Foundation of a Research and Education Center for Advanced Environmental Science and Technology for Ecosystem Protection, Disaster Prevention, and "Life Ware" Formation around Enclosed Coastal Areas

Project leader: Kiyoshi Takigawa, Professor at the Center for Marine Environment Studies

The faculty and staff of the Departments of Science, Engineering and Literature cooperatively established the research center for “the creation of rich marine environments. We have conducted research on the coastal environments of the Ariake Sea, the Yatsushiro Sea, and East Asia since 2008.

Summary of our research plans

Our center was established for responding to the important and acute national and international issues on these particular environments, disaster prevention issues and local community development around the closed seas.

The center researches “environment” and “disaster prevention” in the interdisciplinary, multiple and extensive fields and conducts educational research in new fields aimed at balancing the needs of both “the environment and disaster prevention.”

And we will contribute to technology development and social policy for “the creation of better local environment

To reach these goals, we will build a firm network to combine social needs and excellent research of Kumamoto University and other.

Namely, we will strengthen the cooperation with governmental sectors such as national, prefectural , municipal governments and with private sectors, NPOs as well as mainly the researchers of the Engineering, Science and Social Departments of Kumamoto University.

And we will constitute the center through research and human resources exchanges on the basis of the agreements with overseas universities, especially in China (Beijing University, etc.) and South Korea (Seoul University, Inha University, Jeju University, etc.)

In the process of constitution of the research center, we aim at the development of leading edge science for the sustainable development of local communities in the 21st Century and the nurturing of human resources and in order to form a world class educational research center.

Expected effects after the research

Forming the research center for creating a better international marine environment

We will make the center on the basis of the concept of “creating better local social environments (Life ware.)”, a new international concept.

Results of scientific research on environment and disaster prevention of the coastal areas and cultivation of human resources are expected to contribute to international societies, and those in Southeast Asia in particular, which has similarly closed seas.

Contribution to national and local governmental policies, and to the promotion of local disaster prevention and environmental businesses.

We can greatly contribute to society by advising on policies to aim at “creating better local communities” as well as important local issues such as advanced technology for the“regeneration of marine environments” and “disaster prevention.”

Additionally, these technologies will be the models for environment and disaster prevention issues of the whole world, and these technologies created by our studies will contribute directly to business promotion as “disaster prevention businesses” and “environmental businesses.”