Vol. 2

Newsletter from GPSS-GLI

GLOBAL LEADERSHIP INITIATIVE

The Graduate Program in Sustainabi l ity Sc ience-

Global Leadership Init iat ive (GPSS -GLI)

Graduate School o f Frontier Sc iences, The University o f Tokyo

Special points of interest:

Exercise on Resilience (RE):

The Resilience Training pro-

gram addresses the develop-

ment of a resilient society

through work on recovery

projects related to the March

2011 earthquake and tsunami,

as well as studies of past disas-

ters.

Global Field Exercise (GFE):

The fieldwork exercise setting

is intended to broaden the

perspectives of students and

cultivate an on-the-ground

competency to identify and

resolve problems through

various activities.

Resilience - the ability to re-

cover from such external

disturbances - is a crucial fac-

tor in building a sustainable

society.

RE Tohoku Unit 1

GPSS-GLI Promotion Event 1

GFE Bangkok & Oasis Unit 2

Stakeholder Cooperation 3

Faculty Column 3

Students Activities

4

Table of Contents

After the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami that occurred three and a half years ago, the recovery process in Otsuchi town exhibits a multi-layer com-plex dynamics in terms of resilience. Hence, by observ-ing several aspects including coastal engineering, infra-structure, urban/regional planning, support for local businesses or sustainable fishery, the participants in the course were expected to identify problems in the current recovery challenges and to discuss how to create a resilient society against natural disasters in the con-text of current Japanese social conditions of aging and depopulation of rural areas. In this course, we discov-ered and discussed resili-ence in multiple-dimensions; from the gov-ernment’s point of view, as

well as bottom-up under-standing through local voices. We attempted to identify the complexity and analyzed different aspects of the issue at hand, such as resilience of what (community life versus infrastructure), to what (disaster versus social-economic changes), and for what (ensuring safety versus rebuilding livelihood). In do-ing so, we got in touch with key stakeholders in the inter-active process of recovery (community, government, NPOs/NGOs, local business, experts and academia). At the same time, we also reviewed the processes and efforts made in each sector and the remaining challenges as well as the cross-cutting issues, both pre-existing and emerg-ing. Finally, based on the above analysis, w e suggest-ed future plans for rebuilding social-economic structure, infrastructure and governance

in Otsuchi based on our un-derstanding of sustainability in terms of the recovery efforts of the town from a resilience point of view.

Tohoku team of GPSS-GLI

Exercise on Resilience (RE) Tohoku Unit

Tohoku Otsuchi image after 3.5 years

Feb 2015

The 3rd GPSS-GLI International Symposium

How Can We build “Kizuna” for Sustainability?

Students were interviewing the vision of recovery from the head of a Forestry NPO called Kirikiri World in Kirikiri, Otsuchi town. Exercise date: September 7- 14, 2014.

The Graduate Program in Sustainability Science -Global Leadership Initiative (GPSS-GLI) organized the third International Symposi-um on January 19th - 20th 2015, that discusses key issues related to sustainabil-ity science with a special

focus on “Kizuna” (絆). The

symposium received 114 participants (70 male and 44 female) with 33 nationalities and with involvement of various stakeholders.

“Kizuna”, a Japanese word meaning ‘linkage’ or ‘bond’ among people, became a buzzword after the Great East Japan Earthquake because it was the strong “Kizuna” rela-

tionship among peo-ple in the affected area and people

who support for reconstruc-tion. In the symposium, we discussed how we are able to establish sustainable society through enhancing organic linkages, Kizuna, which are complex subjects in Sustaina-bility Science, linkage among various stakeholders and so on.

The 3rd GPSS-GLI International Symposi-um- How Can We build “Kizuna” for Sustainability? : An Ecological Perspective. January 19 - 20, 2015.

Regions Environ-ment and Engi-neering Research Institute (CAREERI) of Chinese Acade-my of Sciences, Graduate School of Global Envi-ronmental Stud-ies of Sophia University and GPSS-GLI. 17 students from

the Japanese-side and 10 students from the Chinese-side participated in the field survey. The unit activities involved pre-liminary research workshops by CAREERI professors and local government offic-ers, visits to dams, irrigation channels, wetland, hydrological observations, and interview field survey. On August 3-15, 2014, the students were grouped into 5 teams based on their research proposals

and conducted their survey on topics including: 1) farmland transfer and adoption of water-saving irrigation technology, 2) water rights trading po-tential between industrial and agricul-tural sector, 3) public participation in water resources management, 4) role of environmental media in water-saving society construction, and 5) ecological tourism and industrial structure trans-formation. On August 13, the students reported their survey results and rec-ommendations to the practitioners from the local Water Conservancy Bu-reau and received valuable comments.

James Michael Ong, Doctoral student of GPSS-GLI

China supports over 20% of the world’s population with the agricultural produce grown on its arable land. How-ever, the arid and semi-arid regions of northern China experience the chal-lenge of managing the limited water resource for irrigated agricultural devel-opment. In the Heihe river basin, the second largest inland river in China, intensive agricultural practices in the middle reaches have resulted in envi-ronmental degradation to the lower reaches, which prompted environmen-tal conservation activities in recent years. The Heihe River basin, therefore, provides a suitable case for the students to consider how to achieve sustainable development economically as well as ecologically from the perspective of watershed management.

