Satoyama Agricultural Development Tool

The purpose of this tool is to provide a mechanism to evaluate a given community on the basis of the 5 principles of Satoyama. Satoyama is a Japanese term for landscapes that comprise a mosaic of different ecosystem types which include secondary forests, agricultural lands, irrigation ponds, grasslands and human settlements. These were formed and developed through prolonged interaction between humans and ecosystems. Because of its strong link to Agriculture, this tool seeks to use the Satoyama principles to improve indigenous and rural communities on the basis of sustainable agricultural practices that provides a balance with the natural ecosystem and promotes the preservation of local culture and traditions.

It begins with a general information section that records essential basic data. Each of the principles are then found on separate subsequent sheets and has questions to be answered. Data can be obtained from whatever local source that is available to the person using the tool and the methods employed to determine the answers may differ from person to person. What is important is that the person using the tool feels that the answer to the question is justified based on the data that is available to him/her. The tool is flexible in that the user can add additional questions and remove those that do not apply.

The questions are answered qualitatively on the basis of a Likert scale from 1 to 5 with 1 being the lowest and 5 being the highest. At the bottom of the table, the percentage is determined from the highest possible total.

After all the questions for each of the 5 principles are answered, the next sheet is the characterization of the community into the 3 possible categories. Please follow the guidance.

A description of each category is then given on the basis of ecosystem services and human well-being. Recommendations for the way forward are given and are premised on the 5 principles of Satoyama.