Theme of KIF 2008

Nature Conservation and Cultural Background

'Sustainability' has been established as an international slogan concerning measures regarding nature conservation. Its meaning concerns securing the global environment, that is, sustainability of the earth's ecosystems against development by human beings. Above all, the reproducibility of natural resources represents the core of its implication. Both sustainability and reproducibility seem to be plausible slogans when we consider that human activities are destroying nature to the point of non-recoverability.

However, the achievement of sustainability of the global environment does not mean only to prevent the over exploitation of natural resources and indiscriminant land development, which are clearly observable. Problems such as climate change and damage to the earth's ozone layer teach us that casual activities in our daily lives lead to the destruction of sustainability, and that environmental issues will not be solved unless we change our lifestyles. We now face a period in which such change is essential in order to achieve a sustainable global environment.

When we think in this way, our mental attitudes are put into question, because an improvement in our lifestyles will not be accomplished without changing our thinking. At this symposium, we will pay attention to, for example from Japan, the word 'Mottainai' as a mental attitude which has been handed down among Japanese from old times, and confirm that this spirit is prevalent throughout the orient, while seeking countermeasures based on this spirit in relation to the present conditions regarding natural resources.

The implication of 'Mottainai' in our lives is taught in the doctrines of Buddhism; for example "Learn to be content", which is found in Shakyamuni's dying words, in the teachings of Priest Dogen and also in the principle of 'honest poverty.' The Chinese philosopher Lao-Tzu also left the aphorism "A contented mind is a perpetual mind." It is only on the basis of the oriental wisdom of 'Mottainai' concerning nature conservation and oriental consciousness, that the global environment can be sustained. At the symposium, we would like to address the issue of forests as concrete examples of natural resources, but we will also acknowledge that human beings can improve themselves for the sake of the environment only when we acquire the spirit of 'Mottainai'.