Research Program 1

Societal Transformation under
Environmental ChangeThis program aims at providing realistic perspectives and options to facilitate the transformation
towards a society that can flexibly respond to environmental changes caused by human activities
such as global warming and air pollution, as well as to natural disasters.
To demonstrate the fundamental significance of global environmental sustainability for humansociety, we need to make intellectually explicit the links between environmental change and natural
disasters on the one hand, and social issues such as livelihood, inequality, social security andconflict on the other, and reinforce understanding of these links in the real world. RIHN’s Societal
Transformation under Environmental Change research program contributes to this task.
The Program follows two lines of inquiry. The first conducts research on Asia’s long-term pathsof social and economic development in relation to climate change and environmental history. Suchstudies offer historical understandings of the human-nature interface, and evaluate each region’s
political and economic conditions and cultural and social potentialities in comparative perspective.
For example, postwar development of the industrial complex along Asia’s Pacific coast was madepossible by the combination of imported fossil fuels and utilization of rich local resources of land,
water and biomass. Industrial development in the region produced both rapid economic growth
and at times severe environmental pollution and degradation. It is important to recognize the causes
and consequences of these historical processes in their own light, as well as for their significance tofuture societal change and policy deliberations.
The Program’s second line of inquiry examines the kinds of motivations that affect people’s
livelihood, by working closely with various stakeholders in local society in Asia. Our projectbased in Sumatra’s tropical peat swamp forest, for example, has identified four principal kinds ofmotivations—local livelihood; profit of local farmers and agricultural and industrial enterprises;
local and centrally-based governance; and conservation measures implemented by governments,
NGOs and international institutions—and examines how they can best be coordinated to promotesustainability at the village level. Research also helps implement policies at local, national andinternational levels. This ongoing project, which cooperates with local universities, companies andofficials, has already contributed to the development of regional and national policies to control
peatland fires, which became a significant environmental issue in Indonesia and beyond.
This program coordinates a variety of research projects along these lines in order to develop aperspective that helps direct research and social transformation in Asia.

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Recent land development activities in some parts of tropical peatlands have led to unpreceded scales of forest fire incidents, which are a serious health threat to people of local
areas and neighboring countries. This photograph shows a peatland fire in Riau Province, Sumatra Island, Indonesia.

Program seminar at RIHN, 29th January 2018

Program Director

SUGIHARA Kaoru RIHN

Trained in Japan (Doctorate at the University of Tokyo), I have held positions at the History Department of the
School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, the Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto
University, the Graduate School of Economics, University of Tokyo, and the National Graduate Institute for Policy
Studies (Japan). My research concerns the history of intra-Asian trade and labor-intensive industrialization in thelast two centuries. I am currently working on the economic and environmental history of Monsoon Asia in longterm perspective. I also act as Vice-Chair of the Future Earth Committee of the Science Council of Japan

Researchers
MASUHARA Naoki

Senior Researcher

YAMAMOTO Aya

Research Associate

13Historical Climate Adaptation Project

Societal Adaptation to Climate Change: Integrating
Palaeoclimatological Data with Historical andArchaeological Evidences
Project Leader

NAKATSUKA Takeshi RIHN

Progra m 1

Professor Nakatsuka’s specialties are palaeoclimatology and isotope biogeochemistry. Since his early career as a graduate student, hehas been using nitrogen isotopes to study long-term variations of climate and its impacts on oceanic biogeochemical cycles. Recently,
he changed his main research area from oceans to land and focused on using tree-ring oxygen isotopes to examine the relationshipbetween climate change and human history. Investigating periodicity of climate during the last three millennia in Japan and the world,
he now hypothesizes that past human societies were often damaged by multi-decadal climate variations as they were caught in a cycleof over-adaptation and subsequent failure of adaptation.

Background and objectives

rate and long-lasting family system in Japan, innumerable
historical documents dating back to the 8th century arepreserved in both private and governmental sectors. Third,
rapid land developments during last several decades haveallowed for precise archaeological excavations at numerous
sites all over Japan. In addition, a palaeoclimatological tool
(tree-ring cellulose oxygen isotope ratio) particularly usefulin the Asian monsoon region has recently been developed
to reconstruct summer precipitation on which rice paddy
cultivation in Japan depends, providing archaeologists witha reliable tool for annual dating of numerous excavatedwoods (Photo 3).

If global warming causes many societal diﬃculties, how
can we adapt to the change? Remarkable recent progress inpalaeoclimatology has elucidated the fact that large climate
variations often underlay epochs of human history. How
did our ancestors address such change in the past?
Human history must include many examples from which
we can extract common lessons relevant to contemporary
global environmental change. The research target of thisproject is Japanese history from the prehistorical Jomon era
to the present. First, we reconstruct past climate variationsin Japan and Asia at annual time resolutions for the last
several millennia, using up-to-date palaeoclimatologicalmethods to identify outstanding periods of climate
variation. Then we use historical and archaeologicalapproaches to investigate how local societies reacted toclimate variation in order to clarify common socioculturalcharacteristics of societies that are tolerant or vulnerable tochanges in climate.

Remarkable results
We have used many tree-ring samples from around Japanin order to analyze tree-ring oxygen isotope ratios during
the last 4800 years in annual time resolution. We have alsocollected many tree-ring width datasets from all over Asia
in the framework of an international palaeo-climatologicalproject (PAGES) and reconstructed inter-annual variationsof averaged East Asia summer temperatures. Comparisonof annual climate records and paleographic informationsuch as yearly tax accounts in early modern villages andadministrative documents on water control in medieval
manors, archaeological evidence on prehistorical andancient societies excavated from farmland and habitat
remains, and the newest isotopic dendrochronological
data (Fig. 1) allows us to investigate how variations intemperature or precipitation influenced agricultural
production, human livelihoods, and water management.
As a result, we can understand how historical societies
could or could not overcome serious climate changes in
the past. For example, in the Medieval period, sudden

Research methods
In this project, past climate variations are reconstructedbased on various proxies, such as tree rings (Photo 1),
historical weather records, lake and marine sediments,
coral rings and speleothem, and compared with human
responses recorded in historical documents (Photo 2)
and archaeological archives. There are three reasons why
we have chosen Japan as the main research area in thisproject. First, Japan is located at northeastern rim of the
Asian summer monsoon, where small changes in monsoon
dynamics might have significantly affected rice paddy
cultivation on which Japanese sustenance has historicallydepended. Second, due to the historically high literacy

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Photo 1 Sampling of a tree ring core from aliving tree using an increment borer

Photo 2 Collection of historical information by investigationof old documents

http://www.chikyu.ac.jp/rihn_e/project/H-05.html
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decreases in summer temperature often caused serious
famines in Japan, though there were important exceptions
during late 13th and 14th centuries (Fig. 2). On the other
hand, sudden increases in precipitation often caused water
disasters and subsequent social conflicts, analysis partly
infered from the number of old documents relevant toemergence of “Akuto” (outlaws) in the Kamakura era (Fig.
3). Such relationships between precipitation, disaster andsocietal change can be traced back to the early period of
the Yayoi era about 2500 years ago.

