Kaoru Sakai completed studies in Environmental Science at the University of Sunshine Coast, Australia, and has five years’ experience conducting surveys and environmental impact assessments on Australian flora and fauna as Ecologist. She joined the Ministry of Environment, Japan in 2018 and has been working as Environmental Officer for various projects across Kanto and Shin-etsu regions of Japan – from population recovery programs of endangered flora and fauna of Ogasawara Bonin Islands, to introduced species control in the alpine region. She has been active in a current role as the National Focal point for the Ramsar Convention, East Asian-Australasian Flyway Partnership, and Bilateral Migratory Bird Agreement Consultative Meetings between Australia, USA, People’s Republic of China, Republic of Korea, Russia, and Japan.