abt Selects Adopted Project for FY2026 'East Asia Eco & Peace Program' -- Supporting Citizen Solidarity Through the Environment in Deepening East Asian Conflicts
Act Beyond Trust (abt) has selected Team SPOON's 'Black-faced Spoonbill Flyway Children's Exchange Project' for its FY2026 'East Asia Eco & Peace Program', granting 1 million yen.
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- 📰 Published: April 23, 2026 at 17:00
- 🔍 Collected: April 23, 2026 at 08:31
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A total of 14 projects, 5 organizations, and approximately 18.01 million yen have been supported since the program's inception in FY2011. This fiscal year, the project by 'Team SPOON', which connects children and nature across borders through the migratory Black-faced Spoonbill, has been selected.
The public interest incorporated association Act Beyond Trust (Location: Setagaya-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Jun Hoshikawa; hereinafter 'abt') has selected one project for the FY2026 'East Asia Eco & Peace Shift Division: East Asia Eco & Peace Program'. Amid ongoing geopolitical tensions in East Asia, including Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and China, abt supports initiatives that tackle environmental issues through cross-border citizen solidarity, under the vision that 'environment and peace are one'.
■ Background: Precisely because of the era of tension, citizen solidarity connecting 'environment and peace' is needed.
In East Asia, tensions over territory, nuclear issues, and security continue, creating a situation where opportunities for direct exchange among citizens are easily lost. On the other hand, the breeding grounds, stopover sites, and wintering areas of migratory birds spread across borders, and the conservation of natural environments such as wetlands, satoyama (managed woodlands), and oceans is an endeavor that can only be achieved through the collaboration of citizens in East Asian countries.
As the saying goes, 'War is the greatest environmental destruction'; without peace, there is no environmental conservation, and without environmental conservation, there is no peace. With the vision of 'beyond ecology', abt has continued this program since FY2011 to support people who protect the environment across countries and regions from the standpoint of rethinking environmental issues from the perspectives of social structure and fairness.
■ Overview of the FY2026 Grant Program
Program Name:
East Asia Eco & Peace Shift Division: East Asia Eco & Peace Program
Grant Period:
FY2026
Number of Adopted Projects:
1 project
Total Grant Amount:
1,000,000 yen
Cumulative Track Record:
14 projects, 5 organizations, approximately 18.01 million yen in total since FY2011 (up to FY2025)
■ General Comments from the Secretariat
East Asia, connected by sky and sea, is a region where political tensions sometimes rise, but precisely for that reason, there is a need to strengthen grassroots citizen exchanges and nurture leaders to work on environmental conservation and peacebuilding. From among the diverse applications contributing to the environment and peace of East Asia, we have selected a project where we can feel the solid accumulation of past efforts, and which promises the expansion of activities, succession to the next generation, and further development.
■ Comments from the Selection Committee Members
Hiroyuki Okuda (Vice Chairperson, Rita Citizen Asset Foundation)
'I think the approach of connecting to the future environment and peace through children of various countries, using cross-border migratory birds as a gateway, is wonderful. I expect this activity to grow into continuous efforts by the stakeholders beyond just the children.'
Yoko Fukao (Professor, Graduate School of Humanities, Osaka University)
'Humans connect through the flight routes of migratory birds. Paying respect to them as they fly thousands of kilometers solely on their own wings, people connect with each other, hoping to see them again next year. A precious, vital endeavor that human beings living on Earth must realize!'
Jun Hoshikawa (Representative Director, Act Beyond Trust)
'I look forward to the continuation and progress of citizen exchanges in East Asia connected by migratory birds, as an attempt at Earth regeneration (regenerative) that connects nature's workings with human activities, and also connects generations in human society to draw in a desirable future.'
■ List of Adopted Projects for FY2026
The adopted project for FY2026 is a continuation and development project by an organization that was previously adopted in this program in FY2021 and FY2025. It connects the migratory bird, the Black-faced Spoonbill, which breeds and winters in various parts of East Asia, and the people protecting the wetlands that are its habitat, through the exchange of children.
Organization Name | Project Name | Grant Amount | Related Countries/Regions
Team SPOON | Black-faced Spoonbill Flyway Children's Exchange Project | 1,000,000 yen | Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, etc.
■ Project Overview
Team SPOON is receiving its third grant, following FY2021 and FY2025. They are developing activities that connect the migratory 'Black-faced Spoonbill', which breeds and winters across East Asia, with the people who protect its wetland habitats. In FY2026, they will host the second term 'Flyway Children's Exchange Meeting' in various locations, as well as hold an alumni gathering for the first term participants, expanding the circle of mutual learning across borders, languages, and generations.
