Title: INT 97-25 NSF/Tokyo Report: The Prospects of Long Term Ecological Research in East Asia Date: 6/20/97 The National Science Foundation's offices in Tokyo and in Paris periodically report on developments abroad that are related to the Foundation's mission. These documents present facts for the use of NSF program managers and policy makers; they are not statements of NSF policy. The following report was prepared by Dr. William Y. Chang, Program Manager, East Asia and Pacific Program at the National Science Foundation. Dr. Chang visited Japan from February 24 - March 23, 1997 as a Visiting Research Fellow (Short-term) under the sponsorship of the Science and Technology Agency of Japan (STA). Dr. Toshio Iwakuma of the National Institute for Environmental Studies served as host scientist. Dr. Chang can be reached via email at: wychang@nsf.gov The Prospects for Long-Term Ecological Research in East Asia During my visit to Japan as an STA short-term fellow, I believe the following were my major accomplishments: 1. Contributed to Hokkaido University's decision to convert its six experimental forests to the Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) sites and to establish an LTER Center for North Temperate Ecological Studies. Experimental forests in Japan were major financial resources at the turn of century for the national universities, but more recently they have become a major liability, because the lumber produced from these forests is far more expensive than lumber imported from southeast Asian nations. The national universities in Japan are seeking a way to better use these resources. Last year, when I visited Hokkaido University, I suggested that they use these facilities for LTER. I was delighted to learn of this decision during my visit this year. This bold move by the university is a tribute to my colleagues, Professor Kenkichi Ishigaki, the Director of Experimental Forests, and Drs. Koji Maekawa, and Shigeru Nakano. My visit along with Dr. Scott Collins, Director of the NSF LTER Program, to Hokkaido University this February helped our Japanese colleagues secure university support. During our visit, we met with the university president, Professor Norihito Tambo, introduced the U.S. LTER program and explained the advantages of the LTER network for teaching and research. We came away with a sense of his strong support of this activity. Hokkaido University will provide the initial funds for building the LTER facilities, and has also submitted a proposal to the Japan Ministry of Education, Science, Sports, and Culture (MONBUSHO) for expanding the facility to be a regional LTER center. 2. Participated in the second East Asia Long-Term Ecological Network and Biodiversity meeting (Tsukuba, March 3-5, 1997) The 2nd East Asia meeting was a great success. The success of this meeting is a tribute to Dr. Toshio Iwakuma's leadership and perseverance. Jointly, we have also accomplished the following goals: (a) Assembled researchers from the LTER and Biodiversity Research Communities for the first time to discuss research topics of mutual interest. (b) Identified ways to support junior scientists in East Asia and Pacific countries. The following actions were decided during the meeting. * A group of 15 Asian junior scientists will visit the U.S. LTER sites and attend the Annual Meeting of the American Ecological Society in August, 1997. * A team of U.S. junior scientists will visit Japan and other LTER sites in Asia and conduct workshops with counterpart junior scientists in each country. (c) Initiated discussion about collaborative research among scientists in the Asian countries. Several scientists from Japan, the U.S., Mongolia, Taiwan, Indonesia and Thailand teamed up during the meeting to discuss and plan joint research projects. 3. Successfully promoted the Long-Term Ecological Research Network in Japan. We successfully promoted an LTER network in Japan during this visit. Initially this network will include the existing experimental forests and research stations of Hokkaido University, Kyoto University, and the University of Tokyo. The organizers of this network plan to seek support from the agencies such as MONBUSHO, the Japan Society for Promotion of Science (JSPS), and STA. Furthermore, the network plans to form center-to-center cooperation in LTER research between the U.S. and Japan. Hokkaido University and Kyoto University are strongly committed to this network. The former Dean of the School of Agriculture at the University of Tokyo was also interested in this concept and thought that LTER research would be a good way to use his university's experimental forests when I met with him last year, but he has since retired. In order for Japan LTER network to be viable, it is necessary to include the University of Tokyo. Dr. Toshio Iwakuma, the organizer of Japan's LTER activity, Dr. Ed Murdy, Director of the NSF Tokyo Office, and I visited the University of Tokyo's Chichibu Experimental Forest on March 12 to learn about the facilities available on site and to discuss with scientists there regarding the LTER network and research activities. The scientists in charge will hold consultation with authorities at the University of Tokyo regarding the future development of the LTER network. 4. The STA fellowship also provided me with an opportunity to work with Dr. Masahisa Nakamura, the Director of the Lake Biwa Research Institute. Together, we co-authored an article on Lake Biwa. The paper, "Lake Biwa: the largest lake in Japan" will be published as a book chapter in Great Lakes of the World. During this fellowship, I obtained a better understanding of Japanese science communities and how decisions are made in these circles. I also learned how important and critical partnership and team efforts are in achieving scientific goals in Japan. In this respect, the efforts of Scott Collins, Ed Murdy, and Toshio Iwakuma were extremely important in enabling me to accomplish the above. I am also grateful for the excellent assistance from the NSF Tokyo Office throughout my visit.