Site

An area of 1.8 hectares around a small farming village has been certified as OECM. Satoyama refers to areas that lie between urban spaces and nature, including farmland, forests, ponds, and grasslands. This site is truly an example of Satoyama.

Features

This place was used for Tatara (traditional iron‐smelting) and shifted to a farming village due to changes in industrial patterns. To enable farming in places with little water, ponds were built in many locations. These small ponds now host a rich variety of species.

Management & Usage

The landowners manage the area for agricultural and forestry uses. In 2021, areas unsuitable for regular cultivation were converted into a rice‐field biotope. The biotope is now used as a place for nature experiences and educational training.

The Landowners

“Life in the satoyama is the repetition of the everyday.” When spring come we go out to the fields and cut the overgrown grasses. Just as water falls on the mountains and flows in rivers—this cycle, this rhythm of life, is the satoyama. Our wish is simply to carry it on, forever.

New Generation

In 2015, Nanbu Town as a whole was designated an Important Satoyama Area by the Ministry of the Environment. That designation taught us the value of our region. we wish to live together with the satoyama.

Our vision

The rice-field biotope has become a place many people visit. Much remains to be restored and improved. We are transforming the satoyama into a brighter place where sunlight reaches.