7 December 2009

Request letter for the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change Conference of Parties 15 (COP15) and Chapter 5
Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (COP/MOP5)
Organization for Landscape and Urban Green Technology Development of Japan *Our missions are the mitigation of and adaptation to climate change, protection of biodiversity andimprovement of the urban environment. To solve these environmental issues, it is important to takeappropriate strategies for potential urban growth.
The world reached an invisible but momentous milestone in 2008: for the first time in history,

more than half of the population, 3.3 billion people, were living in urban areas. By 2030, thisfigure is expected to rise to about 5 billion.
Since the world’s urban population has grown very rapidly (from 220 million to 2.8 billion) in
the 20th century, there will be massive urban growth in developing areas in the next few
decades.
No country has ever achieved significant economic growth without urbanization in industrialdevelopment. Although poverty exists in cities, cities also attract people wishing to escape frompoverty. If urbanization in developing areas can help their development as well as solve socialand environmental problems, forward-looking strategies are needed to ensure their problems
will not get worse.
It is worth pointing out that the important point is how cities expand rather than the size of thecity itself. This is because urban areas will occupy much less land than that used for agriculturalactivities, forestry and grazing, which may cause erosion or saliferous areas.
Therefore, governments and local authorities in cities should develop appropriate strategies togreatly improve the social, economic and environmental conditions for a majority of people in
the world. This should be carried out with citizens and with the support of internationalorganizations.
As is evident from the results of our research and the fact sheets compiled in 2008 by ICLEI withthe support of Countdown 2010, ECNC and LAB etc., it is important to recognize that climatechange may cause loss of biodiversity, to recognize the role of biodiversity in protecting the climate,
and to recognize the role of local authorities in biodiversity management for mitigating climatechange and enabling people to adapt to climate change. It is also necessary to appreciate the roles ofcities and local authorities, and the effects of cross-border networks among them.

Our objectives are as follows.
1. Developed countries, such as Japan, should take the lead in reducing greenhouse gas emissions sothat people can formulate a new framework for mitigating global warming, which is a threat tobiodiversity. This will lead to the success of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change Conference of Parties 15 (COP15) to be held in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 7 December
2009.
2. We will observe Decision IX/28 of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity
Conference of Parties 9 (COP9) held in Bonn, Germany, May 2008. We reaffirm promoting theengagement of cities and local authorities to mitigate and adapt to global warming,
3. There is a close relationship between global climate change and biodiversity loss: when theclimate changes, particular species may disappear in their current habitat and other species may
replace them. On the other hand, biodiversity management can play an important role in mitigatingclimate change and reducing its impacts. Moreover, strategies for integrating biodiversity
management and climate protection may be beneficial for cities and local authorities, especially inurban areas where populations and various functions converge.
4. We emphasize that the following three policy initiatives are particularly important. Firstly,cities need a broader long-term vision for the use of urban space to reduce poverty and topromote sustainability, while respecting the regional identities shaped by history, culture andlandscape. Secondly, institutions and specialists in the fields of population, cities, andlandscapes should play a key role in supporting community organizations, social movements,
governments and the international community to improve future urban expansion. Thirdly,funds for global warming and biodiversity conservation from the developed countries todeveloping areas should be invested in urban policy more aggressively.
Organization for Landscape and Urban Green Technology Development of Japan
Chairman: MDsci. Akiyo HATTORI
Institute Director: Mariko HANDA Ph.D.

Organization for Landscape and Urban Green Technology Development of Japan
http://www.greentech.or.jp/english/index.php
We are researching on the inventory of revegetation on the Kyoto Protocol, and have several plans
for Convention on Biological Diversity COP10 to be held in Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture inOctober 2010.