Figure 1 N umerous wooden posts along an ancient waterway excavatedfrom Shoji remain in Neyagawa city, Osaka prefecture (a) andvariations in their tree-ring cellulose oxygen isotope ratios (b).
Coincidence of the variations among many posts indicates that
this waterway was constructed in 227AD. Samples of wooden
posts were provided by Neyagawa city board of education.

Final goal
As our present concerns for global warming clearly
illustrate, large climate variations in the past have hadserious impacts on our ancestors. As shown in Figs.
2 and 3, significant multi-decadal climate variations
had especially negative impacts on historical societies.
However, some past societies continued to attempt toovercome the influence of climate variations, whileother societies collapsed. Comparative evaluation ofhistorical climate adaptations may allow us to explain
Japanese history since the Jomon era as a sequence ofsocietal transformations designed to overcome large-scaleintermittent climate variation. The final goal of thisproject is to bring such historical analysis to bear on
fundamental adaptation strategies considered in relation tocontemporary global environmental problems.

Figure 2 Variations in East Asia summer temperature (red: reconstructed from tree ring width
database in Asian wide region) and famine reports in Japan (green: number of old
documents from each year containing famine-words) during Medieval period.

Figure 3 Variations in Central Japan summer precipitation (blue: inferable from tree-ring oxygen isotope ratio) and documents related to “Akuto” (outlaws) (red: yearly ratios
in all paleography) during the Kamakura era, 1185-1333 AD. Thick lines indicate five-year averages.

Sub Leader
KAMATANI Kaoru
Researchers at RIHN
ITO Keisuke
TSUSHIMA Akane
LI ZhenMain Members
SANO Masaki
WAKABAYASHI Kunihiko
HIGAMI Noboru
TAMURA Noriyoshi
MIZUNO Shoji

Ritsumeikan University

Researcher
Researcher
Researcher

Waseda University
Doshisha University
Aichi Prefectural Center for Archaeological Operations
Beppu University
The University of Shiga Prefecture

TESHIMA Mika
KURIU Harumi
MIZUMA Sakiko
SATO Daisuke
WATANABE Koichi
YASUE Koh
ABE Osamu
YOSHIMURA Kei

Research Associate
Research Associate
Research Associate

Tohoku University
National Institute of Japanese Literature
Shinshu University
Nagoya University
The University of Tokyo

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Tropical Peatland Society Project

Toward the Regeneration of Tropical Peatland Societies:
Building an International Research Network on Paludiculture
and Sustainable Peatland Management
Project Leader

MIZUNO Kosuke RIHN/Kyoto University

Progra m 1

Kosuke Mizuno has been studying the Indonesian economy since 1978, focusing primarily on how economic change unfolds in ruralWest Java. Mizuno places special attention on issues of land, capital, and labor relations. Following the Indonesian democratization
process and particularly the restoration of the right to organize in 1998, when former President Suharto stepped down, Mizuno has
analyzed institutional change, economic development, and resource management within people’s organizations such as farmers’
unions and trade unions. He became the leader of an integrated natural and social science study on peatland society in Riau province in2008, and continues to conduct action research on peatland rehabilitation. Mizuno strives for a deeper understanding of the historicaland social dimensions of peatland society, and considers the commodities found therein, such as palm oil, to be crucial for the analysisof the Indonesian economy as a whole.

Necessity of the study

solutions to the current crisis of peat degradation andrelated fire and haze in tropical regions through action
research. The project seeks to identify and implement
alternative practices in collaboration with local people,
academics, governmental offices and officials, NGOs, andinternational organizations.
The project conducts multidisciplinary research inorder to clarify the entire process of peatland degradation.
We focus on: A) gathering social and ecological baseline
data on peatlands and measuring the impacts of fire andhaze; B) implementing paludiculture projects in wetland
areas as a potential strategy for the mitigation of peatland
degradation; and C) identifying governance structuresand incentives, including strengthening the land rightsof people situated on state land, which can support
sustainable peatland management. These studies are
conducted in collaboration with local people, migrants,
NGOs, plantation companies, and local and national
governments.

Peat swamp forests are found throughout Southeast Asia,
especially Indonesia, and contain massive stores of carbon
and water. Over the last two decades, these swamps havebeen intensively exploited in order to create commercial
acacia and oil palm plantations. As these tree species
cannot grow in swamps, peatlands have been drained,creating extensive areas of dried peatlands that are
extremely vulnerable to fire.
In 2015, peatland fires burned 2.1 million hectares offorest in Indonesia, affecting 45 million people. A half
million people suffered from upper respiratory tract
infections, and thousands of people, especially children,were aﬄicted with asthma. The government responded tothis disaster by mobilizing the army, punishing people who
set fires, and refusing to issue new peatland development
permits. These measures were urgently needed, but
provided only short-term relief. The public has demanded
longer-term and more sustainable measures, such as therewetting and reforestation promoted by this project since
2012.
The government of Indonesia established the Peatland
Restoration Agency in January 2016, and declared that two
million hectares of degraded peatlands will be restored by
2019. The objective of this research project is to generate

Achievements to date
Project researchers introduced the practice of rewetting
and reforestation in peatland areas in Bengkalis District,
Riau Province in 2010. This experimental site has attracted
significant attention, especially since 2015 when fireand haze became very serious. Along with project-led
international seminars, the site has significantly enhanced
public awareness of the potential for rewetting andforestation to regenerate peatland.
On August 10, 2016, the Research Institute of Humanity
and Nature, Kyoto University, and Hokkaido University

Photo 1 R ewetting by small wooden dam in Kepau Baru
village, Meranti, Riau

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Photo 2 Sago paludiculture in Kepau Baru village, Meranti, Riau

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signed a Memorandum of Understanding with thePeatland Restoration Agency of Indonesia to conduct
action research to restore degraded peatland. Our project
has created action plans based on this MOU and has
accordingly begun to implement a restoration program in
Meranti District, Riau Province. We started to discuss thesocial forestry programs that are designed to strengthen
the land rights of people on the degraded state land among
local people, the Ministry of Environment and Forestry,
local governments and NGOs.

Research Targets
Peatland ecosystems are vulnerable. Damage from humandisturbance can be irreversible. In order to achieve longlasting solutions to peatland degradation, we investigate thesocial and ecological aspects of peatland vulnerability, andpropose many programs to transform these vulnerabilities.
Our research objective is to examine alternative livelihood
strategies while building/changing the institutions thatcan encourage people to restore and make sustainable useof degraded peatlands. The project supports communityinitiated paludiculture as a sustainable livelihood modelin rewetted peatlands while strengthening land rights onstate land though social forestry programs. This researchthus demonstrates the future potential of peatland-basedsocieties, the phasing out of monoculture production
activity, the development of paludiculture, and theenlargement of protected peatland areas.

Publications
Catastrophe and Regeneration in Indonesia’s Peatlands:
Ecology, Economy and Society was published by the
National University of Singapore Press in 2016. This
volume provides inter-disciplinary field-based andhistorical analyses of peatland degradation throughexamination of the survival motives of local people, theprofit motives of companies, and the conservation motivesof Government and NGOs. The book showcases thepotential solution of rewetting and reforesting “the people’s
forest”. The book has been reviewed across various forms of
media, including leading international academic journals.
Our project will continue to build on this research in orderto develop new insights on tropical peatland management.

