Secretariat to Promote the Establishment of Landcare in Japan (SPELJ)
Founded in 2012, SPELJ aims to make known the principles and philosophy of Landcare in Japan, to create links with and promote networking and partnership among community-based activities in Japan that aim at maintaining traditional practices in agriculture and the management of the natural environment
(such as Satoyama ) and/or at revitalising rural areas and dealing with current and emerging environmental problems.
International Conference of Landcare Studies Global Resilience through Local Self-reliance – the Landcare Model
NAGOYA, JAPAN
5-8 NOVEMBER 2017.
The Abstracts are now available can be downloaded in pdf format
Building Global Sustainability Through Local Self-Reliance: Lessons From Landcare
Lessons from Landcare
The Conference Report is available Click here
This was the first world gathering of landcare academics and practitioners to discuss the theories, practice and pragmatics of the ‘landcare field’ and the role of landcare, localism, self-reliance, sustainability, rural and regional resilience and post-emergency and disaster recovery, for application globally.
The conference was organised by Nanzan University Institute for Social Ethics, and co-hosted by Australian Landcare International.
Hosted in Nagoya, Japan it was timed to coincide with World Tsunami Awareness Day following a tour of affected areas in 2016 where community activities post disaster were identified as being very ‘landcare’ in their approach.
Speakers included: Dr Joseph Runzo-Inada, Dr Tomomi Maekawa, Dr Kazuki Kagohashi (Japan); Prof Yvonne Everett (USA); Joseph Tanui (Kenya); Dr Nick Edgar (NZ); Dr Andrés Arnalds (Iceland); Prof Andrew Campbell, Dr Lisa Robins, Prof Stewart Lockie, Rob Youl OAM, Andrea Mason, Dr Ross Colliver, Megan Rowlatt, (Australia) and other key thinkers. The lineup brought together a forum with an incredible depth of expertise on Landcare. They were able to share knowledge, to ensure the continued development of Landcare as a global model, and able to assist with the growing challenges that are required by communities across the globe.
There were pre- and post-conference tours to sites, with discussions and guidance from community leaders working on a range of post-disaster and more ‘regular’ Landcare activities.
Aussie-Japan Agroforestry: Knowledge Share & Growth Opportunities
Over 12 days in late March, 2023 Rob Youl, deputy Chair of Global Landcare and Associate Professor Kazuki Kagohashi, chair of Landcare Japan and Board member of Global Landcare led a knowledge share and agroforestry tour to Japan. They were joined by agriforester Molly Marshall from Tasmania, Master TreeGrower founder Rowan Reid, Landcare stakeholders, Andrew Stewart,Otway Agroforestry Network, plus Sharlee Dunolly-Lee and Jacinta Douglas representing the Djaara community of North Central Victoria.
Broadly, the group sought to learn how forestry on private land is managed in rural Japan, and whether the Landcare experience might help revitalise these regions, which have been greatly depopulated over the last several decades. The travellers started to understand the complexities and opportunities that Japan’s private forestry sector faces, and to appreciate something of the impressive traditional and contemporary philosophies, skills, diligence and exactness that characterise Japanese life and attitudes.
The group interacted with an array of land managers, foresters, farmers, entrepreneurs, sawmillers and government officials, generally concentrating on privately owned land.
Through the group’s travels they were able to understand the complexities and opportunities which the Japanese forestry sector faces. The exchange was supported by the Australian-Japan Foundation and Global Landcare. Read more. Go to our Facebook page for more pics and stories!
Foraging for fungi… multiple values are managed in Japan for such commodities as maple syrup, sap water, tea, essential oils, education, biodiversity, timber and mushrooms.