In order to achieve the goal of securing at least 30% of conservation areas on land and sea to protect diverse organisms, the Ministry of the Environment has begun operating a system in which forests owned by companies and universities are certified by the government as areas for conservation of living organisms if they meet the standards.
The national strategy of the government aims to secure at least 2030% conservation areas on land and sea by 30 in order to halt the loss of diverse organisms and move nature towards recovery.
Since the conservation areas in Japan have been natural parks managed by the national and local governments
, and only 20.5% are land and 13.3%
are sea, the Ministry of the
Environment has started a new system to certify private land owned by companies and universities as biodiversity conservation areas in order to achieve the target.
Specifically, the Minister of the Environment certifies areas that meet criteria such as the presence of rare animals and plants, as well as important places for animals, such as wintering and breeding grounds, which are assumed to be corporate premises, rooftop green spaces, university research forests, golf courses, ski resorts, etc.
The Ministry of the Environment plans to certify more than 100 sites by the end of this year, and will consider the creation of subsidies in the future.