Rebuilding Japan for people and nature, IUCN  28 September 2011
| News story   Six months on from the disaster, nature based
solutions can provide long term, cost effective and equitable
results to both restore and conserve the natural environment,
and build and support human wellbeing.  “Seasonal celebrations
of nature, such as cherry blossom-viewing and moon-viewing are a
testament to the close relationship between the Japanese people
and nature,” says IUCN’s Radhika Murti. “IUCN calls on Japan to
bring this close relationship between people and nature to the
fore in the rebuilding and reconstruction efforts following the
earthquake and tsunami.”  Supporting the services nature
provides for human well-being can help protect people from
disasters. Clearing forests means less protection from
avalanches, landslides, storms, floods and tsunamis.
Overgrazing grasslands or poor land use can expose more land to
dust storms and erosion. Converting wetlands to agricultural use
loses the flood control and storm prot