Publications

This presentation examines how Japanese municipalities are responding to long-term population decline, contrasting Yubari City’s failed growth-centric approach with Shimokawa Town’s efforts to ‘shrink gracefully.’ It highlights how local governments can move beyond pro-growth planning by adopting sustainable, community-oriented strategies better...

Urban green spaces (UGSs) are vital in enhancing environmental quality, social well-being, and climate resilience, yet their distribution and accessibility remain uneven in many rapidly urbanizing cities. The 3–30–300 rule offers a structured guideline with which to assess urban greenness, emphasizing tree visibility, canopy cover, and green space...

Relational values contribute to the pluralistic valuation of nature by providing a unique perspective beyond the dichotomy of intrinsic and instrumental values. This study examines how the Nagara River Basin in central Japan is relationally valued by locals and the factors influencing their evaluation. The Nagara River Basin is home to...

Chapter 5 presents quantitative and qualitative insights on actions and instruments around five strategies to bring about transformative change. Together these strategies address direct and indirect drivers (including underlying causes) of biodiversity loss and nature’s decline (Chapter 1) with explicit attention to overcoming the specific...

A clean energy transition can not only help rebuild the energy landscape of small island developing states (SIDS) but also boost their resilience and long-term development prospects. This study employs the Open-Source Energy Modeling System (OSeMOSYS) model to analyze low-carbon transition pathways for Mauritius, which are aligned with its...

The International Forum for Sustainable Asia and the Pacific (ISAP) is an international forum where leading experts, international organisations, governments, businesses, and NGOs gather to discuss various aspects of sustainable development in Asia and the Pacific. ISAP is held annually in Japan to promote information sharing and strengthen...

We attempted to show how to achieve a mitigation-adaptation integrated transition in agriculture sector by conducting a case study in coffee sector of Viet Nam. The factors facilitating an integrated transition of mitigation were: Private initiative lead by importers for sustainable coffee production has already started SAPs has synergies to...

Abandoned, lost, or otherwise discarded fishing gear (ALDFG) is one of the major sources of marine plastic pollution. However, movement of the fishing gear after it becomes ALDFG is largely unknown. In this study, derelict fishing gear was collected in Iriomote Island, Okinawa, Japan, and the origins of the fishing gear were identified in order to...

This T7 Policy Brief discusses the G7 countries' roles in addressing the global security challenge caused by climate change and energy insecurity. It is a collaborative output of adelphi (Germany), Manzil Pakistan, and IGES. Key Points: Climate change undermines national and human security in and beyond G7 countries, especially in fragile regions...

Plastic pollution is a growing global challenge that demands urgent, comprehensive, and collective action. In response, Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Environment (MOE) developed the National Action Plan on Plastic Waste Management, 2021–2030 (NAPPWM), grounded in the principles of the circular economy and the 3Rs: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Achieving the...