FOLENS E-Letter
FOLENS E-Letter No.1/ September 2010
Education Program for Field-Oriented Leaders in Environmental Sectorsin Asia and Africa, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology
Contents
- 1. Welcome Message from Director
- 2. Event: FOLENS International Symposium 2010
- 3. Admissions
- General Admission Oct 2010 (Due on 8 October 2010)
- Special Admission for Oct 2011
"Three Year Special Program for International Students, United Graduate School of Agricultural Science"
(Due on 29 Oct 2010) - 4. Overseas Field Training: University Putra Malaysia (11-24 July)
- 5. Report:- FOLENS Seminars
- 6. FOLENS Class: Learning Watershed Perspectives:
Regional Environmental Conservation Planning (Assoc. Prof. Takashi Gomi) - 7. International Network: E&R Base in Malaysia/ University Petra Malaysia
1. Welcome Message from Director for the First FOLENS E-Letter:Prof. Hideshige Takada, Director, FOLENS
Welcome to FOLENS E-Letter.
The FOLENS office is now in the middle of its second year. Three newfaces joined our office in April, so in total six FOLENS staff
members, together with many of the other university staff, are nowworking for this program. Also in April, eighteen graduate students
entered our program and various educational contents have beenimplemented. Activities of Education and Research Bases (E&R Bases)in Ghana, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam are going well, and we arepreparing to establish one more E&R Base in China. This summer,
FOLENS students and staff were busy conducting Overseas FieldTraining, one of the most important activities in our program. This
bimonthly E-newsletter will update you on these FOLENS activities. Welook forward to your feedback.
2. Event: FOLENS International Symposium 2010
The second international symposium for FOLENS will be held in theafternoon of 2 December 2010 at TUAT Koganei Campus, Tokyo. Theprogram will be announced soon on our website, but remember to markyour calender now! We look forward to your active participation.
3. Admissions
FOLENS Program is now calling applications for two admission schemesas follows. Motivated students will have various opportunities tomake friends and learn for the environment together to play a role asa leader for the sustainable environment of Asia and Africa.For detailed information and application forms, visit:http://www.tuat.ac.jp/~folens/recruitment/index_e.html
- General Admission Oct 2010 (Due on 8 October 2010):
FOLENS is now calling applications for the intake of October2010. Eligible candidates in this call are master's and doctoral
students enrolled in TUAT in April or October 2010.
- Special Admission for Oct 2011
"Three Year Special Program for International Students, UnitedGraduate School of Agricultural Science"
(Doctoral Level, starting Oct 2011, Due on 29 Oct 2010):
This program receives application to a doctoral course and the FOLENSprogram at the same time. One successful applicant will receiveJapanese Government Scholarship to enter the degree course and theFOLENS program
4. Overseas Field Training: University Putra Malaysia (11-24 July)Assis. Prof. Hirokazu Ozaki, Labo Coordinator, FOLENS
Overseas field training is a core activity in the FOLENS program. Wevisit actual sites of environmental issues in Asian and African
countries to collect raw data and investigate social background whileexperiencing a local climate and communicating with local people.Staying in an unaccustomed foreign country can be a significantexperience for FOLENS students.
The first batter was Mr. Kojiro Shimada, a doctoral student, whovisited Professor Mohamad Pauzi Zakaria in Universiti Putra Malaysia
(UPM) last July. His main activities during this training were toestablish an air dust sampling system and to analyze river water
quality to grasp the local environmental condition.
To read more, click:
http://www.tuat.ac.jp/~folens/report/report7_e.html
5. Report
- FOLENS Seminars
FOLENS organizes a series of monthly seminars where FOLENS students and staff get together to exchange views and opinions while having valuable experiences outside the official classes to become an environmental leader in the future.
To read reports, click the links:
9 June: What is FOLENS? What should we do in FOLENS Seminars 2010?
http://www.tuat.ac.jp/~folens/report/report5_e.html
28 July: Visit to Field Museum Tamakyuryo ? Working out What the"Environment," “Science,” and "Field" Mean to Us
http://www.tuat.ac.jp/~folens/report/report9_e.html
10 August: "What is Biodiversity? What is CBD-COP10? What is the Role of a Young Leader?" (Preparatory Session for Field Trip to
COP10/Convention on Biological Diversity)
http://www.tuat.ac.jp/~folens/report/report10_e.html
*Article about this seminar in "Kankyo goo" a Japanese environmental portal site, posted by one of the guests (in Japanese only)
http://eco.goo.ne.jp/topics/environment/world/origami/news/12.html
6. My Lecture for FOLENS: Learning Watershed Perspectives: Regional Environmental Conservation Planning Assoc. Prof. Takashi Gomi, Department of International Environmental and Agricultural Science
This lecture series focuses primarily on soil and water conservation and watershed management. Students with various background including hydrology, biogeochemistry, biology, and sociology are taking this course work. Because diverse knowledge such as water resources management, geomorphology, soil erosion control, ecology, regional planning, and politics are necessary for watershed management, it is very effective for leaning and discussing about watershed management.
To read more and look at photos, click:http://www.tuat.ac.jp/~folens/letter/my_lecture_recp_e.html
7. International Network: E&R Base in Malaysia/ University Petra Malaysia
The E&R base in UPM is set up in the Center of Excellence for Environmental Forensics in the Faculty of Environmental Studies, UPM.The Center houses numerous state-of-the-art equipments to conduct world-class research in environmental forensics. The research investigates the source and distribution pathways of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) that include hydrocarbons, pesticides, antibiotics, pharmaceuticals and hormones in rivers, lakes and other water bodies, including identification and monitoring of Endocrines Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs) in the environment. The evaluation of the impact of agriculture chemicals on health is also carried out.
To read more and look at photos, click:http://www.tuat.ac.jp/~folens/letter/in_upm_e.html
Editorial Note:
The heat of this summer in Japan was unusually intense. "How hot it is compared to before" became the main topic of news and everyone's conversation everyday. One of the sad outcomes of this environmental crisis - climate change - was that many people, especially elders, died of heat stroke while they slept at night. In this modern society an air conditioner seems to have become a survival tool. The serious problem here is that the more air conditioners run, the more the temperature rises... How can we get out of this vicious circle? How can we create a new path toward sustainability? I hope we can use FOLENS as a platform for the collaboration to create such a path, for our survival in a true sense. (Sachi Ninomiya-Lim, FOLENS)