Launch of Phase 4 of the Community Development and Knowledge Management for the Satoyama Initiative (COMDEKS)

COMDEKS Phase 4 will be implemented by UNDP through the Global Environment Facility Small Grants Programme (GEF SGP), in cooperation with MOE Japan, KCNC, the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, and the United Nations University (UNU), to support local communities' activities to maintain and rebuild socio-ecological production landscapes and seascapes (SEPLS) and realize the long term vision of the Satoyama Initiative which is defined as “societies in harmony with nature.” In addition, UNDP will collect and disseminate knowledge and experiences from successful local community actions.

MOE Japan will provide approximately 700 million yen in total as part of the Japan Biodiversity Fund (JBF), and KCNC will provide 300 million yen in total. In addition, co-finance will be provided through the GEF SGP.
 
Small-scale grants will be provided directly, effectively, and promptly to grassroots civil society and community-based organizations (CSOs and CBOs) to support on the ground projects following the concept of the Satoyama Initiative.
 
COMDEKS Phase 4 will further support the sustainable use of biodiversity in developing countries and contribute towards the implementation of the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework. In particular, it will contribute to the promotion of the “30 by 30” target including OECMs (other effective area-based conservation measures), nature-based solutions, and the Sustainable Development Goals.

The project is scheduled for a period of 6 years. Targeted countries are subject to further consideration in the future.

COMDEKS is a flagship programme of the Satoyama Initiative. It will support activities at the local level to maintain and rebuild socio-ecological production landscapes and seascapes (SEPLS), which are in a critical condition globally. It will contribute to the conservation of biodiversity and the livelihoods of people.

Started in June 2011, COMDEKS aims to support local communities’ activities to maintain and rebuild SEPLS, and to collect and disseminate knowledge and experiences gained from those activities. From 2011 to 2020, contributions of total 10.5 million dollars were provided from the Japan Biodiversity Fund (JBF) for COMDEKS under the Phase 1 to 3.
 
Through the JBF, projects led by 216 CSOs and CBOs in 20 countries were supported, resulting in best practices, including the development and implementation of landscape strategy in which various communities participate, and the improvement of local food security and opportunities for income generation. (Countries supported by COMDEKS are: Cambodia, India, Nepal, Fiji, Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Slovakia, Turkey, Brazil, Bhutan, Cameroon, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Kyrgyzstan, Indonesia, Mongolia, Niger, and Namibia)

UNDP Press Release:
https://www.undp.org/ja/japan/press-releases/comdeks4-202212
 (Japanese) https://www.undp.org/

Keidanren Committee on Nature Conservation Press Release:
https://www.keidanren.or.jp/kncf/

[Reference 1] International Partnership for the Satoyama Initiative: IPSI
- International Partnership for the Satoyama Initiative (IPSI) is an international partnership among various participants, including national and regional governmental bodies, research institutions, international organizations, NGOs, and private companies, inaugurated during the period of the 10th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP10), held in 2010 to promote the activities of the Satoyama Initiative. The partnership is currently participated in by 292 organizations of 74 countries/regions.
 
- Website of IPSI secretariat (Japanese): http://satoyama-initiative.org/ja/
 

[Reference 2] Japan Biodiversity Fund (JBF)
- Japan Biodiversity Fund (JBF) is a fund of 5 billion yen established within the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity with the contributions from the Government of Japan at the occasion of COP10, with an aim to implement capacity-building projects in developing countries regarding the achievement of the Aichi Biodiversity Targets.
 
- The Fund has supported the revision of National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans, youth, and the Satoyama Initiative, as well as capacity building in a wide range of fields, including protected areas, marine, invasive alien species, and the implementation the Cartagena and Nagoya Protocols. The Fund has also supported COMDEKS.
 
- At Part One of COP15, Minister of the Environment, Japan, announced international support of approximately 17 million USD in total for the second phase of the JBF, including additional contributions.