NIES Annual Report 2016 AE - 22 - 2016
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ISSN 2187-9486 NIES Annual Report 2016 AE - 22 - 2016 National Institute for Environmental Studies http://www.nies.go.jp/ ISSN 2187-9486 NIES Annual Report 2016 AE - 22 - 2016 National Institute for Environmental Studies http://www.nies.go.jp/ Foreword This annual report is the official record of activities at the National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES) in Fiscal Year (FY) 2015 (April 2015 to March 2016). FY 2015 marked the final year of the Third NIES five-year plan (FY 2011–2015). In this, NIES Annual Report 2015, we will take the opportunity to make a final report on the research undertaken at NIES based on this five-year plan. Under the strategy outlined in the Third NIES five-year plan, research was first undertaken in the eight pillar fields of environmental research at our institute – global environment; material cycles and waste management; environmental risk; regional environment; environmental biology and ecosystems; environmental health; social and environmental systems; and environmental measurement and analysis. This research across a wide spectrum, from basic to issue-driven research, was carried out by NIES in its capacity as a leading institute in the region. The second aspect of our research strategy was the implementation of 10 research programs for those topics which we consider to require an urgent or priority response, or research which is issue-driven or requires the efficient deployment of research resources in order to be addressed. The third aspect involved the maintenance of medium- to long-term initiatives in step with the sustainment and furtherance of environmental research. This included maintaining the equipment and facilities needed for initiatives such as global environmental monitoring - including that by satellites - and those initiatives that use ground-based systems, commercial airlines, and shipping to monitor and analyze the global carbon cycle. Other examples of such initiatives included the maintenance of a GHG emissions inventory; the storage and provision of environmental specimens; the maintenance of reference laboratory functions; and the creation and updating of many kinds of environmental databases. Other important topics at NIES included the advancement of research using the NIES Supercomputer and administration of the Japan Environment and Children’s Study (JECS) – which is continuing in a satisfactory manner. Research on Disaster Environment, undertaken in the aftermath of the Great East Japan Earthquake, comprises the fourth aspect of our strategy. This research was implemented around four themes (1) Establishment of treatment and disposal technologies and systems for radioactively contaminated off-site wastes (2) Clarification of the environmental dynamics of radioactive substances, analysis of human exposure, and impact assessment for organisms and ecosystems (3) Promotion of surveys and research for renewal and environmental creation of the post-disaster regional environment, and (4) Promotion of surveys and research on the environmental change and associated impacts which accompany earthquake and tsunami disasters. Moreover, the Fukushima Project Office was established at NIES and we cooperated in the setting up of the planned “Centre for Environmental Creation” of Fukushima Prefecture. Our Project Office has been replaced by our Fukushima Branch, which is now located inside the building of the Centre for Environmental Creation. Through this step we intend to increase our presence and on-the-ground activities in the area. April 2016 marks the beginning of our Fourth NIES five-year plan (FY2016–2020). Many people have an image of environmental research as being about “recovery from adverse situations”. However, the actual nature of current environmental research is to seek to create the best possible future, taking into account current circumstances and constraints. In fact, environmental research can be considered an indispensible part of creating a society in which humankind—in both Japan and the wider world—in the 21st century can be genuinely happy and comfortable. NIES is committed to rallying its collective resources to work toward this future to the full extent of its abilities. We hope that this report will go some way to facilitating a greater understanding of our institute’s activities, and we invite your full and frank feedback and opinions about those activities. SUMI, Akimasa President June 2016 Contents Outline of NIES ·········································································· 1 Center for Global Environmental Research ·········································· 7 Center for Material Cycles and Waste Management Research ···················· 17 Center for Environmental Risk Research ············································· 29 Center for Regional Environmental Research ······································· 41 Center for Environmental Biology and Ecosystem Studies ························ 55 Center for Environmental Health Sciences ··········································· 65 Center for Social and Environmental Systems Research ··························· 77 Center for Environmental Measurement and Analysis ····························· 89 Environmental Emergency Research ··················································· 99 Environmental Information Department ··············································· 121 Outline of NIES During the 1950s and 1960s, Japan experienced serious environmental pollution problems accompanying rapid economic growth. The Environment Agency was established in 1971 as part of the Japanese government to develop measures to counteract serious problems associated with environmental pollution, such as Minamata disease, which was caused by poisoning from organic mercury in factory wastewater, and chronic bronchitis and asthma caused by sulfur oxides from factories in large industrial complexes. Understanding that research on environmental sciences was necessary and could address public needs, the Environment Agency established the National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES) in Tsukuba Science City, about 50 km north of Tokyo, in 1974. It is now Japan’s primary institute for comprehensive research in environmental science. During the two decades following the establishment of NIES, rapid technological progress, structural changes in industry, and lifestyle changes, created additional issues for environmental science to confront. Moreover, global environmental problems such as climate change; depletion of the stratospheric ozone layer; acid deposition; destruction of tropical rain forests; and desertification, attracted greater concern worldwide. NIES subsequently underwent a major reorganization in 1990, including the establishment of the Center for Global Environmental Research, to enable it to conduct more intensive research on conservation of the natural environment and on global environmental changes and their effects. January 2001 saw the transition of the Environment Agency into the Ministry of the Environment as part of structural changes within the Japanese government, and the establishment of a Waste Management Research Division at NIES. That year also marked the establishment of NIES as an Incorporated Administrative Agency, giving it a degree of independence from the national government. The change in the administrative status of the institute allows more prompt and flexible responses to societal demands. Concurrently, NIES prepared a five-year plan (2001–2005) in line with the objectives of the Ministry of the Environment. Following the second five-year plan (2006-2010), the third five-year plan (2011–2015) was adopted in 2011. Eight fundamental fields of environmental research are identified, and the research centers to be responsible for these areas are specified (Fig. 1). Research is carried out under our designated research programs and we also actively pursue ties with many institutions both in Japan and overseas. Research activities to respond to and recover from the Great East Japan Earthquake have been ongoing since the direct aftermath of the disaster. Intermediate outcomes of this research have been summarized as “An Overview of Research on Disaster Environment” and are available from our homepage. In March 2013 the five-year plan was revised following a directive of the Minister of the Environment. Our mid-term objectives were modified to facilitate effective, integrated research on disasters and the environment. 1 Outline of NIES Fig. 1 Organization Planning Office Research Coordination Office Public Relations Office Administration Departments International Coordination Office Planning Department General Affairs Office Personnel Office General Affairs Department Accounting Office Facility Management Office Environmental Information Department Planning Office Database Office Audit Office Information Management Office Global Carbon Cycle Research Section Global Atmospheric Chemistry Section Research Centers Satellite Remote Sensing Research Section Biogeochemical Cycle Modeling and Analysis Section Center for Global Environmental Research Climate Modeling and Analysis Section Climate Risk Assessment Section Office for Atmospheric and Oceanic Monitoring Office for Terrestrial Monitoring Office for Global Environmental Databases Sustainable Material Cycle Systems Section Center for Material Cycles and Waste International Material Cycles Research Section Management Research Material Lifecycle and Substance Management Section Fundamental Recycling Technology Section Appropriate