty of mobility. To implement such a planning, financial support to thecity is indispensable.
Housing and Health● It is reported that more than 30% of the factors that explain health condition
attributed to the housing environment and relationship with the local community.
Among which, improvement of thermal insulation has non-energy benefits such as
decreasing prevalence rate, preventing diseases, in addition to reduction of energy
consumption. It is recommended as for new houses to set mandatory complianceto the thermal insulation performance and as for existing houses to the labeling of
housing performance, or“health inspection of a house”.
Welfare for elderly people● In Sweden, in order for elderly people to spend as much time as possible in their homes,| 15several measures are taken including 1) “Informalizationn” or shift of responsibility,from the public to families, regarding welfare of the elderly, 2) “Marketization” in theare of the elderly, care for the elderly is opened up for new providers (producers) ofservices and care, 3) “De-institutionalization”, i.e. a reduction of beds or apartments inmunicipal institutional care.
●

In Sweden, about 10% of the population is immigrant, and they play important roles in
the field of social welfare and nursing care. Reaching at an aging society, it is a challenge
for Japan to ensure necessary human resources for social welfare. There are somediscussions about immigrants in Japan.

(3) Session 3: Realizing Vibrant Low-Carbon Communities Built around Renewable
EnergySpecific technologies, systems and lifestyles
Facilitator:
・Stefan Schurig(Director, Climate Energy Department, World Future Council)
Lead-off Speakers:
・David Singleton(Director, Global Planning Practice and Sustainability Director Arup)
・Kirit S. Parikh(Chairman, Intergrated Research and Action for Devlopment (IRADe) )・Junichi Fujino(Senior Researcher, Center for Social and Environmental Systems Research,
National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES))
Creating Low-Carbon Society: Reconstructing Tohoku● The necessity to build low carbon society has been widely recognized today. It requires
reducing energy demand through improving energy efficiency and lifestyle change, andincreasing low-carbon energy supply, without lowering the quality of life.
●

Community development, since the design of town could affect amount of emissions
into the future up to one hundred years, requires the introduction of strategic policies
based on the long-term vision and the continuous and stable implementation of thosepolicies. It is important to base community development on the concept of resiliencerather than resistance.

●

Reconstructing Tohoku provides a valuable opportunity for Japan to build low-carbon
communities and appeal its achievement to the world.

●

Since Japan has already developed various sorts of key technologies, designing policies

16 |to effectively deliver those technologies and integrate in the society is now required.
In this process, the old systems and long-standing customs including regulations thatprevent the full use of these technologies need to be reviewed and revised. In case ofJapan, the lack of preparedness for inter-transmission in power supply among regionallymonopolizing utility companies prevented quick response to recover from electricity
shortage caused by the earthquake. Learning from this experience, such preparedness
should be enhanced.
●

New national strategies should be developed to establish sustainable energy system that
achieves low-carbon society and reduce its dependency on nuclear power as much as
possible.

●

Developing countries are most vulnerable to adverse effects of climate change, though
they are not so responsible for climate change. On the other hand, since they arepotential large emitters in the near future, leap-frog type development is indispensable
in collaboration with the experiences of developed countries.

●

India’s total CO2 emissions were less than one fifth that of USA and China. In percapita terms, India emitted one fourth of China, one sixteenth of USA. Emission
intensity of both China and USA is almost twice as high as India.

Effective promotion of renewable energies● While promoting renewable energy is an essential element for achieving low-carbon
society, the challenge is to overcome various obstacles including the cost, fluctuation of
power generation and the difficulty of grid integration.
●

The self-reliant and decentralized energy system should be promoted for disasterresilient and low-carbon society. This energy system enables the wide introduction ofrenewable energy close to demand side, and contributes to community development
based on community’s own resources. This requires capacity, skills and willingness at
local level to operate and maintain such system.

●

Wide diffusion of renewable energy requires smart policy design. Distributing subsidies
or establishing the Feed-in-Tariff system is absolutely necessary but not sufficientenough to sustainably diffuse renewable energy.

●

R&D for cost reduction should be addressed especially.