In the academic year 2014, the field exercise was jointly organized by three institutions including the Cold and Arid

The objective of this 2-week program was to explore and investigate various environmental and health risks associat-ed with urbanization in Bangkok, where the country is going through the transi-tion phase from developing to devel-oped country under rapid economic growth. The exercise goal was to pro-pose ways to manage or improve the public health risk in Bangkok.

In addition to lectures by the faculties of partnering universities, we visited sites that influence the environment

and health of Bangkok citizens, such as slum areas, night soil management facili-ty, and aeration ponds. The visit to aera-tion ponds—an inexpensive method to treat residential wastewater—was espe-cially interesting and provided insights into our research perspectives.

Additionally, half of the students con-ducted mosquito larvae sampling to deepen their understanding about vec-tor-borne diseases like Malaria and Den-gue fever. Other students visited Bangkhen Water Treatment Plant, the largest water treatment plant in Asia that serves residential water for the majority of Bangkok area. Participating students were divided into groups to work on group projects, where each focused on one aspect of health risk in Bangkok; air pollution, drinking water quality, solid waste management in slum area, and water tariff for vector-borne disease pre-

vention. The group work challenged us to work with students from diverse back-grounds. The time we spent in Bangkok was fruitful and invaluable; we gained hands-on experience through carrying out various experiments during and outside lectures, and given an opportunity to put the knowledge gained into practice during the group projects.

Precious Akampumuza, Master student & Eri Amasawa, Doctoral student of GPSS-GLI

Global Field Exercise (GFE) Bangkok Unit

Health risk assessment for vulnerable environment due to

urban development

PAGE 2 NEWSLETTER FROM GPSS -GLI :GLOBAL LEADERSHIP INITIATIVE VOL. 2

Global Field Exercise (GFE) Oasis Unit Sustainable integrated watershed management in arid and

semi-arid Regions: a case of the Heihe River basin case, China

Meeting with the staffs of Duang Prateep Founda-tion in Klong Toey slum. Exercise date: August 6 - 17, 2014.

Midterm review session for group project.

Guided field visit to irriga-tion channels. Exercise date: Aug 3 - 15, 2014.

GPSS-GLI hosted Mr. Kentaro Ichiki, Creative Director, Hakuhodo, to speak on the theme “Where Creativity and Sustainability Meet” For a change, the students of GPSS-GLI had the privilege of listening to a corporate industry ti-tan. The session was divided into two parts. The first part involved presenta-tion on “r3m|River Renovate Revolu-tion Module" of HAKUHODO developed under the guidance of Mr. Ichiki. The presentation focused on the efforts of Hakuhodo to create business initiates through sustainability ventures. The

second part of the presentation in-volved interaction between students and Hakuhodo team. GPSS-GLI students from different countries were asked to reflect on the presentation from their countries’ standpoint. Specifically, they were asked if the idea presented earlier was applicable in their countries.

The project developed by Hakuhodo looked at improving the environmental quality of the rivers in Tokyo through market mechanism. However, during the presentation, the focus was on the design aspect. The session gave us an opportunity to understand the practi-tioner’s perspectives of sustainability. The presentation focused on the eco-nomic and environmental aspects of sustainability and left out the social component of sustainability. The event served to bring about different perspec-tives. It is necessary that the academic community and the business world take

cognisance of this fact and work to-wards sustainable solutions which en-compass all dimensions. The event truly served as a bridge in creating such a space.

Vivek Anand Asokan, Master student of GPSS-GLI

Faculty Column The development of spatial concepts as tools for analysis in

territorial sustainability

Stakeholder Collaboration

Hakuhodo-UTokyo collaboration activity

problem-oriented approaches stating the desirable spatial distribution of the peri-urban landscape (Forman, 1995) was the main reason for the research. This way we address -from the begin-ning- human intentionality and causali-ty, proactively looking at land-use regu-lation for territorial sustainability as declared goal. From synthetic variables on spatial heterogeneity in the re-search, we measure and model land-scape characteristics as a system. Final-ly, by deploying the original Composi-tional Optimum method (Aran, 2007), we produce a territorial macro-diagnostic which states deficits and potentials of the landscape. This can be achieved from the universally-desirable landscape characteristics, while having in mind its natural and cultural unique-ness.

From this perspective in fact, existing peri-urban areas -if properly designed-

may foster the desirable heterogeneity levels to the whole landscape, eventu-ally increasing its biodiversity and resili-ence. The actual transition into the “shrinking city” phase can be seen as an opportunity in this direction, framing

the required socio-environmental pro-duction landscapes (eg. in energy-descent scenarios) inside metropoli-tan regions.

Domenec Aran, Visiting Research of GPSS-GLI

For the proper characterization of the diverse, cumulative impacts over natural and human systems, we rely on holistic approaches providing integra-tive conceptual framework at the same time than integrating the spatial dimen-sion.

As a result, the search of systemic solutions and strategies deployed in urban areas increasingly derive sustain-ability characteristics from natural eco-systems, transposed into the problem-atic of the city; conceived as human ecosystems, for example. As context, since the beginning of industrialization an increasing number of landscapes are subject to human alteration, resource overuse, and planning and manage-ment decisions. Although not being fully addressed, those complex territo-ries have become in fact the dominant units of nature worldwide.

The possibility to develop normative,

PAGE 3 NEWSLETTER FROM GPSS -GLI :GLOBAL LEADERSHIP INITIATIVE VOL. 2

Dr. Domenec Aran holds a PhD from Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, Geography Depart-ment and additional background in Environmen-tal Sciences, Landscape Architecture and Region-al Planning.

Panel discussion. July 14, 2014.

Guest lecture by Mr. Kentaro Ichiki, Creative Director. July 14, 2014.

Editorial Note

Graduate Program in Sustainability Science-Global

Leadership Initiative (GPSS-GLI), Graduate School of

Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Japan

http://www.sustainability.k.u-tokyo.ac.jp/

Student Initiative Activities- Sustain Cafe

Development of spatial concepts as tools for analysis in

territorial sustainability

Students' life in Kashiwa

Japanese cultural events on campus

Since industrialization, the growth of cities has given birth to numerous complex territories in its periphery, subject to human alteration, resource overuse, and planning and manage-ment decisions. Dr. Aran, a visiting researcher at GPSS-GLI in 2014, ex-plains the need to redefine traditional sustainability concepts to tackle this “peri-urban mess”, introducing the concept of “territorial sustainability” at the latest SustainCafe series.

Stemming from the field of land-

scape ecology, “territorial sustaina-

bility” is defined as a spatial area

where ecological integrity is main-tained concurrent for generations while providing for basic human needs. Seen as an analogy of the Living Sys-tems Theory (LST), where a living being by itself is the efficient sustainable

system, the question was “Which

characteristics of the LST can be adapted to the city, to make efficient self-organizing processes according to

the energy approach?”

Dr. Aran’s PhD research aim was to provide quantitative criteria on what would be the optimum spatial distribu-tion of land uses in a peri-urban land-scape, referring to qualitative guide-lines established in Forman’s “Aggregates-with-outliers (1995)”. Spatial typologies were derived from defining key variables of spatial hetero-geneity, whereby obtaining thresholds of land size through cluster analysis was a major process.

Sharing findings from his 10 case stud-ies, including Beijing, Pennsylvania, and Barcelona, he stresses that the point was not to develop a set of common indica-tors; evaluation depends on policy aims and each community’s social characteris-tics. Instead, this normative approach is a method to measure and model the land-scape characteristics as a system, in order to better interpret its positive and nega-tive aspects.

Reported by China Yamada, Master student of GPSS-GLI

I arrived in Japan for the third time in April 2013. Here, I was received by Kashiwanoha Lodge, and it would become the center of my life for the next one and half years. The place itself seemed somehow magical; qui-et reigned through the corridors even when I knew it was filled with new students arriving to embark on an adventure such as mine. Slowly but surely, people emerged from their shelters and an international cultural exchange commenced. Cuisine nights became customary and from there we would add our music, our beliefs, a little bit of ourselves. I was surprised at how many events we could gener-ate that would attract so many people from such different backgrounds. Living in the lodge has been one of the greatest growing experiences I could ever have. It is a significant ad-dition to all lessons gained in the pro-gram as it has broadened my view of life and all its possibilities. I had ac-

cess through the lodge to so many coun-tries and cultures, I have learned about Spain, France, the United States, India, China, Jordan, Korea, Israel and of course a little about Japan. Here I learned a little about how to make sensu, traditional dance, taiko and even practiced writing Kanji in an exchange with a local high school. This exchange with the local stu-dents was the most enriching for me, they taught me about student life in ja-pan, about their culture and together we created small art. In the lodge, we found peace, growth and friendship; people have come and gone, but one thing re-mains: the lodge will never lose its magic.

Rene Cordero Castro, Master student of GPSS-GLI

Students comments expanded the discussion to include consideration of biodiversity and resilience as measures of sustainable landscapes.

Lists of GPSS-GLI Recent Events

1. The 3rd GPSS-GLI Symposium on Jan 19 -20, 2015

2. Field Exercises in 2015

- GFE Nairobi Unit in February, 2015

- RE Minamata Unit in February, 2015

- GFE Costa Rica Unit in March, 2015

3. Graduation Ceremony on March 24, 2015

Exchange with local high school, learning kanji.

The purpose of the SUSTAIN.CAFE is to provide an opportunity for casual & infor-mal discussion on sustainability. This means that emphasis is placed not on the academ-ic accuracy of the discussion but on sharing the personal opinions & feelings we each have. The latest SUSTAIN.CAFE was held on July 18, 2014. The speaker is Dr. Domenec Aran.

GPSS-GLI Program provides the training that

enables future global leaders to make a profound

impact on sustainability science and sustainable

development. Students can: (i) develop the skills

necessary for global leadership, (ii) acquire a

broad perspective and problem solving

capabilities, and (iii) learn to apply the concept of

"resilience" both theoretically and practically.