Priority Program - Asian Environment
Creating a Society in Harmony with Nature ( pamphlet )
We perform research on Asia’s atmospheric environment, wide area transboundary air pollution, sustainable management of the water environment in continental, coastal, and oceanic areas, and preservation of ecosystems in watershed areas such as large rivers. This research forms the scientific infrastructure for contributing to policy recommendations for promoting Asian environmental management and building societies in harmony with nature through international cooperation.
1 Developing methods for evaluating the atmospheric environment in Asia
We collect scientific knowledge on the East Asian atmospheric environment through international joint research and develop environmental management tools. By combining observation and modeling, we plan to develop methods to evaluate the atmospheric environment. This includes:
- Establishing in-situ observation sites for multi-constituent/continuous observation of atmospheric gases and aerosols and expanding the lidar and in-situ observation network of Asian Dust to include Mongolia and Southeast Asian regions.
- Performing intensive observations by aircraft in China and Japan.
- Establishing databases from the information gathered during this project and joint research projects.
- Establishing a method for understanding wide area atmospheric pollution through multiscale numerical modeling and observation databases.
- Combining bottom-up and top-down methods for analyzing observational data by using numerical models to improve emission inventories for atmospheric pollutants.
- Developing chemical climate models to forecast the state of the Asian atmospheric environment to 2030.
2 Developing systems for evaluating regional water and material cycles in East Asia
We aim to establish the necessary tools for sustainable water environment management by gathering scientific knowledge through international collaborative research on East Asian water environments with a focus on the Chiang Jiang River and the Yellow River. We are developing a system for evaluating regional water and material cycles by integrating observation and scientific models. This includes:
- Improving remote sensing technology to assess wide area water and material cycles, developing new observation methods, and using these methods to create integrated observation systems.
- Creating an East Asia environmental information database that includes information on water, heat, and material cycles based on satellites, GIS, and observational data.
- Investigating the correlations among complex impact processes related to wide area climate, land forms, and terrestrial cover to develop an assessment model for water and material cycles.
- Evaluating and predicting the effects of changes in the land and climate on water cycles (such as water shortages and floods) and material cycles (such as carbon, nitrogen, etc.).
- Consolidating a technology inventory system for sustainable environmental management and developing socio-environmental indicators for assessing sustainable urban and watershed environments. The system would provide strategic design and evaluation of appropriate technology alternatives and countermeasure policy programs for local and regional stakeholders.
3 Developing methods for evaluating watershed environmental impacts
We are developing methods for the environmental impact assessment of Asian watershed ecosystems in Southeast Asia and Japan. We are building a network of international programs involved with the Mekong River watershed area. We provide the scientific knowledge to support the sustainable development of watersheds through international joint research. By clarifying the current state of freshwater fish species in the Mekong River and understanding the environmental dynamics of watersheds, we are evaluating the impacts of dams and other facilities on the ecosystem. This includes:
- Making high resolution land cover classification maps of certain areas and maps to assess wetland function and using them to understand natural deterioration in watershed ecosystems.
- Collecting data on the diversity of major organisms, ecological information, and climate and water quality to make an environmental database of watershed ecosystems.
- Collecting water environment data essential to environmental impact assessment and using it for modeling. Developing landscape ecology methods to evaluate suitable habitats and methods to evaluate impacts on estuary ecosystems that can be used in watershed ecosystem management.