Communication of vision of low-carbon society● Building a low-carbon society does not merely seek reduction of CO2. It also aims atenhancing quality of life and people’s happiness with multi-benefits. Sharing such avision with civil society is a key to bring about low-carbon society.
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●

Therefore, communication at the regional and national level is vital in considering theconstruction of low-carbon society on the ground. It fosters community bonds andthe sense of ownership. It allows local people to share the vision of low-carbon societythat suits to the community’s needs and will.

●

In order to facilitate smooth and effective communication, analytical tools such asmodeling and integrated resource management for building sustainable city have beendeveloped. The full use of these tools at open platform among stakeholders is useful.

●Collaboration with other countries, especially Asian countries, should be encouraged
at not only at national level, but also regional and community level, among citizens,businesses, researchers, NGOs, policymakers and so on. Research institutions to share
information, technologies, know-how and experiences to build low-carbon society cancontribute to building consensus.

●

GDP plays role as an indicator of living standard in developing countries in the light of
their need for economic development. However, it is not sufficiently representing any
longer the quality of life in developed countries.

●

The installation of a governmental advisory committee on renewable energy
development, grid infrastructure and sustainable city development could be considered.

●

The establishment of a national communication agency on renewable energy can bevery helpful in getting the Feed-in-Tariff policy and the development quickly adaptedin the communities.

●

Germany has abolished obstacles for wide introduction of renewable energy, achieved
significant level of penetration, and now has made its decision not to be reliant on
nuclear energy by closing all existing eighteen nuclear power stations. The enactment of
Feed-in-Tariff this summer in Japan will mark an important step towards meeting newchallenges.

18 |(4) Session 4: Societies in Harmony with Nature
Developing affluent societies utilizing natural resources in thecommunity that also contributes to disaster prevention andreconstruction
Facilitator:・Kazuhiko Takeuchi(Vice Rector, United Nations University; Director, UNU-Institute for
Sustainablility and Peace(ISP))
Lead-off Speakers:
・Zakri A. Hamid (Science Advisor to the Prime Minister of Malaysia)
・Anantha K. Duraiappah(Executive Director International Human Dimensions Programme on Global
Environmental Change (IHDP), UNU)
・Thomas Elmqvist(Professor, Department of Systems Ecology, Stockholm University;
Stockholm Resilience Centre)
・Keith G. Tidball(Senior Extension Associate, Department of Natural Resources, Cornell
University)
Key Findings● There is the potential for conflict between modern demands for economic growth
fuelled by energy needs versus traditional life systems focused more on social andcultural relations. However, there are options to mitigate these conflicts through socialecological productions systems such as Satoyama-Satoumi. These systems can deliver:•• Renewable energy sources such as biomass, solar, wind and micro-hydrosystems;•• Increased food sufficiency and the supply of organic food and traditional
medicine.
•• Increased employment for communities.
●

There is a need for building and increasing resilience of socio-ecological systems byadopting the following two principles:•• Maintaining modularity or the mosaic composition of the landscape•• Maintaining diversity within the couple socio-ecological system.

●

New systems of governance are required to manage the “New Commons” which canbe defined as the mosaic landscape comprising of different ecosystem types managed
to produce a bundle of ecosystem services required for human well-being.

●

Growth of manufactured capital is not sufficient to reflect the true wealth or progress| 19

of a society. It is important to include social, human and natural capital to give a true
picture of the wealth of a country and its society.
●

Restoration costs can be high but experiences show that the net benefits are positive if
all the multiple uses from the multiple services of restored socio-ecological systems aretaken into account.

●

Active community participation in the rebuilding of socio-ecological systems provides
the sense of place, ownership and social healing which are necessary conditions for thecontinued maintenance of these coupled socio-ecological systems in disaster affectedareas.

Key Recommendations● National and local authorities to revitalize agriculture, forestry, and fisheries industries
through the provisioning of incentives to stimulate employment generation.
●

National and local authorities to provide social and economic incentives to foster local
community-private enterprise partnership for investment in renewable energy.

●

National authorities in collaboration with local authorities and local communities tocreate National Parks along the lines of the New Commons and develop governancesystems to mange these parks to produce a bundle of ecosystem services for humanwell-being in particular disaster risk management.

●

National authorities to initiate a system of national accounts that include manufactured,social, human and natural capitals to provide the inclusive wealth and productive
capacity of the country and sustainability of its society.

