Partner Projects
The JAGUAR Project collaborates with several patner projects in Japan that address biological diversity and ecosystem services.
Green Network of Excellence (GRENE)
The GRENE funding programme was launched by the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) in 2011 with a duration of five years. The programme is part of the initiatives that followed the adoption of the 'Basic Policy on Science and Technology' in which the environment and the ernergy sector are named as key areas. In this context so-called 'Green Innovations' are the overarching goal. The subject areas in which innovative, environmentally friendly solutions are sought include biodiversity, water, agriculture, the carbon cycle, urban areas and health. The University of Tokyo together with other renowned scientific institutions in Japan is involved in the implementation of the programme. The JAGUAR Project collaborates with a subproject that focuses on 'Increasing resilience at the catchment area level' with a case study area in the Town of Kuromatsunai in southern Hokkaido. Conservation of biodiversity, sustainable use of water resources and agriculture are the topics in this study. A Japanese language website is available here.
Global Centre of Excellence 'Asian Conservation Biology'
In the 'Global Centre of Excellence' programme of the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) a centre on 'Asian Conservation Biology' was formed in 2011. It is coordinated jointly by scientists at Kyushu University and the University of Tokyo. Subprojects of the Centre are active in Kuromatsunai ('Kuromatsunai Frontier Collaborative Project') and in the Mikatagoko area (Mikata Core Site Project'). The work in Kuromatsunai complements the research carried out under the GRENE programme (see above), and in the Mikatagoko area the studies build on the results of the Mikatagoko restoration project (see below).
Restoration project at Mikatagoko
In the area of the Mikatagoko lake system a transdisciplinary research project with the title 'Integrated Study of the Lake Mikata Ecosystem toward the Restoration using Japanese eel and Cyprinid Fish as Icon Species' was carried out by colleagues at Tokyo University between 2009 and 2011. The project was funded by the Japanese Minsitry of the Environment through the 'Environmental Research and Technology Development' programme. This project has developed the foundaions for restoration measures that are now being implemented by Fukui Prefecture together with the scientists and local stakeholders.
Modelling the distribution of plants and animals under land use change
The working group on ecological modelling at the National Institute of Environmental Studies (NIES) in Tsukuba is carrying out several projects with the aim of estimating the future distribution of animal and plant species in Japan under scenarios of demographic change and related changes in land use patterns ('Development of a tool for optimizing large-scale land use to conserve biodiversity'). The goal is to develop a computer-based tool to support the planning of effective and efficient measures to implement the National Biodiversity Strategy and the Aichi Targets of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity.