DATE / TIME:

2023•05•15    14:00 - 17:00

Location:

Tokyo

On 15 May 2023, UNU-IAS will organise a symposium in advance of Biodiversity Day to raise awareness and deepen understanding of biodiversity issues. This in-person event will be held at the Elizabeth Rose Hall on the 5th floor of the UNU Headquarters building in Tokyo.

Participation & Registration

Registration for this event is now closed as the number of participants has reached capacity.

Participants may submit questions in advance using this form. Please note that the speakers may not be able to respond to all questions due to time constraints.

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Programme

Moderator: Tsunao Watanabe (Senior Programme Coordinator, UNU-IAS)

14:00–14:10 Opening Remarks

• Miki Yamada (State Minister of the Environment, Japan)
• Tshilidzi Marwala (UNU Rector)

14:10–14:25 Keynote 1

• David Cooper (Acting Executive Secretary of the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity)

14:25–14:40 Keynote 2 

• Kazuhiko Takeuchi (President, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies): Pathway to Nature Positive in 2030 — Actions Japan Should Take

14:40–15:25 Presentations

• Upalat Korwatanasakul (Consultant, UNU-IAS): Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement through Just Transition: The Role of G7
• Unji Lee (Regional Centre of Expertise on Education for Sustainable Development (RCE) Tongyeong): Empowering Local Communities for Biodiversity Conservation: Lessons from the RCE Tongyeong Sejahtera Forest in Korea
• Akinori Osuga (Deputy General Manager Unit Leader, Promotion Unit, Sustainability Management and Promotion Department, Mitsubishi Estate Co., Ltd.): Biodiversity Conservation and Regeneration Efforts by Mitsubishi Estate
• Hajime Yoshino (Representative Director, General Incorporated Association MIT): The Role of a Coordinator for Co-Creating Actions by Diverse Actors: An Example of Biodiversity Conservation Activities in Tsushima

15:25–15:35 Break

15:35–16:50 Panel Discussion and Q&A — From Agreement to Action: Build Back Biodiversity
Moderator: Tomoko Hoshino (GEOC)

Panelists:

• Suneetha Subramanian (Research Fellow, UNU-IAS)
• Unji Lee (RCE Tongyeong)
• Akinori Osuga (Mitsubishi Estate Co., Ltd.)
• Hajime Yoshino (Representative Director, General Incorporated Association MIT)
• Mai Yamamoto (Nature Conservation Bureau, MOEJ)

16:50 Closing

• Shinobu Yume Yamaguchi (Director, UNU-IAS）

Organisers

The symposium will be co-organised by UNU-IAS, the Ministry of the Environment, Japan (MOEJ), the Global Environment Outreach Center (GEOC), and the Nature Conservation Society of Japan (NACS-J).

Background

The United Nations has proclaimed 22 May as the International Day for Biological Diversity (IDB). The theme for 2023 is “From Agreement to Action: Build Back Biodiversity”.