(A1) Selection Evaluation Comments Sheet: Research Project FS→FR

Selection Evaluation Comments Sheet*This evaluation occurs in the transition from Research Project Feasibility Study to Full Research,i.e. selection of Full Research project.
Adaptive governance of multi-resource based on land-sea linkage
of water cycle: application to coral reef island system
Adaptive governance of multi-resource based on land-sea linkage
of water cycle: application to coral reef island system

FS Title
Proposed FR Title
Leader of the Proposed FR(Principal Investigator of FS)
Proposed Project Period
Affiliated Program

SHINJO Ryuichi
5 years Full Research
Research Program 2：Fair Use and Management of Diverse
Resources

General advice and comments of the EREC:The Committee was broadly positive about the proposal and recommended that it progress to the FullResearch stage. The issues of small island coral reefs and the linkages between land and sea are importantand the project would be a good addition to the RIHN portfolio. At the same time, the Committee noted
a number of weaknesses that need to be addressed as the project gets going.
First, the relationships between the local and the global need to be worked out much more specifically.
In a general sense, island reefs around the world are experiencing similar phenomena and in this senseof “frequently occurring worldwide,” the problems are global but rooted in local processes and can inprinciple be addressed locally. At the same time, coral islands are crucially affected by global warming andsea level rise, problems which are global in nature and hard to directly address locally. There are likely to
be many interactions and feedbacks between the local and global issues. The project needs toconceptualize these linkages and consider how to analyze them. Furthermore, the project needs a theoryof change that sets out how action at the local scale (adaptive governance) will feed into higher-levelchange processes.
Second, the three units of project organization (Natural System, Culture and Livelihood, AdaptiveGovernance) seem to be operating rather separately and need to become much more integrated. The
research in the Natural System Unit appears to be planned in more detail and only this component seems
to extend to the overseas sites. The project needs to develop a conceptual framework that brings thethree components together as well as a practical workplan that enables the three groups to work
together organically.
Third, it was appreciated that adaptive governance is to take an important role in the project, but several
points need to be further clarified: (1) beyond analysis of adaptive governance, what real-world action
will be initiated by the project; (2) how will the adaptive governance work incorporate findings from theother two units, and (3) what governance outcomes can be expected on the given project timeline. For1

(A1) Selection Evaluation Comments Sheet: Research Project FS→FR

this it will be important to further elaborate the methodology as such discussion currently seems mostly
limited to “visualization.” The Committee also wondered what is meant by visualization, whether it is atool for awareness-raising among the local stakeholders or if it might be used to support mutual learning.
Finally, the comparative analysis across the field sites needs to be elaborated. This includes providing arationale for why these sites were selected and how they will be compared. It also seems the team isrelatively less developed in the overseas sites.

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