About Sustainable Daisen
The natural world is a beautiful and highly complicated system. Overtime, nature will always find balance. Human interference and activities are destroying this balance as we act and behave as if we are separate from nature. We have tried to conquer and control nature, but it is more complicated than we could have ever imagined. Perhaps we will never fully understand it. What is important however is that we RESPECT it. Our ancestors were not perfect but they acted and behaved in a way that was more at balance and respectful of nature. Treated well, nature gives us many gifts.
Sustainable Daisen strives to restore the balance between humans and the environment in which we live. We recognise that each part of the environment is intricately linked to each other and our wide range of projects and activities reflect that. Our ultimate goal is to encourage respect for nature by working together with the local community and showing by example that there are alternative ways to live than those are causing destruction. We do not have all the answers and do not want to tell people what is right and wrong. We simply want people to THINK for themselves. THINK. RESPECT.
Our core mission is to protect the Japanese giant salamander and its unique habitat in the Nawa River Basin of Mount Daisen. This requires considering the whole mountain ecosystem: the rivers, forests, farmland and villages.
In the past, Japanese giant salamander conservation has focused primarily on protecting the animal itself without ample consideration for protecting the habitat in which it lives. For example, it has been illegal for anyone other than licensed researchers to touch or handle giant salamanders since 1952. This was a welcome and important step towards halting the decline in the population. However, since then countless river construction projects have poured an immeasurable amount of concrete into the rivers causing habitat fragmentation and removing nesting sites thus showing the futility of protecting only the species of animal itself without protecting where it lives. Unfortunately, it is clear that human activity is causing wildlife to suffer in the rivers, forests and fields surrounding the rivers all across Japan. Climate change is compounding these issues as seen with the torrential rains in recent years, particularly in August 2021.
We recognise that a new approach is needed in Daisen Town that considers multiple aspects of interactions between people and the natural environment and one that works towards a new sense of harmony and balance.
Learn more about Mt. Daisen here
Donation
Your donation allows us to carry out our vital work of conserving and protecting the Japanese giant salamander. For a detailed breakdown of our fund-raising goals, please visit our “Save the Japanese Giant Salamander Campaign” page