species. Among them, amphibians, mammals, and birds, for which evaluations are relatively advanced when compared to other taxa, comprise 30%, 21%, and 12% respectively of the endangered species (Figure 1-5-1).

The Global Biodiversity Outlook 3 (GBO-3) published by the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in May, 2010, concluded that the “2010 Biodiversity Target” of the CBD, adopted at the $ 6^{th} $ meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP6) to the CBD, namely, “to achieve by 2010 a significant reduction of the current rate of biodiversity loss at the global” had not been achieved (Figure 1-5-2). In addition, GBO-3 points out that ongoing habitat changes, overfishing, indiscriminate development, pollution, invasive alien species, and the effects of climate change contribute to tropical forest reduction, lake and marsh eutrophication, ocean temperature rises, and fishery resource overfishing, and that these will threaten human existence in the future.

## (2) Status of Biodiversity in Japan

Japan is bounded on all sides by water, and consists of an archipelago of over 6,800 islands. Japan's land area totals around 380,000km $ ^{2} $ and coastline measures around 35,000km, a length nearly 90% of the earth's circumference. Another of Japan's unique features is its complex topography from the sea coast up through its mountainous regions. The entire country is blessed with abundant precipitation and most of its regions have four seasons. Numerous and diverse climate zones, from subarctic to subtropical, exist along Japan's 3,000km north-south length and its 3,800m elevation differential. The diverse natural environments harbor around 90,000 species of wildlife, and around 40% of land mammals and 80% of amphibians have been confirmed as native to Japan. According to the Ministry of the Environment's Red List, 3,155 endangered species are listed. Over 30% of the reptile, amphibian, brackish and freshwater fish, and shellfish species in Japan, over 20% of the mammal and vascular plant species, and over 10% of the bird species are endangered (Figure 1-5-3).

The Japan Biodiversity Outlook issued in May, 2010, by the Ministry of the Environment's Japan "Biodiversity Outlook Science Committee" assessed the condition of Japan's biodiversity over the past 50 years, and found that biodiversity loss extends to all ecosystems and that the trend is continuing even today. In particular, the biodiversity of rivers, lakes and marshes, seacoasts, maritime environments, and islands has been greatly lost over these 50 years, and there is a risk that today's ongoing impacts will become irreversible in the future (Table 1-5-1).

One primary cause of widespread species loss was the impact of the “First Crisis” (development, direct use, and water pollution) midway during the period of rapid development that occurred from the 1950s through the 1970s, although the rate of species loss has slowed somewhat at present. On the other hand, the “Second Crisis” (diminished use and management of Satochi-Satoyama (rural landscapes)) is now softly having a widespread impact. In addition, during the currently unfolding “Third Crisis” (alien species and chemical substances), the impact of alien species has become notable. Finally, the threats of global warning are of particular concern for high mountains, coral reefs, and islands.

Figure 1-5-3 Proportion of Endangered Species of Wildlife in Japan (Ratio of Species Assessed)

Note 1: The center of each round graph contains the number of species (including subspecies) assessed from that taxonomic group according to "A List of Wildlife Species in Japan" edited by the Environment Agency in 1993, 1995, and 1998. Note 2: Vascular plants are the total number of species assessed by the Japanese Society for Plant Systematics. Source: Ministry of the Environment.

## Table1-5-1 Japan's Losses of Biodiversity from the Latter Half of the 1950s through 2010

Assessment targets	Legend
Status	Size of current losses	Not lost	Not significantly lost	Lost	Significantly lost
☐	☐	☐	☐
Trends of current losses	Recovering	Holding steady	Being lost	Being rapidly lost
↗	→	↘	↓
Divers	Magnitude of the impact during assessment period	Weak	Moderate	Strong	Very strong
○	○	○	●
Current trends of the driver's impact	Decreasing	Holding steady	Increasing	Increasing rapidly
↘	↘	✓	►

Note 1: A dotted line indicates there is insufficient data to assess the magnitude of the impact

2:✗indicates that the factors and data used to assess each indicator are complex. Therefore, it is particularly necessary to bear in mind that there exist some factors and data contrary to the overall impact, size of losses, and trends assessment.

Source: "Japan Biodiversity Outlook" produced by the Japan Biodiversity Outlook Science Committee