Photo 3 Seedling for reforestation in Kepau Baru village, Meranti, Riau

Sub Leader
KOZAN Osamu
Researchers at RIHN
KAJITA Ryosuke
OSAWA Takamasa
SHIODERA Satomi
Main Members
OKAMOTO Masaaki
ITOH Masayuki
SHIMAMURA Tetsuya
NAITO Daisuke
KAWASAKI Masahiro
SATO Yuri

Kyoto University/RIHN

Researcher
Researcher
Researcher/Kyoto University

Kyoto University
University of Hyogo
Ehime University
Kyoto University
RIHN
Institute of Developing Economies

SUZUKI Haruka
YAMANAKA Manabu
KATSURA Tomomi
PAGE, Susan
GUNAWAN, Haris
SABIHAM, Supiandi
SETIADI, Bambang
DHENY, Trie Wahyu Sampurno

Researcher/Kyoto University/Universitas Riau
Researcher/Kobe University/JAMSTEC
Research Associate

University of Leicester, UK
Peatland Restoration Agency, Indonesia
Bogor Agricultural University, Indonesia
Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology, Indonesia
Indonesian Agency of Geospatial Information, Indonesia

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Eco-DRR project

Research and Social Implementation of Ecosystembased Disaster Risk Reduction as Climate Change
Adaptation in Shrinking Societies
Project Leader

YOSHIDA Takehito RIHN/The University of Tokyo

Progra m 1

Takehito Yoshida is an ecologist and limnologist who studies diversity and complexity of organisms and ecosystems from theviewpoints of adaptation and system dynamics, and explores human-nature interactions and sustainability in local communities inJapan. Trained in Kyoto University (PhD) and Cornell University (postdoc), he was a member of the faculty at the University of Tokyo at
Komaba before jointly appointed at RIHN and the University of Tokyo.

Outline of the project
The rate of natural disaster occurence has been increasing,partly due to contemporary climate change, and adaptation
to natural disaster risks is increasingly important tothe sustainability of human societies. At the same time,
many societies are experiencing shrinking populations.
Ecosystem-based Disaster Risk Reduction (Eco-DRR) takes
advantage of the multi-functionality of ecosystems andbiodiversity, including their capacity to mitigate natural
disasters while providing multiple ecosystem services,and population decline provides ample opportunity for
implementing Eco-DRR. Our project will develop practicalsolutions for implementation of Eco-DRR by visualizing
natural disaster risks, evaluating multi-functionality of
Eco-DRR solutions, conducting transdisciplinary scenario
analysis, examining traditional and local knowledgeof disaster risk reduction, and collaborating with theinsurance industry and other sectors.

Background and goals
Climate change impacts natural and human systems andis projected to intensify in the future. Our project focuseson natural disasters, and it aims to contribute to risk
reduction and management strategies. Climate change or
natural disaster risks result from the interaction between aclimate-related hazard, and the exposure and vulnerabilityof human activities (Fig. 1), so that adaptation to natural
disaster risk can be realized by reducing exposure (e.g. byimproving land use) and vulnerability to hazards.
Hard-engineering natural disaster countermeasures havetarget safety levels, below which natural disasters can beprevented. Although these countermeasures are effective if
the hazard level of natural disaster is below the target safetylevel, we are increasingly faced with situations in whichhazard levels exceed safety levels, resulting in devastating
natural disasters. Eco-DRR approaches focus on lowering
the exposure of human activities to natural hazards, so
reducing, if not preventing, associated losses and damages.
Eco-DRR approaches, meanwhile, take advantage of themulti-functionality of ecosystems, so complementing
conventional approaches to natural disaster management,
although the effectiveness and multi-functionality of EcoDRR is not yet clearly and quantitatively understood.
Japan’s population is aging and shrinking, leading to
the abandonment of farmlands, houses and decreases inother intensive land uses, a challenging circumstance thatnevertheless provides an opportunity for improving landuse. The population of Japan increased substantially overthe last century, increasing the risk of and public exposure
to natural disasters. Evaluating past natural disaster risks
therefore provides valuable information of adaptation

Hazard × Exposure × Vulnerability = Risk of natural disaster(e.g. river flood) (e.g. land use) (e.g. building structure)

Eco‐DRR
land useRiver

Floodplain
WetlandPark & Garden

Residence
Business
SchoolHospital

Agriculture

Hazard HighLow

Exposure/
Low
Vulnerability

High

Risk Low

Low

Figure 1 Ecosystem-based disaster risk reduction not only lowers disaster risks but also receives benefits of ecosystem services byreducing the exposure of human activities in high-hazard locations and supporting human activities in low-hazard places.

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strategies considered in Japan as well as in other countries.
Given this background, the ECO-DRR Project sets two
main goals: first, it develops methodologies to evaluate
Eco-DRR multi-functionality and assess Eco-DRR by
comparing multi-functionality between the past, thepresent and the future. Secondly, the Project supports
Eco-DRR implementation through transdisciplinary
collaborations with local communities, governments,
insurance industry and other stakeholders.

Research objectives
Three research components contribute to achieve the above
two goals.
(1) Visualizing the risks of natural disasters in thepresent and the past		 The exposure and vulnerability associated withdifferent natural disasters will be analyzed, and the risks
evaluated and visualized as risk maps of the present andpast. Modeling risk for the different exposure scenarios
will contribute to future Eco-DRR assessments andplans.
(2) Evaluating and modeling multi-functionality of
Eco-DRR		 Provisioning, regulating and cultural ecosystemservices will be evaluated, and their spatial distribution
will be modeled in relation to population and land use.
The model will be used for evaluating the ecosystemservices for different land use scenarios.
(3) Transdisciplinary scenario analysis and developing
social and economic incentives of Eco-DRR
Together with local communities and governments,
transdisciplinary platforms will be formed at research sites
to deepen understanding, discuss future options, and build
consensus around Eco-DRR approaches. Transdisciplinary
scenario analysis will be conducted in consideration ofclimate change and shrinking population. In addition,
traditional and local knowledge of disaster risk reduction
will be inventoried and evaluated for multi-functionalities
shared in the platform.
In collaboration with the insurance industry, a researchforum will be formed to discuss the possibility andfeasibility of insurance industry-led contributions to andeconomic incentives for Eco-DRR. The research forum will
also assess various laws and institutions in national andlocal governments related to disaster risk reduction andland use.

Photo 1 Mikatagoko area in Fukui Prefecture, one of the research sites.

Photo 2 Hira mountains and their base area in Shiga Prefecture, one of the research sites.
Photo courtesy of MATSUI Kimiaki.

Researchers at RIHN
HUANG, Wanhui
NAKAI Minami
Main Members
FUKAMACHI Katsue
FURUTA Naoya
HASHIMOTO Shizuka
ICHINOSE Tomohiro
MIYOSHI Iwao
NISHIHIRO Jun

Researcher
Research Associate

Kyoto University
Taisho University / IUCNThe University of Tokyo
Keio University
Kyoto Prefectural University
Toho University

SENDA Masako
SHIMAUCHI Risa
SAITO Osamu
SHIBASAKI Ryosuke
TAKI Kentaro
UEHARA Misato
URASHIMA Hiroko

Research Associate
Research Associate

United Nations University
The University of Tokyo
The University of Shiga Prefecture
Shinshu University
MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings, Inc.

