Quantitative analysis of the National Biodiversity Strategy of Japan: Changes in the contents and biases of the policy measures

Biodiversity has been rapidly decreasing in recent years, although its conservation and sustainable use are important for human society. The Convention on Biological Diversity, which was enacted in 1992, recognized three different categories of biodiversity, at the ecosystem, species, and genetic levels. Japan established the National Biodiversity Strategy of Japan first in 1995, and has revised it four times in the intervening years. However, the relationship between these national strategies and the scientific aspects of biodiversity remains unclear. In this study, we analyzed changes in the contents of the five national strategies, with particular focus on the three levels of biodiversity. We also examined the stipulation of policy measures for Basic Policies and Aichi Targets in the current fifth national strategy. Among the national strategies, we found two significant shifts in the central topics. Of the three concepts related to biodiversity, “ecosystem” was the most frequently mentioned, whereas “species” and “gene” showed significant declines in use over time. Policy measures to strengthen scientific knowledge were fewer in number than were those for the other Basic Policies, and the use of “ecosystem services” suddenly increased. This suggests that ecosystem service