When Land Rover announced the winners of the inaugural Defender Awards, one of the projects recognised under the “Defenders of the Land” category came from Japan. The initiative, led by Next Commons Lab, focuses on restoring and sustaining interconnected landscapes through its Watershed Regeneration project.
The programme approaches environmental restoration by treating forests, rivers, and satoyama landscapes as part of a single system. Satoyama refers to the areas that sit between mountain foothills and agricultural plains in Japan, where ecosystems and human activity have historically coexisted. By addressing these landscapes collectively rather than individually, the project aims to rebuild ecological balance while supporting the communities that depend on them.
The initiative first gained momentum through a pilot project in Owase City. There, forest restoration workshops attracted more than 700 participants, demonstrating how local communities can contribute directly to environmental recovery. The workshops also supported efforts to aid the recovery of the red-bellied newt, a near-threatened species that relies on healthy forest and freshwater ecosystems.
Following the success of the pilot, Next Commons Lab is now expanding the Watershed Regeneration programme. A key element of this next phase is the launch of a dedicated training initiative designed to prepare professionals to work in watershed restoration. Over the next two years, the project aims to train more than 100 individuals, helping to build the expertise required to sustain long-term environmental management.
The training programme also addresses a demographic challenge facing Japan’s forestry and primary industries. According to information shared through the Defender Awards announcement, the average age of workers in these sectors now exceeds 60. By developing new training pathways, the project hopes to encourage younger participants to enter the field and continue restoration work across the country.
As part of the award, the organisation will receive a Defender vehicle, a £100,000 bursary and mentorship from a network of experts. The vehicle will support the project by enabling travel of up to 1,400 kilometres between project locations and by operating as a mobile research hub for teams working in mountainous terrain and remote forest areas.
The Defender Awards were created to recognise small-scale charities and non-profit organisations working on conservation and humanitarian initiatives at a local level. The programme forms part of a broader commitment by the Defender brand to support environmental and humanitarian efforts around the world.
Within this global framework, the Watershed Regeneration project represents Japan’s contribution to a wider network of initiatives working to restore ecosystems and strengthen community-led conservation. By combining training, landscape restoration and local participation, the initiative aims to secure the long-term health of the country’s forests and watersheds.
