Witness in the Forest: Tatsuya Niizato and His Eyes on the "Voiceless" (2002)

Witness in the Forest: Tatsuya Niizato and His Eyes on the "Voiceless" (2002)

In 2002, before the Kyoto Protocol came into effect, Japan began to address global warming in earnest as a national policy. Although the Basic Law for Establishing a Sound Material-Cycle Society came into effect and words such as "sustainability" and "biodiversity" began to appear frequently in government documents, it is difficult to say that their meaning had taken root in society as a whole.

Against this backdrop, Tatsuya Niizato, president of Environmental Indicator Organisms, Inc. took on the challenge of communicating the voiceless nature crisis to society. He focused on the forests represented by the Shirakami Mountains and the minute life forms that live there. Through "environmental indicator organisms" such as insects, fungi, and mosses, he attempted to scientifically visualize and communicate to the public the deterioration of nature, which is changing without people's knowledge.

He believed that "the destruction of nature is not recognized until it directly threatens human life. This stark reality was brought home to him through his own research and field reports. The loss of forests, which are cut down in the name of economic growth and regional development, eventually leads to the depletion of water sources, frequent disasters, and the collapse of ecosystems. In order to break this chain of events, Niizato emphasizes that "biodiversity is the infrastructure of society.

At a time when terms such as "environmental DNA" and "ecosystem services" were not yet widespread, Niizato listened to the silence of nature and continued to speak to society by combining science and ethics. The forest does not speak. But when we see them, we know them. If you listen, it responds. Those who listen to their voices are the true witnesses of the times.