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Research Program 2

Fair Use and Management ofDiverse Resources
Global environmental problems are inter-related. Studies concentrating on single issues are often
not effective; consideration of inter-linkages of multiple resources involving stakeholders are
essential. Recently, the nexus structure linking energy, water and food production has become aprominent area of study, but truly sustainable societies require more comprehensive understandingsof the ecological resources that provide ecosystem services and cultural resources. The production,
circulation and consumption of resources should be discussed in a wide range of spatial scales, andstakeholders should be involved in these discussions. Sustainable use of resources requires fair andwise systems and proper indices to manage these processes.
In particular, it is necessary to transform existing socio-economic or human behavioral systems
to new systems that pay greater attention to renewable natural resources, as these have sometimes
been externalized from conventional economics. Asia is experiencing rapid change in economy,
urbanization and population, though traditional techniques for sustainable resource management,
associated with the relatively rich humanospere and cultural background in this region, also
survive. Studies of such experience of resource use in Asia may thus give important suggestions tosustainability in general.
RIHN research projects have accumulated information and suggestions necessary for thistransformation, though gaps remain. Program Two therefore explores wise and fair management
systems capable of addressing multiple resource-uses by multiple stakeholders, in multi-spatial
scales. We encourage new project proposals including those by innovative young scientists
addressing such novel and under-examined subjects. Internal Program discussion will address theconditions necessary for transforming values and human behavior, as we propose new indices andinstitutions for fair resource management.
In fiscal 2017, we conducted a research review on the issue of equity in relation to the conceptof fair use. We considered several dimensions of equity, including (1) economic equity related tothe burdens and benefits of resource use, and procedural equity focusing on procedures for making
such decisions; (2) the question of equity between whom, for instance, between modern generations,modern generation and future generations and human society and natural society; and (3) thequestion of who will or should evaluate equity is also an important element. In addition, in our firstyear of activity we also established a framework for understanding fair use.

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Agricultural land in India

Logging of tropical rain forest in Malaysia

Palm oil factory in Malaysia

Program Director NAKASHIZUKA Tohru RIHN
Tohru Nakashizuka has studied forest ecology, biodiversity and ecosystem services at the Forestry and Forest
Products Research Institute, Kyoto University as well as at Tohoku University. At RIHN, he is to study wise and fairuse of diverse resources.

Researchers
KOBAYASHI Kunihiko

Researcher

SHIBATA Rei

Researcher

KARATSU Fukiko

Research Associate21

e-REC Project

Biodiversity-driven Nutrient Cycling andHuman Well-being in Social-Ecological Systems
OKUDA Noboru RIHN

Project Leader

Progra m 2

My specialty is ecology, the field of study concerned with the relationships between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. One of
ecology’s central questions is why humankind should conserve biodiversity. As a member of the Center for Ecological Research at Kyoto
University, I have approached this question by integrating different research fields related to biodiversity from gene to ecosystem. At
present, I am developing methods for adaptive watershed governance that allow new environmental knowledge to reconcile global,
regional, and local ecological issues. I should also say that I love nature and humanity and how they come together very much!

Research background and objectives
Technological innovations in the use of nutrients for foodproduction, in particular nitrogen and phosphorus, haveallowed global increases in population and economic
prosperity in the twentieth century. Overexploitation ofnutrient resources, however, affects biogeochemical cycles
and can lead to nutrient imbalances, eutrophication andloss of biodiversity. It is now recognized that nutrient
imbalances and biodiversity loss are prevalent inwatersheds around the world, and pose a risk to sustainablehuman development.
In spite of such risk, most citizens are not so interested
in global environmental issues but are rather concerned
about local issues related to their lives and livelihoods.
Considering this dissonance in environmental
consciousness, we aim to develop a framework for adaptive
watershed governance to enhance social-ecological healthof watershed system (Fig. 1).

Research methods
We facilitate stakeholder engagement in community
activities in order to enhance biodiversity, nutrient cycling
and human well-being, according to our hypothesisthat these are three components essential to the socialecological health of watershed system and, like gears, alsointerdependently linked into community activities (Fig.
2). We begin with action research to empower membersof each community within a watershed to conserve
indigenous environmental icons, defined as indigenous
nature with special significance to local life and livelihood(Process 1 in Fig. 2). As the value of engaging in suchconservation efforts is shared among community members,
community-based well-being is altered and reinforced

through bonding social capitals in a positive feedback of
biodiversity conservation and biodiversity-driven nutrient
cycling.
If such community activities enhance nutrient recyclingat the watershed scale, they may benefit a variety of
stakeholders other than the community members inways not easily registered by local cultural values but
inspired by the social-ecological health of watershedsystem . In disseminating our scientific understandingof the community dimensions of nutrient recycling, ourproject will facilitate social involvement in conservation
activities as well as green consumption of local products by
non-community members who appreciate social-ecologicalhealth. Such links accumulate bridging social capital andincrease economic incentives (Process 2 in Fig. 2). With
this scientific knowledge, community members may also
gain institutional support from local governments. Suchintegration of local and scientific knowledge further
enhances community-based well-being, and leads toempowerment of community activities.

Photos 1 Social engagement in biodiversity monitoring in the mid-stream
community of the Yasu River sub-watershed

Watershed scale

Social‐ecologicalhealth

Biodiversity
Nutrient
cyclingHumanwell‐being

Enhancement of
human well‐being

Enhancement of
biodiversity &nutrient recycling
Integration ofknowledge

Assessment

Synoptic
research

Dissemination
Process 2

Economic
incentives

Assessment

Sharing of cultural values

Social‐ecologicalhealthBridgingsocial capitals

Institutional
supportGreen consuming

Social involvement

Biodiversity

Community
activity

Well‐being

Learning from local knowledge

Nutrient cycling
Empowerment
Scientist
Learning from scientific knowledge
ForestIndigenous
environmental icon
Process 1

Local community
Institutional support

Local scale

Urban

Communal cooperation
Bondingsocial capitals

Lake

River
CroplandGovernment

Figure 1 A conceptual schema of adaptive watershed governance22
http://www.chikyu.ac.jp/e-rec/

Figure 2 A working hypothesis of how biodiversity, nutrient cycling and humanwell-being are enhanced through the adaptive watershed governance

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160

To investigate this positive feedback process, we compare
consequences of our watershed governance activities in
two extreme watersheds in Asia: the Lake Biwa Watershed(Japan) and the Laguna de Bay Watershed (Philippines).
The former is an infrastructure-oriented society and thelatter a high-nutrient loading society.

winter irrigation. Sharing of cultural values among thecommunity members improved local engagement inconservation activities (Photos 1 & Fig. 3). We also foundthat eco-friendly farming had positive effects on wetland
biodiversity, suggesting that the brown frog can serve as anindicator of local biodiversity as well as of the communitybased well-being.
In the Laguna de Bay Watershed, in contrast, recent
economic development has led to expansion of residential
areas into the mid-stream area of the Silan-Santa Rosa
sub-watershed. In downstream urban areas, nutrient
loadings and eutrophication have led to significant loss of
biodiversity. At present, people within the watershed are
dependent on groundwater resources for drinking andirrigation and they are therefore highly concerned about
groundwater overexploitation and pollution. Following ourassessment of groundwater pollution, a watershed forum
will be organized as a platform to discuss sustainable andfair use of groundwater resources. We will also conduct theaction research to empower the mid-stream community
to conserve a communal spring as an indigenous
environmental icon (Photos 2).

