Abstrack:
Satoyama is a Japanese term for landscapes that comprise a mosaic of different ecosystems which include forests, agricultural lands, grassland irrigation ponds and human settlements aimed at promoting viable human nature interaction. The Japanese government is seeking to revitalize it locally and promote it internationally, receiving accreditation as United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Satoyama Initiatives. With the objective of evaluating communities based on the Satoyama principle, a method was developed founded on the five perspectives identified by the International Partnership for the Satoyama Initiative (IPSI). To facilitate this method, data is utilized from available sources and key informants are selected using the purposive sampling technique. Results obtained allow for communities to be classified as Satoyama like, in transition or non compliant. The SADT acts as an orientation for professionals to determine the shortcomings, propose solutions on the basis of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and the correct approach to assist the community in sustainable agricultural development premised on its local culture, belief systems and traditional knowledge. The tool could serve as a guide for determining the priority measures to achieve sustainability and can also be possibly applied to quantify other qualitative concepts. The SADT has been successfully utilized in Gabon, Guyana, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, and Thailand with various degrees of success. Its use thus far proves that it can be applied by individual researchers in collaboration with local village leaders and villagers to facilitate inclusive decision making and development, as well as serve as an orientation for determining progress in projects already in motion.
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