Projects that have been continued for 20 years will not necessarily survive for the next 10 years. Retirement or position change may occur for principal investigators and will be terminated incidentally. That for governmental institutions are their mother organizations, i.e., the Environment Agency, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and others. Contribution of funding from private foundations seems to be small. The te rms for these funds are mostly 2-3 years.
Researchers have to be reviewed for the continuation of research.
National parks are potential sites for LTER activities. There are visitor centers or wildlife centers managed by the Environment Agency in each of the national parks. Although these visitor centers are not designed for research work, wildlife centers faci litate research activities. The projects are not designed for long-term or for monitoring. However the possibilities of relating these JICA projects to LTER activi ties is a worth while consideration.