Current Initiative-based Research Projects

Recent and Future Activities

Ｃ−０９−ｌｎｉｔ

Consilience Cyberspace: A cyber platform embodying a co-creation
between science and society towards the unity of knowledge

Designing Local Frameworks for Integrated
Water Resources Management

GAIA Initiative

FR3 Project Leader Jumpei KUBOTAThis project conducts interdisciplinary
investigation of the merits and demerits ofdistinct water management practices. Fieldand modeling studies are integrated todevelop advanced description of theknowledge systems aﬀecting water and toenable comprehensive analysis ofIntegrated Water Resources Managementin collaboration with a wide spectrum oflocal and remote stakeholders, towards
pro-humanistic water resources
assessment and local governance.

E−０5−ｌｎｉｔ

An online transdisciplinary platform dedicated to consilience
consilience is currently being
developed upon the outcomes of RIHN projects, in collaboration with a widespectrum of stakeholders in local and global environmental problems. To thisend, we are to launch a smartphone App, Consilience Cyberspace, that traces
the developing processes of environmental values and transdisciplinar yactivities in the globe by February, 2014, while maintaining an online survey,Consilience CENSUS ( rihn-consilience-census. com ).

The Futurability
Initiatives

Creation and Sustainable Governance of New
Commons through Formation of Integrated Local
Environmental Knowledge

OIKOS Initiative

FR2 Project Leader Tetsu SATO Co-Project Leader Naoki KIKUCHI

This projec t studies and develops
processes of local knowledge production
and circulation in order to understand how
community-based adaptive governancesystems emerge and function. It examines
and facilitates dialogue between scientiﬁc
explanation and ever yday ways ofunderstanding, and it monitors how thisknowledge changes as it is utilized atdiﬀerent p oint s and levels of so cialnetworks.

Initiative-based Feasibility Study (FS)/Full-Reseach ( FR ）Start-up Mission●Initiative-based Research Workshop

Futurability Initiatives Mission●Core Research Hub Learning Session●Futurability Initiatives Seminar Series●Initiative-based Research Project Symposium

Completed Research (CR) Follow-up Mission●CR Review

R−０8−ｌｎｉｔ

GAIA

Research Institute for
Humanity and Nature

Initiative

Human-Environmental Security in Asia-PaciﬁcRing of Fire: Water-Energy-Food Nexus
FR1 Project Leader Makoto TANIGUCHI Co-Project Leader Aiko ENDO

Climate change and economic development are increasing pressure on water,energy and food resources, presenting
communities with diﬃcult tradeoﬀs andp ote nt ia l co nﬂi c t s a m o n g t h e s e resources. Therefore, the water-energy-foodnexus is one of the most important andf un dam ent al gl o b al env iro nm ent alissues facing the world.

Research Institute for
Humanity and Nature
Contact
The Futurability Initiatives,
Research Institute for Humanity and Nature（ RIHN ）457-4 Motoyama, Kamigamo, Kita-ku, Kyoto 603-8047, JapanTEL+81-75-707-2504
EE-mail
mail：futurability@chikyu.ac
mail：futurability@chikyu.ac：futurability@chi
futurability@chikyu.ac.jp
futurability@chc.j

GAIAOIKOSETHOS

風水土山野河海
生存知The Futurability Initiatives:Mission Statement
The Futurability Initiatives emerge from our conviction of theneed for design-oriented science. Whereas cognitive science has
conventionally been employed to describe ̀what isʼ, design
science asks ̀what ought to beʼ the character of interactions
between of humanity and nature.

Foci●Futurability●Design-oriented science●Transdisciplinarity●Earth System ●Consilience

The Initiatives are therefore dedicated to consilience
consilience, “ a jumping
together of knowledge... across disciplines to create a common
groundwork for explanation” (E.O.Wilson 1998) and intended toenhance design - oriented, problem -solving approaches tocontemporary environmental problems. Each Initiative focuses ona major ﬁeld of thought roughly analogous to the ancient Greek
realms described by Gaia, Oikos and Ethos.

We focus our eﬀorts on conjoining the existing RIHN Domain
Programmes (Circulation, Diversity, Resources, Ecohistory, andEcosophy) through a set of cross-cutting initiatives towards
the transdisciplinary ﬁeld of Environmental Humanics of theEarth System.

GAIA Initiative

Anthropospheric design within
dynamic Earth environments

As human societies design their futures they require best
understandings of the Earthʼs natural dynamism, and thesigniﬁcance of human action within it.
The Gaia Initiative therefore performs investigations of thephysiospheric bases of humanity at multiple spatiotemporalscales. The Initiative emphasizes description of physicalstandards related to boundaries and thresholds so as toallow analysis of, and best eco-technological adaptations to,dynamic Earth environments.

Foci●Physiosphere ●Boundaries●Environmental ●Natural catastrophe
dynamics

風水土
Photo: Jumpei Kubota

The Oikos Initiative investigates the practices and knowledge
systems through which cultures and communities humanize
biospheric environments. It emphasizes the humanecologies and economies-from modern techno-centric totraditional-associated with environmental commons. The
Oikos Initiative therefore brings special attention to thevalues associated with resource use, and the importance oflinking range of eco-technologies and social equity.

Linking commons and community forlong-term maintenance of ecosystem services
nioatulrc
Ci

OIKOS Initiative

FociThe Ethos Initiative examines the noöspheric values anddynamics aﬀecting human ecological knowledge,
especially in relation to the key areas of foodproduction and human health. The Initiativedescribes the relationship between environmental
knowledge, including that embedded as culturalvalue and sense of self, on quality of individualand community life.

Diversity●Biosphere●Ecosystems service●Environmental economics ●CommonssceurosRe

山野河海
Photo: Yasuyuki Kosaka

ETHOS Initiative

Photo: A "Gaian Perspective" Partnership

Photo: Ryosuke Koda

Enhancing human capability andcapacity for coexistence

Noöcentrism

Foci●Noösphere ●Food and production●Life style●Health and medicine

Physiocentrism
Biocentrism

生存知
Photo: Ken-ichi Abe

Photo: Yudai Ishimoto