No.93 Community Development of Regional Circulation and Symbiosis Zone

In the Fifth Basic Environmental Plan, which was decided by the Cabinet in April last year, the creation of a "Regional Circulation and Symbiosis Sphere" was proposed, taking into account international trends such as the "Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)" and the "Paris Agreement," as well as the increasingly complex issues related to the environment, economy, and society.
The Regional Circulation and Symbiosis Sphere aims to realize a regional circulation-oriented society by maximizing the use of local resources, forming a self-reliant and decentralized society, and building a broader network through mutual complementarity.
In the context of the Regional Circulation and Symbiosis Sphere, "circulation" refers to the continuous flow of all materials through all stages of economic and social activities such as production, distribution, consumption, and disposal, as well as through the natural world. To ensure this circulation appropriately, it is important to minimize and optimize the input of resources such as materials and energy, promote resource circulation, and encourage regional economic circulation while reducing the environmental burden.
In the Regional Circulation and Symbiosis Sphere, "symbiosis" includes the coexistence of nature and humans, the coexistence of people, and the interaction between urban areas and rural areas such as agriculture, forestry, and fishing.
Based on this way of thinking, aiming for the integrated improvement of the environment, economy, and society will ultimately lead to the securing of low carbon, resource conservation, and biodiversity.
Here, we would like to introduce some recent initiatives.

Roundtable for Building a Regional Circular Symbiosis Zone Platform
A roundtable was established for the mayor of Iida City, Nagano Prefecture, to exchange opinions with Ministry of the Environment officials, and I have been participating since August of last year.
National Mayors' Association "Special Committee on Waste Management Measures"
I serve as the Chairperson, and we have been active primarily on waste management measures and recycling systems, achieving certain results. On the other hand, in recent years, climate change measures, SDGs, and regional circular symbiosis have become issues, and environmental problems are becoming increasingly complex and diverse. Taking the opportunity of being re-elected as Chairperson in June of this year, I proposed to reorganize this committee into the "Special Committee on Environmental Measures" and to increase the number of participating mayors, and we are currently proceeding with the necessary procedures.
General Incorporated Association Regional Circular Symbiosis Society Cooperation Association
This organization aims to maximize the resources held by the region and to concretely develop initiatives towards building a "decarbonized, circular, and symbiotic society" that the world aspires to. The inaugural general meeting was held in August of this year, and I was appointed as a director.
As a promise for my third term as mayor, I have set the formation of a regional circular symbiosis zone as a goal. It is a very significant challenge alongside the promotion of SDGs, and I will work on both going forward.