Toyobo Co., Ltd. and Toyobo Real Estate Co., Ltd., signed a comprehensive partnership agreement with Aya-cho, a town in Miyazaki Prefecture, on June 6, 2023. The aim is to jointly promote a project to preserve biodiversity through the use of a forest owned by the Toyobo Group called “Toyobo Aya-no-Mori” that is located in the town. The signing ceremony was held on the same day at the Aya Biosphere Reserve Center, located in the prefecture’s Higashimorokata-gun district.

Home to a primeval lucidophyllous forest, one of the largest in Japan, Aya-cho has built a community that coexists in harmony with nature over the last 50 years. In 2012, the region that encompasses the entire town and surrounding areas was designated as “Aya UNESCO Eco Park*1,” the result of outstanding nature-preservation efforts by the public and private sectors.

The 140-hectare Toyobo Aya-no-Mori was acquired by the Toyobo Group in 1971 with the aim of self-supplying raw materials for synthetic fibers. According to a survey of the forest’s ecosystem conducted by an external organization in 2022, it has high vegetation naturalness*2. It was also found that the forest is home to rare fauna and flora, including endangered species like the mountain hawk-eagle.

Under its long-term vision “Sustainable Vision 2030*3,” the Group is committed to ensuring the good condition of water area, atmosphere and soil, and biodiversity. To this end, it has joined the 30by30 Alliance for Biodiversity*4, an initiative led by the Ministry of the Environment, while to trying to obtain OECM*5 certification for Aya-no-Mori.

The new agreement with Aya-cho aims to strengthen the partnership for preserving biodiversity. The partners will provide education on and transmit information about coexisting with nature, including in the form of offering classes to students, who actually visit the forest. Furthermore, Toyobo will manage Aya-no-Mori in a sustainable manner to maintain the forest’s function of alleviating the effects of floods and droughts in the region by adjusting the amount of water flowing through the river, in addition to protecting the habitats of rare animals.

*1: A model area with a rich ecosystem where sustainable economic activities using natural resources in the area are promoted.
*2: An indicator that shows how much the natural vegetation of each community is protected from the view of phytosociology.
*3: Toyobo “Sustainable Vision 2030”
*4: Toyobo’s press release dated November 29, 2022, titled “Toyobo joins 30by30 Alliance for Diversity”
*5: Other Effective area-based Conservation Measures: Land where biodiversity is preserved by the community, corporations and organizations.

Outlines of the comprehensive partnership agreement
Under the agreement, the two parties will promote the following matters through partnership and cooperation.

– Matters related to coexistence between nature and humans
– Matters related to the forest’s function of adjusting the amount of water flowing into the river to prevent natural disasters
– Matters related to public relations about town administration, the UNESCO Eco Park and the forest owned by Toyobo
– Matters related to educating local residents about the nature