Research progress

Perspectives

We practiced action research in the mid-stream
community of the Yasu River sub-watershed of Lake Biwa.
Based on exercises to explore the cultural significance ofindigenous nature, farmers identified a brown frog as an
indigenous environmental icon and practiced eco-friendly
farming to conserve its habitat. Monitoring revealed thatthe brown frog prefers to spawn in rice paddies with

In developed societies, sewage treatment and tap water
infrastructure systems have reduced eutrophication andimproved comfort and convenience. Environmental
consciousness, however, has receded from the nature ofwetlands. What enhances our well-being? Is it enhanced
by infrastructure? Our research seeks answers to thesequestions together with a variety of stakeholders.

Winter irrigation
Inner drainage

140
120
100
80

Indigenous environmental icon

60
40
20
0

2014

2015

2016

2017

Figure 3 A nnual changes in the number of rice paddies in which eco-friendly
farming was practiced. The community members regarded a brownfrog as an indigenous environmental icon in 2016

No. of egg clutch
in 2015

No. of egg clutch
in 2016

Figure 4 The number of rice paddies spawned by brown frog increased with the prevalence of eco-friendly farming

a

b

c

d

e

f

Photos 2 In the mid-stream community of Silan-Santa Rosa sub-watershed, a communal spring serves as a drinking fountain (a), a chapel(b), a bath (c). Its admission fee is used for a community feast (d). A workshop on the sustainable use of communal spring (e-f)

Sub Leader
YACHI Shigeo
Researchers at RIHN
IKEYA Tohru
ISHIBASHI Hiroyuki
ISHIDA Takuya
Main Members
IWATA Tomoya
BAN Syuhei
OSONO Takashi
TAYASU Ichiro

Kyoto University

Researcher
Researcher
Researcher

University of Yamanashi
The University of Shiga Prefecture
Doshisha University
RIHN

LAMBINO, Ria Adoracion Apostol Researcher
UEHARA Yoshitoshi
Researcher
WATANABE Kirie
Research Associate
WAKITA Kenichi
ASANO Satoshi
SANTOS-BORJA, Adelina C.

Ryukoku University
Lake Biwa Environmental Research Institute
Laguna Lake Development Authority, Philippines23Research Program 3

Designing Lifeworlds of Sustainability
and Wellbeing
More than 60% of the world’s population resides in Asia and over a third of global economic activity
occurs there. Asia is comprised of an incredible diversity of cultures, histories, societies, economies,
livelihoods, and ecologies. Asia is also affected by myriad global and local environmental issues,
such as population increase, air, water, soil, and coastal pollution, increasing greenhouse gas
emissions, and biodiversity loss. The region is also affected by growing wealth disparity, social
isolation, rising levels of poverty, and the disappearance of traditional cultures and knowledge.
The combination of migration between the countryside and cities, rural depopulation, and urban
concentration is accompanied by rapid socio-cultural change, over-exploitation of resources, anddeterioration of natural environments. Both urban and rural lifeworlds are disintegrating rapidly.
As a consequence, in reconstructing the lifeworld concept and highlighting the reciprocal
linkages between rural and urban spaces, Program 3 designs lifeworlds of sustainability andwellbeing and co-creates concrete pathways for their realization. Program research is based on thediverse world-views and accumulation of experience of human-nature co-existence. These latentsocio-cultural elements, such as livelihood styles, lay knowledge, conflict resolution strategies, andthe vitality of the people themselves can be called upon to address contemporary problems andto help chart a course toward possible future societies. Program 3 builds upon these experiences
and knowledges of human-nature interaction to propose concrete changes needed to achieve asustainable society.
The transformations and frameworks leading to sustainable urban and rural lifeworld design, will
also entail fundamental shifts in existing economic systems, markets, and political decision-making
systems. Rather than investigating top-down approaches to system change, Program 3 will work withlocal residents, government officials, companies, citizen groups and other stakeholders to propose
sustainable alternatives and gauge their feasibility.
In order to avoid the risk of developing proposals that are only applicable to specific regions orsites, Program 3 will aim for research results that are generalizable while also retain the diversity at
the heart of local lifeworlds and wellbeing.

24
The varieties of fruits and vegetables for sale at the market in Kanchanaburi reflect Thailand’s changing societySocialization of composting type toilet in Burkina Faso, Photo by ITO Ryusei

Program Director SAIJO Tatsuyoshi RIHN
Tatsuyoshi Saijo (4th from left) specializes in designing social systems that promote sustainability and equity
without inhibiting individual incentive. His interest is in developing the field of “Future Design”, one that links thehappiness and wellbeing of current generation to that of future generations.

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FEAST Project

Lifeworlds of Sustainable Food Consumption
and Production: Agrifood Systems in Transition
Project Leader

Steven R. McGREEVY RIHN

Steven R. McGreevy is an environmental sociologist (Kyoto University Ph.D. 2012) and associate professor at RIHN. He has a backgroundin agriculture, rural sustainable development, and environmental education. His research focuses on novel approaches to rural

Progra m 3

revitalization that utilize local natural resources, sustainable knowledge dynamics, sustainable agrifood and energy transition, and therelinking of patterns of food consumption and production in local communities.

Research Background

FEAST’s process of co-design and co-production ofsustainable food systems seeks to challenge mainstream
economic thinking on consumption and growth. In
engaging the public in structured debate of societal
relationships with food and nature, our project reorientsconsumers to consider themselves as citizens andco-producers of the foodscapes on which they depend.
FEAST seeks knowledge and mechanisms that can redefine
the notion of long-term food security.
FEAST Working Groups will produce four types ofknowledge relevant to catalyzing agrifood transitions(Figure 1). These are: 1) contextual knowledge ofcontemporary national, regional, and local food systems(production, distribution, and consumption); 2)
co-produced visions of alternative food consumption andproduction practices and corresponding municipal-leveltransition plans identifying research, education, andpolicy needs; 3) modeling- and scenario-based knowledge
supporting deliberation and planning processes; and4) knowledge of two intervention strategies: the social
learning dynamics affecting execution and effectivenessof workshop-based consensus-building for collective foodaction; and the significance of new methods of market
transparency (e.g. eco-labels, food impact smartphoneapps) in food system change.

Agrifood systems in Asia face a myriad of sustainability
challenges related to declining environmental health(GHG emissions, resource overuse, pollution, soil fertility),loss of diversity (biological, cultural, knowledge), anddeterioration of small-scale farming due to globalizing
market forces. At points of consumption, over-relianceon globalized food flows limits consumer agency anddecreases food security and sovereignty. Diets increasingly
composed of processed foods also negatively impact publichealth (rise in diabetes, obesity). The ways in which food isprovided, consumed and governed need urgent change, but
we lack understanding of how agrifood transitions emerge
and take root, or of the role of existing and alternative
institutions and policy, social practices, future visions,and economic arrangements, in advancing sustainabletransitions.