■ Comments from the Adopted Organization (Team SPOON)
Q. Among various grants and support systems, why did you apply for abt's public call?
'It is because abt's grant framework of "East Asia Eco & Peace Shift" exactly matched our activities of protecting East Asia's nature and connecting to peace via the Black-faced Spoonbill. Since there are few systems that directly support projects crossing borders and fields, we decided to apply without hesitation.'
Q. What is the... (Text truncated at source)
The public interest incorporated association Act Beyond Trust (Location: Setagaya-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Jun Hoshikawa; hereinafter 'abt') has selected one project for the FY2026 'East Asia Eco & Peace Shift Division: East Asia Eco & Peace Program'. Amid ongoing geopolitical tensions in East Asia, including Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and China, abt supports initiatives that tackle environmental issues through cross-border citizen solidarity, under the vision that 'environment and peace are one'.
■ Background: Precisely because of the era of tension, citizen solidarity connecting 'environment and peace' is needed.
In East Asia, tensions over territory, nuclear issues, and security continue, creating a situation where opportunities for direct exchange among citizens are easily lost. On the other hand, the breeding grounds, stopover sites, and wintering areas of migratory birds spread across borders, and the conservation of natural environments such as wetlands, satoyama (managed woodlands), and oceans is an endeavor that can only be achieved through the collaboration of citizens in East Asian countries.
As the saying goes, 'War is the greatest environmental destruction'; without peace, there is no environmental conservation, and without environmental conservation, there is no peace. With the vision of 'beyond ecology', abt has continued this program since FY2011 to support people who protect the environment across countries and regions from the standpoint of rethinking environmental issues from the perspectives of social structure and fairness.
■ Overview of the FY2026 Grant Program
Program Name:
East Asia Eco & Peace Shift Division: East Asia Eco & Peace Program
Grant Period:
FY2026
Number of Adopted Projects:
1 project
Total Grant Amount:
1,000,000 yen
Cumulative Track Record:
14 projects, 5 organizations, approximately 18.01 million yen in total since FY2011 (up to FY2025)
■ General Comments from the Secretariat
East Asia, connected by sky and sea, is a region where political tensions sometimes rise, but precisely for that reason, there is a need to strengthen grassroots citizen exchanges and nurture leaders to work on environmental conservation and peacebuilding. From among the diverse applications contributing to the environment and peace of East Asia, we have selected a project where we can feel the solid accumulation of past efforts, and which promises the expansion of activities, succession to the next generation, and further development.
■ Comments from the Selection Committee Members
Hiroyuki Okuda (Vice Chairperson, Rita Citizen Asset Foundation)
'I think the approach of connecting to the future environment and peace through children of various countries, using cross-border migratory birds as a gateway, is wonderful. I expect this activity to grow into continuous efforts by the stakeholders beyond just the children.'
Yoko Fukao (Professor, Graduate School of Humanities, Osaka University)
'Humans connect through the flight routes of migratory birds. Paying respect to them as they fly thousands of kilometers solely on their own wings, people connect with each other, hoping to see them again next year. A precious, vital endeavor that human beings living on Earth must realize!'
Jun Hoshikawa (Representative Director, Act Beyond Trust)
'I look forward to the continuation and progress of citizen exchanges in East Asia connected by migratory birds, as an attempt at Earth regeneration (regenerative) that connects nature's workings with human activities, and also connects generations in human society to draw in a desirable future.'
■ List of Adopted Projects for FY2026
The adopted project for FY2026 is a continuation and development project by an organization that was previously adopted in this program in FY2021 and FY2025. It connects the migratory bird, the Black-faced Spoonbill, which breeds and winters in various parts of East Asia, and the people protecting the wetlands that are its habitat, through the exchange of children.
Organization Name | Project Name | Grant Amount | Related Countries/Regions
Team SPOON | Black-faced Spoonbill Flyway Children's Exchange Project | 1,000,000 yen | Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, etc.
■ Project Overview
Team SPOON is receiving its third grant, following FY2021 and FY2025. They are developing activities that connect the migratory 'Black-faced Spoonbill', which breeds and winters across East Asia, with the people who protect its wetland habitats. In FY2026, they will host the second term 'Flyway Children's Exchange Meeting' in various locations, as well as hold an alumni gathering for the first term participants, expanding the circle of mutual learning across borders, languages, and generations.
■ Comments from the Adopted Organization (Team SPOON)
Q. Among various grants and support systems, why did you apply for abt's public call?
'It is because abt's grant framework of "East Asia Eco & Peace Shift" exactly matched our activities of protecting East Asia's nature and connecting to peace via the Black-faced Spoonbill. Since there are few systems that directly support projects crossing borders and fields, we decided to apply without hesitation.'
Q. What is the... (Text truncated at source)