Engaging Communities in Resilient, Nature- and Climate-positive Land Use Futures: towards a shared agenda for cultural HNV landscapes in Europe and Japan

Janet Dwyer, University of Gloucestershire & Research Institute for Humanity and Nature (RIHN) 

May 08, 2026 | 15h30 | CIBIO’s Auditorium and Online (Zoom Link; Passcode:   332211)

Our 4-year project “Satoconn” aims, through close collaboration with local actors and stakeholders in Living Labs, to identify transferable approaches to rural resilience in high-nature-value cultural landscapes: ‘Satoyama’, in Europe and Japan. Angela Lomba from CIBIO is a key member of the project team, managing the Portuguese case study and contributing to our transdisciplinary methodology which combines natural and social sciences with arts practice, and respectful and reciprocal community engagement. Other case studies are located in Dartmoor, UK; Vindelalven, Sweden; Sarnen, Switzerland; Sado island, Japan; and Hira-Ogi, Shiga, Japan. Janet will present an overview of the Satoconn project and progress so far, drawing on detailed work by colleagues in the Japanese Hira-Ogi case to illustrate some emerging findings and key themes of engagement. We seek to stimulate discussion on the similarities and contrasts with Portuguese and other European sites, and on the need for more effective international policies for managed cultural landscapes (Social-Ecological Production Landscapes or SEPLs; IPSI, 2014) such as these. 

More information here