-
Yu Teraura, 16 years
Tokio, JapanYu is a student at the Toho Girls Junior High School, where she campaigns to raise awareness about climate change. She has participated in various environmental projects,including one to help clean-up Mount Fuji and another to help clean up riverbanks in the region.
Her motto is "nothing will start if I do not start it in my mind".
Atop Japan's highest peak, Mount Fuji, the eternally frozen ground is melting, causing landslides and the death of alpine plants and mosses. In the historic villages of Shirakawa-go houses are built in a traditional
style that allows them to withstand the weight of winter snow.Yet, because of global warming, there is less and less snowfall. At lower altitudes, the effects of climate change are equally stark.The Itsukushima Shrine, a World Heritage site, built on the coast during the 12th century, is now regularly flooded by rising sea levels.
Lives and livelihoods are also under pressure. The flowering of the cherry tree is an important cultural reference point in Japan. However,
the blossoms are coming earlier and earlier, disrupting people's sense of the seasons and the timing of cultural events. In the fishing ports of Shimonoseki and Hiroshima, the way of life of ancient fishing
communities is threatened by changes in the habitat of globefish and oysters.We all have a role to preserve the Earth as a place where our cultural heritage and our children can flourish.
Back Next -
