Environmental Studies

Environmental Studiesの風景

The status and importance of the East Asian region—i.e. Northeast Asia and Southeast Asia—in the global economy is rapidly expanding. For this reason, its role in promoting sustainable development must also grow accordingly. The global economy is increasingly relying on maintaining East Asian competitiveness as a driver for growth. The sustainable development of East Asia—in terms of the balance between different economic sectors, regions, and generations, and also in terms of the stability of the environment, food, and energy—has become a crucial strategic issue. However, in reality, East Asia is facing vulnerabilities such as environmental and pollution problems; regional, ethnic and individual socio-economic inequalities; a lack of proper social security systems; corporate governance issues; instability of food and energy supplies; and many other issues that cannot be ignored. To solve these problems, there is a need to strengthen economic cooperation among countries in East Asia and construct a new sustainable development model, and at the same time there are a host of issues to overcome in the political, social, and cultural dimensions.
In this Division we employ an interdisciplinary approach to carry out international comparative research, especially related to environmental governance, natural resources and energy policies, food security, and rural and urban development.

 

Projects for the 2015 academic year

  • * Thinking about Food and Agriculture Sustainability: Workshop between Japanese and Tailand Students (Led by Motoki Akitsu, Graduate School of Agriculture)
  • * International Comparative Research on the State of Food Security and International Agricultural Investment in East and Southeast Asia (Led by Shuji Hisano, Graduate School of Economics)

 

kankyou2Projects for the 2014 academic year

  • * Green Reform of Energy and Environmental Finance for Sustainable Development in East Asia (Led by Kazuhiro Ueta, Graduate School of Economics)
  • * International Comparative Research on the State of Food Security and International Agricultural Investment in East and Southeast Asia (Led by Shuji Hisano, Graduate School of Economics)


Key Words
Environmental Governance, Agriculture & Food Systems, Rural/Urban Development, Sustainability Innovation