The advent of modern technology in agriculture has increased the efficiency of our food production but also poses pressures on the sustainability of our planet. The Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has been developed to safeguard traditional agricultural systems of global importance, which harnesses the harmonious relationship between people and nature. First launched in the World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002 to address the sustainable development of family agriculture and traditional farming practices for developing countries, it now has 59 sites located in 22 different countries as of March 2020. Despite almost two decades of its implementation, FAO has not set any requirements nor given guidance on monitoring of the conservation of GIAHS, but leaves it to the discretion of each GIAHS site to conduct voluntary self-evaluation. This study is a comprehensive review of all 11 GIAHS application proposals in Japan, which aims to (1) conduct characteristic analysis to identify elements and perspectives related to the GIAHS selection criteria, (2) understand the motivations and socioeconomic conditions, including challenges and opportunities related to the GIAHS application, so as to (3) propose a set of indicators and perspectives to address these challenges and opportunities for improving the application, monitoring, and management of the GIAHS. The study finds that motivations for applying to GIAHS designation are primarily driven by push factors of abandonment of traditional farming practices and farmlands and underuse of farming resources resulting from Japan’s decreasing and aging rural population, as well as the pull factor of biodiversity conservation. The importance of continuing traditional farming practices, cultural heritage, and involvement of various stakeholders are emphasized against the background of an aging farming population, rural-urban migration, youth exodus, poor maintenance of farmlands, and transferring traditional and local knowledge. By identifying the drivers of change and understanding the current socioeconomic conditions of the agricultural heritage systems in Japan as portrayed in the GIAHS application proposals, the study has clarified the strengths and challenges of the sustainability of these systems. Based on the analysis, the study proposes a comprehensive set of indicators to be considered when developing the GIAHS proposals and for updating the action plan for monitoring and managing the GIAHS sites. It is expected that the findings and recommended indicators will contribute not only in the improvement of the information integrity of future GIAHS proposals, but also as reference for the development and monitoring of GIAHS conservation action plans.

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This study generally aims to synthesize the best practices and challenges in mangrove rehabilitation in the Philippines, Myanmar, Japan, China and India. It employed an in-depth review of secondary information such as policy documents and project reports, and participatory research activities with various mangrove stakeholders such as key informant interview and focus group discussion. Lessons and strategies obtained were used to develop a mangrove rehabilitation framework/guideline. The guideline was tested for suitability through case studies in the Philippines and Myanmar. It was concluded that mangrove rehabilitation will succeed if 1) it is built around an integrated and ecosystem-based approach that takes into account feedback between rehabilitation and other economic activities; 2) its scope is beyond mere planting; 3) local people are involved in planning and monitoring in addition to implementation; 4) all stakeholders are informed of their roles and responsibilities; and 5) species selection is based on ecological and silvicultural knowledge in conjunction with the needs and priorities identified by stakeholders.

The paper compares the agricultural heritage conservation schemes of China, Japan and Korea and, in particular, the national programs and their implementation under Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)'s Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS). This comparison allows an understanding of the background of developments, designation criteria, application procedures and implementation structures of GIAHS and of the respective domestic programs in terms of the differences in national circumstances of Japan, China and South Korea. The sequence of implementation of GIAHS and the national program differs in each of the three countries. China introduced a national program after GIAHS designation, Japan has GIAHS but no national program, and Korea implemented a national program before its GIAHS designation. Thus GIAHS candidate sites in China and Korea are now selected from among their respective pools of national agricultural heritage sites. On the other hand, commonalities can be seen in the perspectives of the three countries with regards to agricultural heritage conservation through the common emphasis placed on the designation criteria: historical significance, cultural value, fostering partnerships, rural revitalization and biodiversity conservation associated with the agricultural heritage systems etc. Thus, the cooperation between China, Japan and Korea and the perspectives they have will contribute to proposals for improvements to the FAO designation criteria for GIAHS. These will be comprehensively applicable to both developing and developed countries.

Socio-ecological resilience is vital for the long-term sustainability of communities in production landscapes and seascapes, but community members often find it difficult to understand and assess their own resilience in the face of changes that affect them over time due to economic and natural drivers, demographic changes, and market forces among others, due to the complexity of the concept of resilience and the many factors influencing the landscape or seascape. This chapter provides an overview of a project and its resilience assessment process using an indicator-based approach, which has been implemented under the International Partnership for the Satoyama Initiative (IPSI). In this project, a set of 20 indicators were identified to capture different aspects of resilience in SEPLS, and examples are included from various contexts around the world, with the purpose of identifying lessons learned and good practices for resilience assessment. These indicators have now been used by communities in many countries, often with the guidance of project implementers, with the goal of assessing, considering, and monitoring their landscape or seascape's circumstances, identifying important issues, and ultimately improving their resilience. While this particular approach is limited in that it cannot be used for comparison of different landscapes and seascapes, as it relies on community members' individual perceptions, it is found useful to understand multiple aspects of resilience and changes over time within a landscape or seascape.