●

A ten-year international research program is gaining better understanding of thesociety-nature interaction. The appropriate responses that might be taken to improve
wellbeing should be initiated under the education and research strategies in Japan.

20 |(5) Session 5: Highly Efficient Recycling-Oriented Societies
Next generation social systems focusing on the 3Rs
Facilitator:
・Shinichi Sakai(Director and Professor, Environment Preservation Research Center, Kyoto
University)
Lead-off Speakers:
・Pariatamby Agamuthu(Professor, Institute for Biological Sciences, University of Malaya)・Yuichi Moriguchi(Professor, Department of Urban Engineering, the University of Tokyo)
Dissemination and contribution to the international community● In order to treat disaster debris caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake
effectively, Japan should learn from previous practices at the international level, andalso disseminate Japan’s experiences to the world, as well as, contribute to effective
reconstruction in the future.
● The important roles of the informal sectors at the event of disasters in Asian countries
were reported. The knowledge on how to deal with hazardous materials is vital so that
communication with experts who have such knowledge should be enhanced.
● As there are no frameworks for sharing information on the disasters and subsequent
problems such as wastes and radioactivity, it is crucial to build such mechanisms on
multilateral basis in the domains of academia and politics.
● Mechanisms for exchange of information should be established through a dedicatedmeeting and conference on disaster waste management.
● In order to restore the trust of the international community in the wake of the recent
nuclear power plant accident, Japan needs to reflect on its experience in overcoming
severe disasters and to fully disclose information concerning radioactive pollution. Japan
should also announce to the world that it will carry out necessary decontamination
operations and appropriately manage radioactive contaminated materials as well as
implementing those actions.
● In addition, the country should push forward cutting-edge initiatives designed torealize a highly efficient sound material-cycle society and disseminate internationallyinformation about those initiatives as a model.
Efforts towards highly efficient sound material-cycle society● Concepts of 3R, sound material-cycle society and resource productivity / resource
efficiency are widely shared internationally and regionally in Asia and converged withsimilar concepts and approaches, through international coordination in the G8, theOECD and the UNEP.
● These integrated approaches to address waste management issues in the downstream| 21

of lifecycle and resource management issues in its upstream are very timely, in
consideration of the price volatility of resources caused by the increasing demand
thereof due to rapid economic development.
● Scientific knowledge on environmental impacts of material use over the whole life-cycle
should be enhanced, accumulated and shared.
● Next generation 3R social systems should re-focus on the root causes of solid waste
problems, so as to change unsustainable patterns of consumption and production.
● Future developments should consider the root cause of solid waste problems to
expedite the establishment of sound material-cycle society.
Efforts for building sound material-cycle society in Japan● The demand for resources is expected to increase in tandem with global population
growth and economic development. Considering such factors as environmental impact
from resource extraction and sustainable development of the global economy, it isnecessary to continue promoting more efficient use of recyclable resources towards theestablishment of sound material-cycle society.
Reconstruction efforts in the Tohoku region● “Act locally and transparently” on resource and waste management for areas damagedby the Great East Japan Earthquake and the nuclear accident, in order to improve thecredibility of science-based policies.
● In order to reconstruct and regenerate the Tohoku region, thorough disclosure of
information concerning radioactive contamination is needed, as well as carrying
out necessary decontamination operations and appropriately managing radioactive
contaminated materials.
● More consideration should be given that recycling practices should depend on thenature of materials and local conditions.
● In addition, it is required to future develop initiatives that are based on regional
characteristics and will help realize a low-carbon, sound material-cycle society inharmony with nature.

4. Wrap-up session
Key points of discussions at the thematic sessions were presented and endorsed assummarized in the preceding sections. Additional points were raised as follows:● As to the earthquake, tsunami, and the accident of nuclear power stations, archives ofthe electrical records should be established and shared with the international society.
● It is important to develop new information and communication tools and schemes thatcan deliver emergency information towards international communities in Japan.
● Throughout this meeting, we shared recognition that a) listening to the voices of
local community should be the basis of any decision-making; b) facts including both22 |

good ones and bad ones should be recorded as precise as possible, noting experienceof failures may prevent to repeat another one; c) learning from a wide range ofinternational experience is essential.
It was also agreed that the outcome of the conference should be disseminated widely tovarious international fora, such as Rio+20 in June 2012 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

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