Research Overview and Objectives
The FEAST project takes a transdisciplinary approach
to explicate the reality of, and potential for, sustainableagrifood transition in Asia. Individual field sites arelocated in Japan, Thailand, Bhutan, and China. Taking
a lifeworld perspective, we analyze patterns of foodconsumption, the socio-cultural significance of foodpractices, and the potential of consumer-based agency
to change deeply held cultural notions and regional foodsystems. We also develop structural descriptions of thefood system, by mapping national, regional, and local
production, distribution, and consumption contexts. In
combining socio-cultural and structural descriptions of therelationships between production and consumption, we areable to conduct visioning workshops with stakeholders andinitiate food citizenship-oriented experiments and actions.

Progress to Date
Over the past year, FEAST has made progress on a numberof areas of research.
The Ecological Footprint of Japan’s food consumption
by sector and COICOP category was analyzed, revealing

Figure 1 Diagram detailing how each FEAST working group is organizedaround the question of “What knowledge is necessary to catalyze
sustainable agrifood transition?” Four kinds of knowledge arelisted: 1) Current system and contextual knowledge; 2) Visions ofsustainable future systems knowledge; 3) Future system scenario
knowledge; and 4) Knowledge associated with intervention andtransition strategies.

Photo 1 Urban agricultural land use change in Kyoto City from 2007 to 2017.
A loss of 10% of agricultural productive land (1897 ha to 1696 ha)(Colored grids indicate mapped area, white = persistent, black = lost,
yellow = gained).

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that importation of animal feed and ingredients processed
into ready-to-eat meals sold at convenience store andsupermarkets are the most impactful.
Satellite imagery was used to map both formal andinformal urban agricultural land use change in Kyoto
City. The research found that Kyoto City has lost about
10% of its agricultural productive land (from 1897 ha in2007 to 1696 ha in 2017) in the last 10 years to housingdevelopment (40% post-ag. use) and abandonment (28%post-ag. use), even though it is a shrinking city. (Photo 1)
A comprehensive, multi-method survey of consumer
eating habits and orientations to food including a web
survey (n=1300) for Kyoto City, Nagano City, andNoshiro City (Akita) was conducted, as well as focus
group interviews and photograph records of consumed
foods for Kameoka City. Statistical analysis showed avariety of consumer types based on diet diversity and rice
acquirement.
Multi-method workshops to envision ideal meals
and food systems were held in Kyoto City (visioning,backcasting, and role-playing) and Kameoka City
(visioning) with local food-related actors and government
officials. Over fifty participants joined altogether. The
visions and backcasting results will be included into futurescenario modelling next year. (Photo 2)
Focus-group workshops on the future of food-related
practices—purchasing, home cooking, and eating
out—with “green,” “general,” and “innovative” consumer
groups were conducted in Bangkok. Found that each group
had very different ideas about desirable futures for eachpractice and that consensus building is needed to form
concrete policy recommendations.
Municipal agricultural policies and policy plans in
Akita, Nagano, and Kyoto were surveyed to gauge policy
orientation toward agroecological principles and a “food as
a commons” perspective. An intensive analysis of 14 plansfound a significant disconnect in municipal and national
government policy orientation.
FEAST has finalized research partnerships with Noshiro
City, Akita, and Royal University of Bhutan.

Photo 2 Consumer workshops on visioning food futures, held in Kyoto City
(upper left), backcasting group work output (upper right), food systemrole-playing video game (bottom left), food policy council simulator game(bottom right).

Photo 3 Kyoto Farmer’s Market and Symposium “Transition to a Sustainable Society
with Farmers Markets” held November 23, 2017 at RIHN.

Photo 4 FEAST Project Annual Assembly held January 6-7, 2018 at RIHN.
Sub Leader
TAMURA Norie
Researchers at RIHN
KOBAYASHI Mai
RUPPRECHT, Christoph D. D.
OTA Kazuhiko
Main Members
TSUCHIYA Kazuaki
HARA Yuji
AKITSU Motoki
TACHIKAWA Masashi
TANIGUCHI Yoshimitsu
NAKAMURA MariRIHN Senior Researcher

Researcher
Researcher
Researcher

The University of Tokyo
Wakayama University
Kyoto University
Nagoya University
Akira Prefectural University
Nagoya Bunri University

IMAIZUMI Aki
SPIEGELBERG, Maximilian
MATSUOKA Yuko
KOBAYASHI Yuko
TANAKA KeikoSUDO Shigeto
SHIBATA Akira
KISHIMOTO-MO Ayaka
INABA Atsushi

Researcher
Researcher
Research Associate
Research Associate

University of Kentucky, USA
National Agriculture and Food Research Organization
Ritsumeikan University
National Agriculture and Food Research Organization
Kogakuin University

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Sanitation Project

The Sanitation Value Chain: Designing
Sanitation Systems as Eco-Community-Value
SystemProject Leader

YAMAUCHI Taro RIHN/Hokkaido University

Progra m 3

Dr. Taro Yamauchi is a professor at the Faculty of Health Sciences, Hokkaido University. He has a B.S., a M.S. and a Ph.D. in Health Sciencesfrom the University of Tokyo. He does intensive fieldwork in a hunter-gather society, rural villages and urban slums in developing
counties to understand lifestyle and health of local populations and their adaptation to their living environments. His researchinterests also include sanitation and participatory action research involving local children, youth and adults. He is Vice-President of
the International Association of Physiological Anthropology (IAPA) and an executive member of International Society for the Study of
Human Growth and Clinical Auxology (ISGA).

Sanitation generally refers to the provision of facilities andservices for the safe disposal of human urine and feces.
UN Millennium Development Goals Report 2015 reported
that 2.4 billion people are still using unimproved sanitation
facilities, including 946 million people who are stillpracticing open defecation. The developing world still has
high under-five mortality and poverty rates. The world’s
population is estimated to reach approximately 10 billion
in 2050, and this population growth will happen mostly
in developing countries. At the same time, depopulation
and aging are increasing, especially in rural area ofdeveloped world, and the financial capability of many local
governments—which are key agents in the management ofsanitation systems—is getting weaker.
Sanitation systems are essential for promoting publichealth, preventing environmental pollution, conserving
ecosystem functions, and recycling resources. The questionof how to handle the waste of 10 billion people is therefore
highly relevant to the global environment.

Working hypothesis of the research
The project investigates the following hypotheses:
Hypothesis 1: Current sanitation problems are caused bya dissociation between the value which is provided by thesanitation system and the values of the individual people
and/or the community of the people.
Hypothesis 2: Sanitation technologies cannot work wellwithout a social and institutional support system. The
mismatch between prerequisites of technologies and local
characteristics additionally complicates sanitation issues.

