On 30 January 2023, the SDM Secretariat, hosted by IGES, and UNU-IAS co-organised the first-ever Satoyama Development Mechanism (SDM) Inception Workshop. The workshop briefed project leaders on SDM implementation and reporting procedures. In addition, it offered participants an opportunity to network with fellow IPSI members.  

The Satoyama Development Mechanism (SDM) is an IPSI collaborative activity that provides seed funding to IPSI activities. The 2022 open call for proposals announced important changes to SDM’s modality, including more funding per project, aligning priority areas with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, and introducing the inception and project completion workshops. 

Koji Miwa (SDM Secretariat) welcomed participants to the first SDM inception workshop and explained the new modality, highlighting that from 2013-2021 the SDM funded 54 projects in 26 countries worldwide. After being briefed on the new SDM framework, focal points from the five selected projects presented their activities.     

Rashed Al Mahmud Titumir (Unnayan Onneshan (UO), Bangladesh) shared that UO will examine whether actions taken by indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCs) to adapt and mitigate challenges affecting the Sundarbans, the largest mangrove system in the world, increased the well-being of its ecosystems, the standard of living, and sustainable production and consumption. 

Malin Jönsson (Fundacion Semillas de Vida, A.C. (FSVAC)) explained that FSVAC conducts activities that promote community involvement and that the project was established to conserve maize biodiversity and local food supply by guaranteeing access to locally produced seeds in Mexico. 

Over the past few years, Tse-Xin Organic Agriculture Foundation (TOAF) investigated how indigenous people’s farming knowledge maintains and enhances biodiversity in Chinese Taipei. Alice JJ Hsu (TOAF) explained that to preserve their traditional knowledge, TOAF will set up community seed banks and a learning farm for elders to guide younger generations in addition to education programs on food and agriculture. 

Kien Dang (Social Policy Ecology Research Institute) introduced a project in Vietnam to mainstream mixed species farming and restoration whilst facilitating area-based conservation and landscape approaches by supporting IPLCs. Dese Yadeta Edesa (Ethiopian Biodiversity Institute) also delivered a project with activities on area-based conservation and restoration to protect the endangered Yeheb plant in Ethiopia through nature-based solutions. 

Closing the workshop, Makiko Yanagiya (Deputy Director, IPSI Secretariat) reiterated that the Satoyama Initiative is rooted in local activities and one of IPSI’s essential roles is to connect projects like these and share knowledge worldwide.

When all projects are nearing completion, project focal points will be invited to share results, experiences, and lessons in the project completion workshop.

SDM was jointly established by the United Nations University Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNU-IAS); the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES); and the Ministry of the Environment, Japan (MOEJ). Please visit the Satoyama Development Mechanism website for more information.