Candidate info
Particular qualifications:
I have dedicated my entire professional career to nature conservation at national, local, and international levels. At the national level, I was an official of the Ministry of the Environment of Japan for a total of 23 years. In the Nature Conservation and Global Environment Bureaus, I contributed to policy-making and their implementation on, inter-alia, the NBSAP revision/implementation, biodiversity conservation on land and in the marine environment, WHC, Ramsar Convention, UNCCD, global warming, the G8 process, the Satoyama Initiative, ICRI, and relations with IUCN. At the local level, I worked for nature conservation in Hokkaido Prefecture in northern Japan including as a National Park Ranger and Head of a National Park Office. I have been advising environmental policy to the local governments of Hokkaido Prefecture and Sapporo City. At the international level, I was Global Coordinator at the CBD Secretariat, managing its capacity-building programmes. I also served as Deputy Permanent Representative of Japan to UNEP and UN-HABITAT. Additionally, I contributed to various advisory panels and steering committees, including the Hokkaido Environment Council, CBD voluntary peer reviews, and the CBD informal advisory group on synergies. I am currently a Professor of Environmental Sciences at Rakuno Gakuen University, where I continue my research and teaching, focusing on integrating biodiversity conservation with policy and practice.
Experience in fields of concern to IUCN:
I directed the CBD Secretariat’s capacity-building programs for developing countries, strengthening its operations mainly through the Japan Biodiversity Fund. I supported the planning, adoption, and revision of NBSAPs, leading to 190 CBD signatories completing them, with 140 revising theirs by 2018. I also led a global Eco-DRR project in collaboration with IUCN. During this period, I helped establish and expand the Sustainable Ocean Initiative (SOI) and supported the identification of Ecologically or Biologically Significant Marine Areas (EBSAs). Additionally, I supported the Global Youth Biodiversity Network (GYBN) from its inception in 2010, helping it become a key stakeholder in international biodiversity conferences. I also contributed to strengthening Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs) and the Traditional Knowledge (TK) programme, enhancing IPLCs’ engagement in CBD processes and increasing references to IPLCs and TK in national reports.