This project started in 2021 to mark the 40th anniversary of “Lake Biwa Day” on July 1st. With the cooperation of numerous organizations including environmental conservation NGOs and companies, water is sampled from 100 sites around Lake Biwa annually, and surveys are conducted on the habitat conditions of Lake Biwa’s organisms.

Lake Biwa is a true “symbol” for Shiga Prefecture. Lake Biwa, into which almost all rivers in the prefecture eventually flow, is a mirror of ourselves and our surrounding environment. The purpose of this project is to firmly observe Lake Biwa, which is both a symbol of our prefecture and part of ourselves.

Nature Positive was declared as a global mission at the G7 meeting in 2021. Behind this grand and noble goal of “halting and reversing biodiversity loss by 2030” lies a deep reflection on the failure to respect natural capital, including biological resources. We live our daily lives by consuming natural capital. While we depend on natural resources, there has been insufficient acknowledgment or awareness of the depletion of natural capital worldwide caused by our daily consumption.

The aspiration of Nature Positive is to build a socio-economic system where the depletion of natural capital does not occur or is improved even as we go about our daily lives. To achieve this, it is essential to first understand the current state of the environment we must protect. By continuously monitoring the biodiversity of Lake Biwa, we should be able to identify any issues occurring there. Utilizing environmental DNA analysis, which allows for the estimation of organisms inhabiting a given environment by examining DNA contained in collected water, let’s create a new movement towards Nature Positive originating from our very own Lake Biwa in Shiga Prefecture.

＊For more information, please see below.
→FY2021
→FY2022
→FY2023
→FY2024

＊Co-host

（FY2024）

＊Sponsors

（2024年度）

（2022年度，2023年度）

（2022年度）