On 6 February 2025, the Satoyama Development Mechanism (SDM) Secretariat, hosted by the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), and the United Nations University Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNU-IAS), host of the IPSI Secretariat, held a workshop for recipients of the SDM 2024 grants. The workshop aimed to support project implementation, facilitate knowledge exchange and foster collaboration  

Participants included representatives from five implementing IPSI organizations in Benin, Colombia, Ecuador, the Philippines and Uganda, who showcased their innovative approaches to biodiversity conservation and sustainable development.

Projects in Benin and Ecuador highlighted efforts to restore and conserve critical ecosystems. In Ecuador, the Fundación para la Investigación y Desarrollo Social (FIDES) will conserve over 200 hectares encompassing mangroves, forests, beaches, dunes and salt mines. The area supports over 3,000 people through fishing, tourism, salt production and agriculture. Cecilia Montesdeoca (FIDES) explained that the project will strengthen local governance, establish a control and surveillance system and promote conservation awareness while ensuring sustainable livelihoods.

Similarly, the Circle for Conservation of Natural Resources (CeSaReN) in Benin will restore five sacred forests. Sacred forests shelter 18% of the national flora and provide medicinal plants for traditional medicine. Facing degradation from windthrows and bushfires, the project will integrate traditional knowledge with reforestation and sustainable management strategies.  

The Caraga State University Center for Research in Environmental Management and Eco-governance (CRÈME) will revitalize sago palm landscapes in the Philippines. Rowena P. Varela (Vice President of Research Development Innovation and Extension, CRÈME) emphasized that sago palm flour is a staple food of the Manobo tribe, and restoration will support cultural heritage, carbon sequestration, flood prevention and sustainable livelihoods. The project will use Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping, biodiversity assessments and capacity-building activities to promote sago-based product innovations in local communities.

Sustainable resource utilization was a key theme in projects from Uganda and Colombia. In Uganda, Nature and Livelihoods will advance the commercial potential of wild fruits from dryland socio-ecological production landscapes and seascapes (SEPLS). Building on a previous SDM project, William Olupot (Nature and Livelihoods) noted that this new phase aims to improve product quality and marketability while promoting sustainable harvesting practices to prevent deforestation.

In Colombia, the Corporación Ambiental y Forestal del Pacífico (CORFOPAL) will pilot a peer-auditing certification for sustainable coffee production in collaboration with IPSI members Akita Satoyama Design and Akita International University. Andrés Quintero Angel (CEO, CORFOPAL) highlighted that the project will develop and promote a certification label for coffee produced sustainably in Colombian SEPLs, potentially serving as a model for IPSI members to promote goods and enhance direct trade opportunities.

Please visit the Satoyama Development Mechanism website for more information.