International Symposium

on Rice Forum for Global Environment in Tokyo

FGPE held the Rice Forum for Global Environment for six years with inviting ambassadors and diplomats from 120 countries to provide opportunities to think about the global environment and the international cooperation through experiencing rice farming and home stay program.

Rice has high productivity and rich nutrition, and can be repeatedly grown for years.  Rice field has a huge water holding capacity, enriching soil and helps to keep rich natural ecosystem.  Rice has a significant role for saving the global food crisis that might be caused by population explosion, environmental destruction and climate change in the 21st century. 

To focus on the six years' achievement of the rice forum since 1999 as well as to appeal the potential of rice as a staple food, FGPE held the international symposium on the theme of "Rice will save the Earth in the 21st Century".

Also, we focus on the advantage of rice farming which contributes to the circulation of ecosystem and international cooperation, with the spirituality of "Living Together" that underlies the rice culture.

Date:                     November 14 (Mon), 2005, 13:30 - 16:30

Place:                    U Thant Conference Hall of the United Nations University (Shibuya-ku, Tokyo)

Organized by:      Foundation For Global Peace and Environment (FGPE)

Co-organized by: United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

                               Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

                               Japan FAO Association

Supported by:      United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

                               The Yomiuri Shimbun

Specially Sponsored by:  Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation

Keynote Lecture:

The keynote speech focused on the importance and the potentiality of rice farming from the wide aspects of its origin and history as well as the influence of the global climate changes during the past thousands years.  

Panel Discussion:

Invited panelists of Ambassadors to Japan who participated in the Rice Forums, Mayor of Fukagawa City (Hokkaido) which hosted the rice forum in 2000, and a representative of FGPE, and discussed on the issues of rice, rice farming, food and agriculture from local and global point of views.