Details of the Initiative

With i-i-network, a general incorporated association of which I am the president, I am assisting the people of Bali Barat National Park, Indonesia, and surrounding villages there to create a community in harmony with nature.

Some of the people living in the villages around the national park used to be engaged in illegal logging and poaching of rare animals for their livelihood. In order to protect the park’s biodiversity, and in particular to promote the protection and habitat conservation of Bali Starlings, an endangered species, field staff from the national park office are trained as community facilitators to help the park and villagers work together to improve their livelihoods in harmony with nature.

Past activities have led former illegal loggers to form eco-tour guide groups and former poachers to protect Bali Starlings and preserve its habitat. In Japan, we also learn from and interact with Sadogashima Island (Niigata Prefecture) and Tokunoshima Island (Kagoshima Prefecture), both of which promote community development in harmony with nature. In FY2020, we started activities such as training of environmental facilitators by villagers and monitoring activities of Bali Starlings in the wild by children.

Bali Starlings, released after captive breeding, have now taken root in the wild and begun to breed naturally, and can be seen in the village.
Residents of villages near the national park conduct regular cleanup activities as part of their habitat conservation efforts.
A community facilitator meeting with a group of villagers
A visit to Tokunoshima Island (Kagoshima Prefecture) from Bali Barat National Park to learn with a group of citizens working on ecotourism