The ancient Japanese considered that all things of this world have their own spirituality, as they were born from the divine couple. Therefore, the relationship between the natural environment of this world and people is that of blood kin, like the bond between brother and sister. (Jinja Honcho: Faith and Ecology)

Water, food, gas, electricity, you name it, I had it all as a child, and I never had to question where they came from. My mother would often mistakenly cook for 10 mouths, when only my brother and I were at the dinner table. "Eat only until your stomach is eighty percent full," my mother would remind us of this common Japanese expression to control one's greediness with food. But how could this be? If you take a look at Japan's geography, it has virtually no natural resources of any value and yet we enjoy the world's highest average life expectancy of 80.6 years old and the world's 11th highest Human Development Index. So my question is, at what cost do we sustain such benefits?

To be sure, Japan by no means lacks agricultural resources. Its hectare yield is among the highest in the world due to its agricultural economy being highly subsidized and protected. Nevertheless, because only 15% of its land is arable, this only produces a 40% agricultural self-sufficiency rate. The other 60% of food is imported each year, making the country the world's third largest agricultural importer. Yet what's more striking is that 80% of Japan's energy must be imported to maintain its economy.

As with many countries in the global North, Japan's key challenge has been and will continue to be its dependency on oil, gas and other energy resources and as expected, Japan exploits much of Southeast Asia for its exploration of biofuel. Biofuel plantations require major deforestation, relocation of the local inhabitants, changes in the ecosystem and also the diets and lifestyles of these people. It is not surprising then, that there are communities currently in conflict with such companies over land. If corporations played the game of resource management in a more equitable, just manner, more, if not all of us, will be able to enjoy the benefits of our natural environment.

Indeed corporations have the power to shape the future of natural resource management. Currently, despite all the talk of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), we have no way of verifying whether companies are really helping to uphold fair labor standards - even if they claimed to do so - or if they are simply exploiting the already poor living in the coconut or palm oil plantation areas. How can we know the truth when there is limited or no system of accountability for corporations to pursue their social responsibilities? If governments and businesses had enough will to protect their people and sustain their societies, there would already be laws regulating corporate practices. It is not too difficult to at least begin brainstorming ways in which we could ensure that corporations do not disrespect a part of the environment and the people who depend on it.

An example might be the establishment of an international standard of CSR, which all businesses will be required to adopt and be evaluated accordingly. These evaluations can be conducted annually and their results publicized in the form of a grade (e.g. "A" for very responsible; "B" for somewhat responsible, and so on), which would be stamped next to their logo on documents and products until their next evaluation. Yet, can governments carry out such monitoring?

There are governments highly involved with corruption that surround many natural resource conflicts. In the case of Nigeria, 80% of its national government revenues come directly from oil, of which over half is received from Royal Dutch Shell, the giant oil corporation. Of their revenue from the Niger Delta project, 13% was supposed to be spent on local community development, such as the construction of health clinics. However, due to the absence of a system that holds them accountable to such a deal, the promise was washed away, together with the locals' trust in government.

Speaking of losing trust in the government, it is mind-blowing to learn that Japan built nine nuclear plants, including the Daiichi Fukushima Plant, despite great opposition by its people, as part of its commitment to reduce its carbon emission by 25% from 1990 to 2020. The long-term costs and human suffering that the nation recently only begun to understand, are both tragic and ironic to say the least. Such irony and contradiction are not only confined to the boundaries of this island nation.

Along with Japan, other committed, so-called developed country members of the Kyoto Protocol are also searching for fast, temporary solutions to clean energy at the expense of basic human rights and long-term damages to the earth as a whole. It is shocking and at the same time despairing to see how the powerful are increasingly drawn to short-term solutions yet failing to assess problems in a more comprehensive manner and help identify more permanent solutions. How can the Protocol, hosted by my hometown, be amended to engage "committed" members in a more holistic, safe and humane approach while achieving their carbon reduction targets?

In any case, due to such corrupt as well as ineffective resource management, a possible answer is to bring in the international community into the equation. They could be the key monitoring body of corporate social responsibilities using a comprehensive system in resource management and other projects. Perhaps the United Nations could take the initiative and then work with other organizations to monitor system implementations on the ground. We must also not forget community-level involvement.

The alternative conflict management model shows that sufficient communication and information sharing among interest groups are essential to fair negotiations. This becomes especially important where communities are already marginalized people who have limited access to education and information. To strengthen their access, knowledge, and negotiation skills, grassroots empowerment should be an indispensable factor to sustainable resource management. When these communities are sure of their rights, know how to express them and stand by them, they can no longer be manipulated, deceived, or threatened and NGOs and other civil society groups play a key role in strengthening local communities.

As a consumer, it is my minimum responsibility to continue to learn and try to understand the environmental costs of the unsustainable lifestyles we engage in, and seek a more resource-efficient way of living.

As a young generation of scholars, we hold the key to lead a paradigm shift, from profit-driven to more human needs-based societies. Without this shift, corporations and governments will continue to place monetary gains at the top of their agendas.

For those of us entering the business sector, our first commitment should be in adopting a truly accountable, socially responsible system. These businesses should come together and mainstream such practices, so that companies with weak social agendas will be increasingly unpopular and therefore marginalized.

As the next generation of policy negotiators, we must not forget to learn to consider both the long-term advantages and disadvantages of all possible solutions before we determine what is best for all.

Ms Sakura Kunimura is from Japan and is part of the student batch for SY2010-2011 and one of the Asia Leaders Program (ALP) scholars, pursuing her MA degree in Gender and Peacebuilding at the University for Peace. ALP is a dual campus masters degree project, a shared initiative between The Nippon Foundation, University for Peace, and the Ateneo de Manila University. This is her reflection paper for the lecture that Pedro Walpole gave on Practices of Conflict Management in Asia focusing on natural resources and resource use, conflict, and management last 18 to 20 April 2011.