Key concept – Sanitation Value chain as a solution(Figure1)
The project proposes a new concept, the Sanitation Value
Chain, which has the following dimensions:
1) Places the values of people and community in thecenter of discussion, and prepares the sanitation system tocorrespond to this value chain; 2) Designs the sanitation
system by focusing on direct incentives for individual
users and communities; 3) Recognizes a sanitation
system as an integrated system with social and technicalunits; 4) Designs the sanitation system by making a good
match between social characteristics and prerequisites oftechnologies

Goals of the project
The goals of this research project are to: 1) propose theconcept of Sanitation Value Chain in relation to bothdeveloping and developed countries; 2) design several
pilot studies demonstrating the significance of societal,
academic, and professional involvement in the co-creationof this value chain; and 3) contribute to the establishmentof a new interdisciplinary academic foundation regardingon sanitation.

Research topics for achieving the goals
Topic–1 Life and Sanitation: By field survey, we learn about
the values of people and the norm for humanexcreta, and reevaluate the sanitation system in
relation to the residents lives.
Households

Urine &
CompostProduct

Product

Compensation

Compensation

Compensation28
http://www.chikyu.ac.jp/sanitation_value_chain/

Compensation

Compensation

Compensation

Fertilizer

Fertilizer

Collector
Figure 1 The Sanitation Value Chain acts within and between other importantsocial values. Example for people in rural area of Burkina Faso (Figure
by KATAOKA Yoshimi)

Farmers

MarketFertilizer

Transport

MiddlestationFigure 2 The Sanitation Value Chain acts within and between other importantsocial values. Example in urban area of Indonesia (Figure by USHIJIMA
Ken)

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15.8%
Drinking water

27.7%

Surface of cup

72.3%

84.2%

Hand before wash and eating
Outdoor soil

Others,4.4%

Outdoorplay, 5.4%

Drinking,
15.4%

Bathing in
pond, 74.8%

Photo 1 Meeting with people in Bandung City, Indonesia (Photo by IKEMI Mayu)

Coverage of total daily exposure amount by
each pathway, %Figure 3 E
 . coli exposure pathways. Example of measurement in Bangladesh,
From: Harada et al. (2017) Fecal exposure analysis and E. colipathotyping: a case study of a Bangladeshi slum, International
Symposium on Green Technology for Value Chains 23-24 October,
2017, Balai Kartini, Jakarta.

Topic–2 Technology: We identify prerequisites ofsanitation technologies and reevaluate the valuethat sanitation will give us. In addition, we develop
new sanitization technology to make use of thevalue chain by understanding the values of people
and local conditions.
Topic–3 Co-creation of sanitation value chain: We identify
stakeholders and describe the value structuresof people and communities, and analyze thehierarchy and structure of stakeholders’ value
chain and evaluate their aﬃnities. We demonstrateco-creation process of the sanitation value chain.
Topic-4 Visualization: In order to co-create the value chain,
it is necessary to make efforts to communicate
research results to actors and stakeholders.
Utilizing resources and institutional collaborationof RIHN, we will develop a method to express andtransmit outcomes using various media.

Research sites
The project is performing field studies at four sites: 1) the
rural area in Ishikari River Basin, Hokkaido; 2) the ruralarea of Burkina Faso; 3) the urban area in Indonesia; and 4)
the peri-urban area in Zambia.

Achievements in FR studies(1) Toilet for recycling resources. We have developed
functioning toilet technologies necessary for thesanitation value chain (Figure 2) by making urine in
the urban area valuable as fertilizer, the “Toilet thatcan concentrate urine” and “Toilet that can makephosphorus fertilizer”.
(2) Tracking propagation of pathogens. Pathogenic
bacteria propagate through various routes. We have
Sub Leader
FUNAMIZU Naoyuki

Muroran Institute of Technology

Researchers at RIHN
HAYASHI Koji
NAKAO Seiji

Researcher

Main Members
ITO Ryusei
USHIJIMA Ken
IKEMI Mayu
KATAOKA Yoshimi
SANO Daisuke
NAKATANI Tomoaki
NABESHIMA Takako

Researcher

Hokkaido University
Hokkaido Research Organization
Sapporo International University
Hokkaido University
Tohoku University
Yokohama City University
Hokkaido University

Photo 2 Activities of a children’s club formed in Lusaka City, Zambia (Photo by
Sikopo P. NYAMBE)

developed a molecular biological method of tracking
this propagation. In Bangladesh we found that: 1)
the most important route of pollution is bathing.
The contribution the of water and food route is 16%(Figure 3); 2) the contamination of drinking cups ismore important (72%) than of the water itself (28%);3) the types of E. coli contained in human excreta anddrinking water are different.
(3) Building relationship with people. We have createdrelationships with locals toward co-creation ofsanitation value chains in the fields (Burkina Faso,
Indonesia, Ishikari [Japan] and Zambia) (Photo 1 andPhoto 2).
(4) A new international
academic journal on
sanitation. Our project
members have begun
to edit the international
academic journal
Sanitation Value Chain(ISSN: 2432-5066) inwhich papers from all over
the world are published(Figure 4) Journal website:
http://www.chikyu.ac.jp/
sanitation_value_chain/
Figure 4 International academic
journal.html.
Journal “Sanitation Value
Chain”KIMURA Ayako
HONMA Saki
FUJIWARA Taku
HARADA Hidenori
INOUE Takashi
SINTAWADANI, Neni
NYAMBE, Imasiku Anayaw
LOPEZ ZAVALA, Miguel Ange

Research Associate
Research Associate

Kochi University
Kyoto University
Hokkaido University
Indonesian Institute of Science (LIPI), Indonesia
University of Zambia, Zambia
Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, Mexico

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Core Program

The Core Program develops concepts and methodologies for transdisciplinary research to solve
global environmental problems in collaboration with society. Core projects develop comprehensive
and systematic concepts and methodologies for transdisciplinary research, which are widely
applicable to global environmental issues, and accessible to related stakeholders.
Core projects produce conceptual and methodological frameworks together with RIHN Research
Projects, based on individual methods, techniques, and tools from the divisions in the RIHN Center.
Core projects collaborate with Research Projects, building on the case studies developed by theseprojects, and develop comprehensive and systematic methodologies beyond an individual Research
Program or Project. Core projects also deliver completed concepts and methodology to Research
Programs and Projects, the RIHN Center, and related stakeholders.
(See additional Core Program description on page 8.)

Core FS

Co-Design and Stakeholder Engagement
According to Geographical Scales
ONISHI Yuko RIHN

Program Director

TANIGUCHI Makoto RIHN

Prof. Dr. Makoto Taniguchi is a hydrologist and a deputy Director-General at RIHN. He received a Ph.D. fromThe Tsukuba University, Japan in 1987. He is currently the vice president of the International Association of
Hydrogeologists and the president of the Japanese Association of Groundwater Hydrology. He has been working
on water-related projects around the world, in particular Asia, authoring or co-authoring over 170 peer reviewed
articles and 8 books including “Groundwater and Subsurface Environment”, “The Dilemma of Boundaries” and“Groundwater as a Key for Adaptation to the Changing Climate and Society”.

Researcher
LEE, Sanghyun

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Researcher

Core Progra m

Environmental Traceability Project

Proposal and Verification of the Validity of
Isotope Environmental Traceability Methodology
in Environmental Studies
Project Leader

TAYASU Ichiro RIHN

Dr. TAYASU was Assistant Professor at RIHN (2002), Associate Professor at Kyoto University (2003), and is currently a Professor at RIHN
(2014). His research focuses on isotope ecology and isotope environmental science.

