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In this novel and integrated MAR approach, an offsetting scheme under the concept of payment for ecosystem services (PES) is used to enhance groundwater recharge along the Shirakawa River in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. The scheme gives a cash incentive to farmers who pond their abandoned rice fields for groundwater recharge. For a specified period...

Increasing resilience to natural hazards and climate change is critical for achieving many Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In recent decades, China has experienced rapid economic development and became the second-largest economy in the world. This rapid economic expansion has led to large-scale changes in terrestrial (e.g., land use and land...

The global population is concentrating unprecedentedly into urban areas, raising concerns on global sustainability and human well-being. There also exists a niche trend of migration from urban to rural areas particularly in countries with post-industrial economies. This paper investigated values of migration expressed by the migrants arrived in...

As more countries witness depopulation, the expansion of High-Speed Rail (HSR) to reach shrinking cities in peripheral regions is renewing the debate on the effects of this infrastructure. This is the case in Japan, a country that continues to extend its highly developed HSR network hoping to curb regional decline. This paper investigates whether...

The increased frequency of extreme rain events due to climate change has garnered attention in Japan. In 2018, the country enacted the Act of Climate Change Adaptation to formulate plans at national and local levels. The government has suggested the use of nature-based solutions (NBSs) across the country to address the increased risk of natural...

Global environmental change, the depletion of natural resources, and unacceptable levels of pollution, among other anthropogenic impacts on the planet and its ecosystems, demand a radical shift in the way humankind develops. Global agreements like the “2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” or the “Paris Agreement on Climate Change” seek to...

A Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework is currently under consideration and will be adopted at the next meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the CBD (CBD COP 15). In Japan, discussions are underway to revise the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP). Local governments are expected to develop new, or revise existing, Local...

This publication aims to promote local climate actions by disseminating information on the announcement by 31 local governments in the Kyushu region of Japan on their commitment to be “Zero Carbon Cities” by 2050. It compiles the background, current situation and challenges, along with domestic and international trends on a net zero carbon society.

本書は、九州の31の県・市町村（自治体）がゼロカーボンシティ表明に至った 背景、現状、課題などを整理し、国内外の動向を踏まえつつ概観することで、今後の展開の一助となることを目的に作成したものである。九州でゼロカーボン表明を行った自治体は、環境省のイニシティブをきっかけ にしながらも、庁内の内発的な動きから表明に至ったところが多かった。表明後の展開として、ほとんどの自治体が計画策定・改定を通じて施策の 具体化を進めるのと同時に、域内のステークホルダーに向けた意識啓発の 活動を始めていた。 不確実性を包含する2050年を見据えた取り組みを表明自治体が着実に進める上で、実施体制、定量化、ロードマップの作成に課題を抱えていることが明らかとなった。

Research on the service values of urban ecosystems is a hot topic of ecological studies in the current era of rapid urbanization. To quantitatively estimate the ecosystem service value in Chengdu, China from the perspectives of natural ecology and social ecology, the technologies of remote sensing (RS) and geographic information system (GIS) are...