2018 Volume 21 Issue 1 Pages 48-58
The Entomological Society of Japan (ESJ) has provided publications and presentations of findings on various study fields including conservation biology for researchers and society members. In addition, this society has been well involved with nature conservation since the founding of the Nature Conservation Committee (NCC) in fiscal 1966. In particular, the NCC holds yearly symposia or workshops on nature conservation at the annual meetings of this society. Moreover, in order to review the Red List released by the Ministry of the Environment, Japan, an insect sectional committee established under the Investigative Commission for Selecting and Assessing the Red List was assembled, mainly from members of the ESJ belonging to the NCC. The NCC has also been involved with responses to invasive species issues concerning insects. As a significant achievement in nature conservation, the NCC issued a three-volume set of books, “The Important Areas for Biodiversity Conservation of Japanese Insects”, the contents of which provided significant basis for the selections of priority conservation areas to conserve biodiversity of Japan. Also of note, the ESJ has submitted, both to private companies and to the national and local governments, petitions for insect conservation against various contemporary environmental issues. In this paper, the author reviews specific activities that the ESJ has contributed to regarding conservation biology and nature conservation, and also outlines practical conservation of Japanese insects, mainly in activity cases of the ESJ. The author also briefly discusses the prospective roles that the ESJ should play in nature conservation.