In this project, we investigate environmental traceability
as a key concept needed to solve environmental issues forvarious stakeholders. Stable isotope ratios of elements,
together with concentrations of elements, can trace theflow of matter and chemicals through the environment,
better describe ecosystem structure and conditions, andappraise the chemical profiles of food products. Spatiotemporal variation of multiple isotope ratios can be used to
study Earth systems operating at local to global scales. This
information can serve an important decision-making tool
for local people considering water, food and environmental
security, all of which are fundamental for the sustainabilityof human society.
This study seeks to establish methodologies for the use ofenvironmental traceability in environmental studies. A
combination of quantitative and qualitative tools, including“Multi-Isoscapes”, (the use of multiple elements and isotope
ratios together with GIS-based mapping techniques), social
surveys, and workshops are deployed to investigate the roleof environmental traceability in addressing environmental
issues. We hypothesize that the role and perception of

traceability methods in transdisciplinary processes will
differ among stakeholders and that the co-productionof “Multi-Isoscapes” can act as an effective bridging
tool for understanding and explaining variation in local
environments. The ultimate objective of this research is todemonstrate the effectiveness of multi-isotopic information
in solving global environmental issues.
Project research tests (I) the effectiveness of theenvironmental traceability concept in environmental
studies by comparing case studies in which isotopic
methods were initiated by local government, citizen
groups, and researchers; (II) the extent to which thesedifferent stakeholders hold different views of the conceptsof food traceability and environmental traceability andthe effectivity of these concepts in communicating links
between food production and consumption. Field researchis taking place in Japan at sites in Ono City, Fukui; Otsuchi
Town, Iwate; Saijo City, Ehime; Oshino Village, Yamanashi;
the Chikusa river watershed, Hyogo; Lake Biwa andsurrounding watershed in Shiga; as well as in the Lagunade Bay and surrounding watershed in the Philippines.

Photo 1 Hongan-Shozu pond in Ono City, Fukui, recharged by ground water

Photo 2 A symposium held in Oshino Village, where we used a questionnaire
for studying the effect of environmental traceability methodology

Researcher at RIHN
FUJIYOSHI Lei
Main Members
NAKANO Takanori
SHIN Ki-Cheol
YABUSAKI Shiho
KONDO Yasuhisa
OKUDA Noboru
MCGREEVY, Steven R.
MORI Seiichi
YOKOO Yoriko

Researcher

RIHN / Waseda University
RIHN
RIHN
RIHN
RIHN
RIHN
Gifu Keizai University

YAMADA Yoshihiro
KAERIYAMA Toshiaki
TOKUMASU Minoru
OOMORI Noboru
OHKUSHI Ken’ichi
MITSUHASHI Hiromune
YOKOYAMA Tadashi

Kagawa University
Gratitude to the Water Foundation
Saijo City Oﬃce
Oshino Village Office
Kobe University
University of Hyogo / Museum of Nature and Human Activities, Hyogo
Hyogo prefectural Ako School for Students with Special Needs

Doshisha University

http://www.chikyu.ac.jp/rihn_e/project/2017-03.html

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Open Team Science Project

Information Asymmetry Reduction in OpenTeam Science for Socio-environmental Cases
Project Leader

KONDO Yasuhisa RIHN

Core Progra m

Yasuhisa Kondo has worked for four years as an associate professor at the Information Resources Division of the RIHN Center. Originally,
he studied archaeology and geographical information sciences (The University of Tokyo PhD 2010). He is currently interested inopen science, participatory action research, and transdisciplinary research promotion for environmental archaeology and socioenvironmental cases. He is also coordinating an archaeological mission to Oman.

This Core Project develops a theory and methodology to
reduce information asymmetry between actors in teambased science for socio-environmental cases.
Social issues caused by environment deterioration
are often so complex that solution-oriented research isteam-based and involves research experts from different
domains in interdisciplinary (ID) projects as well aspractitioners such as governments, funders, industries,
non-profit organizations, and members of civil society intransdisciplinary (TD) projects. Such team-based science isoften disrupted by information asymmetry—a condition inwhich one party has relevant information while the others
do not—between participants, as they are actors withdifferent values, knowledge, and socioeconomic status.
This asymmetry leads to different understandings of focal
issues and other actors.
In our working hypothesis, information asymmetry canbe reduced through a combination of: (1) diversion, or an
approach to divert a wicked problem between stakeholders
to a sharable object or goal for which all actors, including
the unengaged public, can work together; (2) participationand empowerment of marginalized (or ‘small voice’)actors; (3) fair data visualization; and (4) dialogue. These
approaches work to re-calibrate the influence of dominant
actors such as principal investigator (PI) in ID projects
and research experts, funders, and policy makers in TD
projects.

As an example of the holistic approach to diversion, ID
projects may employ a “switched explanation” in which
particular research results are explained by counterpart
experts. Civic tech, or participatory co-production ofsolutions for local issues by self-motivated civic engineers
using information and communication technologies andopen data, is applied where appropriate in the TD cases.
The FAIR data principle (that data is Findable, Accessible,
Interoperable, and Reusable) is introduced to encourage
researchers to provide their data to the public (the FAIR
principle is useful when researchers are reluctant to follow
the open data license, in which ‘anyone can freely access,use, modify, and share data for any purpose’ in sensu
stricto).
This working hypothesis is tested in ID, TD, and ID-TD
transitional case studies, including community-based
waterweed recycling in the Lake Biwa catchment, Japan.
The effects of problem diversion on project progress andparticipants’ perceptual transformation are measured
through participatory observation, semi-structured
interviews, and periodical questionnaire surveys. Basedon these assessments, the hypothesis is improved andtested again. This Hypothesis-Practice-Assessment Cycle
is repeated flexibly to improve the methodology, whichco-evolves and integrates the open science and TD theories
as a new paradigm for environmental studies.

Transdisciplinary (TD) Team
Science

Open Science

Methodology for
Information Asymmetry Reduction‐ Diversion‐ Empowerment‐ Visualization‐ Dialogue

Open Team Science

Figure 1 This Core Project integrates open science and transdisciplinary teamscience theories to create an open team science methodology.

Main Members
KANO Kei
KUMAZAWA Terukazu
NAKASHIMA Ken’ichiro
ONISHI Hideyuki
OSAWA Takeshi

Photo1 Graphic recording works as a method for fair data visualization anddialogue in civic tech workshops.

Hiroshima University

NAKATSUKA Takeshi
OKUDA Noboru
YAMAUCHI Taro

Doshisha Women’s College of Liberal Arts

A project researcher to be appointed

Shiga University
RIHN

RIHN
RIHN
RIHN/Hokkaido University

Tokyo Metropolitan University32
http://www.chikyu.ac.jp/opents/

Core FS Core FR① Core FR② Core FR③
2018

Above: ABE Ken-ichi, Tanokamimodoshi, Satsumasendai, Kagoshima, Japan
Bottom: OSHIUMI Keiichi, A train running through Maeklong Market, Thailand

33