“Toyobo Aya-no-Mori” Forest certified as Nationally Certified Sustainably
Managed Natural Site under new legal framework
“Toyobo Aya-no-Mori,” a forest in Aya-cho, Miyazaki Prefecture owned by Toyobo Group, has been recognized as a Nationally Certified Sustainably Managed Natural Site (hereinafter “Natural Site”) under the Act on Promoting Activities to Enhance Regional Biodiversity, which took effect in fiscal 2025.
 “Toyobo Aya-no-Mori”
|
 Scene from the Natural Site certification
presentation ceremony in Kumamoto on March 18. |
 Logo of the legally certified
Nature Coexistence Site |
The 140-hectare Aya-no-Mori, acquired by the Toyobo Group in 1971 to secure raw materials for synthetic fibers, is a secondary forest*1 that closely resembles a natural woodland, with planted species such as cedar mixed among native trees. An external ecosystem survey found rare fauna and flora there, including the mountain hawk eagle and large oak stands, both listed on the Red List of endangered species by the Ministry of the Environment, Japan (MOEJ) and Miyazaki Prefectural Government. In June 2023, the Group signed a comprehensive partnership agreement with Aya-cho*2, where the forest is located, to promote joint biodiversity preservation projects in Aya-no-Mori.
In 2023, MOEJ launched a system to certify sites preserving biodiversity as Natural Sites, aiming to achieve nature positive*3 and “30by30”*4 by 2030. Aya-no-Mori received its first Natural Site certification in October that year and was later registered in the World Database on OECMs (WD-OECM) as Other Effective area-based Conservation Measures implemented by the private sector. After the Act on Promoting Activities to Enhance Regional Biodiversity took effect in fiscal 2025 to further promote nature positive goals, Aya-no-Mori was recently recertified as a Natural Site under the new legal framework.
Toyobo aims to be a group that continuously "creates solutions needed by people and the earth," guided by the corporate philosophy Jun-Ri-Soku-Yu (Adhering to reason leads to prosperity). The Group will contribute to nature-positive outcomes through sustainable management of Aya-no-Mori, while striving to ensure the good condition of water areas, atmosphere, and soil, and to preserve biodiversity — goals set out in its long-term vision, "Sustainable Vision 2030."*5
| *1： | Naturally restored forest that regrew from seeds remaining after the original primary forest was lost to wind, floods, wildfires, or logging. |
| *2： | Toyobo press release dated June 6, 2023: “Signed a comprehensive partnership agreement with Aya Town, Miyazaki Prefecture” |
| *3： | An approach to halt and reverse biodiversity loss and restore nature. |
| *4： | A target to effectively conserve at least 30% of each nation's land and sea areas as healthy ecosystems by 2030. |
| *5： | Toyobo“Sustainable Vision 2030” |
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For more information, contact
Public Relations Group, Corporate Communication Department, Toyobo Co., Ltd.
MAILpr_g@toyobo.jp
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