Designing participatory green area management and biodiversity conservation strategies in the era of population shrinkage: empirical analysis of multi-generational perceptions on Satoyama rare species in central Japan

Underuse, instead of overuse, is a potential threat to biodiversity in semi-natural areas, particularly in East Asia. Due to serious depopulation and aging trends in East Asia, including Japan, few people are being involved in managing green areas and conserving biodiversity. Depending on specific events and age groups that contribute to the experience, knowledge, and preferences of citizens, green area management and biodiversity conservation activities can be effectively conducted through strong collaborations between various stakeholders and generations. We aimed to understand the differences in the perceptions of citizens, belonging to different generations in the metropolitan Nagoya City, towards the Satoyama areas in Japan through an online survey. The status of Satoyama areas is reflected by the rare species of endangered category II in the Act on Conservation of Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. Analyzing the perceptions revealed gaps in the experience, knowledge, and preference between different age groups for various management and conservation activities. In addition to the intergenerational gaps, gaps between different household income levels and the duration of the activities were identified. The results indicated that reflecting upon the diverse interests among citizens and addressing the causes of the differences is necessary by integrating the differences for consensus building among different stakeholders belonging to different age and socio-economic groups.