Toyobo Aya-no-Mori, a company-owned forest, registered as an OECM in an international database
We are pleased to announce that "Toyobo Aya-no-Mori," a forest owned by the Toyobo Group that is located in the town of Aya, Miyazaki Prefecture, has been registered on the World Database on Other Effective area-based Conservation Measures (WD-OECM)*1, an international database. Toyobo Aya-no-Mori is now recognized as an OECM, meaning it plays a role in biodiversity preservation through private sector initiatives, outside of government-protected areas.
“Toyobo Aya-no-Mori” forest
Logo for OECM recognition
Toyobo Aya-no-Mori is a 140-hectare forest that Toyobo acquired in 1971 with the aim of self-supplying raw materials for synthetic fibers. Surveys of the forest's ecosystem conducted since 2022 have confirmed that the forest is home to rare fauna and flora, including endangered species on the red lists, compiled by the Ministry of Environment and the Miyazaki prefectural government.
In June 2023, the Toyobo Group signed a comprehensive partnership agreement*2 with the town of Aya, located in the prefecture’s Higashimorokata-gun district, to promote preserving the biodiversity of Toyobo Aya-no-Mori together. In October 2023, the forest was“Nationally Certified Sustainably Managed Natural Sites,” by the Ministry of the Environment, culminating in its registration in 2024 in the WD-OECM, which is operated primarily by the United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre. This registration will contribute to achieving the international "30by30*3" goal, which aims to preserve and protect at least 30% of each nation's land and sea areas.
Under its corporate philosophy of "Jun-Ri-Soku-Yu (Adhering to reason leads to prosperity)," Toyobo aims to achieve its ideal of a Group that continues to create solutions needed by people and the Earth. Moving forward, the Toyobo Group will proactively engage in nature-positive activities designed to halt and reverse biodiversity loss through the sustainable forest management of Toyobo Aya-no-Mori. By doing so, the group is committed to realizing "clean water areas, air and soil, and the preservation of biodiversity," as stipulated in its long-term vision, "Sustainable Vision 2030*4."
| *1: | This is a joint project by the United Nations Environment Programme and the International Union for Conservation of Nature. It is managed by the United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre in cooperation with governments, non-governmental organizations, and the academic and industrial sectors.https://www.protectedplanet.net/en/thematic-areas/oecms?tab=OECMs |
| *2: | Refer to Toyobo’s press release dated September 21, 2017, titled ““Toyobo Aya-no-Mori” forest receives certification to be registered as OECM” https://www.toyobo-global.com/news/2023/release_589.html |
| *3: | The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, a set of global targets regarding biodiversity, was adopted at the 15th United Nations Biodiversity Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD-COP15) held in 2022. As one of the targets for 2030, it calls for preserving at least 30% of each nation’s land and sea areas as healthy ecosystems. |
| *4: | Toyobo “Sustainable Vision 2030”https://www.toyobo-global.com/sustainability/group_sustainability/vision/ |
For more information, contact
Public Relations Group, Corporate Communication Department, Toyobo Co., Ltd.
MAILpr_g@toyobo.jp
Cautionary Statement
This website contains forward-looking statements that reflect Toyobo's plans and expectations. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause Toyobo's actual results, performance, achievements or financial position to be materially different from any future results, performance, achievements or financial position expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements.