Mr. Ritsu Endo was born in 1966 in Osaka Prefecture, Japan.  He graduated from the Department of Veterinary, Azabu University, Japan.  His major was behavior management.  After he graduated from Azabu University, he was involved in the curriculum management of a vocational school of natural environment for about 5 years, and engaged in teaching students through practical training and supervising their graduate theses.  In 1997, he started his career at the Ecological Research Center for the Ecosystem Conservation Society-Japan, and was engaged in surveys of birds and mammals as a researcher.  After holding positions such as chief researcher and senior researcher at the Center, he has served as Deputy Director of the Grand Design Center for National Land Use, Ecosystem Conservation Society-Japan, since 2003.  He is engaged in making various plans through working with local governments of all levels, from villages through to prefectures, toward the development of regions where humans can live in harmony with nature.

Recently, he has been playing the role of coordinating diverse stakeholders in order to realize attractive regional planning through the return of the stork and ibis, based on ecological networks in the Kanto and Tokyo Metropolitan regions.