The purpose of this paper is to clarify the changes in the maintenance of irrigation and drainage facilities caused by structural changes in agriculture and a weakened sense of community in a hilly and mountainous area. The study was conducted at K district in Iga city, Mie prefecture. The main findings are as follows: (1) the irrigation associations have lost their function of water management and facility maintenance, (2) the maintenance workload and cost per farmer has become heavier than the 1970s because of the decrease in farmers and the difficulty of mechanization of the maintenance work. We also suggested the possibility that non-farmers can participate in the maintenance work when it is for landscape conservation, flood prevention, or it is combined with a local customary event.

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Recently creation of green spaces has been proceeding in the suburban commercial facilities. Few studies have focused on the necessary functions for users of these suburban green spaces. In this study, we conducted interview surveys both to landscape designers and users of newly developed commercial facility in the suburbs of Wakayama City, central Japan, and investigated the relationships in expected green space functions between them. As the results, designers’ intentions were matched with users’ behaviors particularly in viewing and walking. However, installations of symbolic nature designs were not well perceived by users probably because it was too generalized to prefectural scale nature images without detailed considerations of local natural environment in the study area.

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This study focuses on ‘The survey of natural environment of Fujisawa City’ evaluating effectiveness of cooperation among citizens with specialized knowledge on the local nature, research organizations and the local government. The results are summarized as follows: Each entity was involved in the whole process from selecting survey methods to analyzing and evaluating the survey outcome. Especially, research organizations such as Nihon University have played a major role in building a consensus among participants starting with coordinating opinions on classified organisms to the final analysis of the entire result. This study revealed the effectiveness of the process in which the survey methods and the usage of the results were shared among participants through three different kinds of conference meetings, and clarified the future issues in relation to the continuity of the survey.

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The trophic level (TL) of the Japanese anchovy Engraulis japonicus was estimated using carbon / nitrogen stable isotope ratios (δ¹³C / δ¹⁵N). δ¹⁵N signature of the anchovy was high in Sagami Bay (inshore waters) and low in the offshore waters. Although the intra-sample variations of the δ¹⁵N and TL were small in offshore and large in inshore waters, each mean TL was approximately same in the offshore and inshore waters. However, the δ¹³C signature for the anchovy was significantly different between the offshore and inshore waters. It was suggested that the food-web structures differed between the two waters because the starting points of the food-webs were different. Furthermore, it showed complicated food-web structures because offshore populations of Japanese anchovy, migratory fish, came to Sagami Bay.

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Coastal forests along the Pacific coast of Miyagi Prefecture exhibited a protective effect against inundation from the mega tsunami following the 2011 earthquake off the Pacific coast of Tohoku. Damage (rate of standing versus fallen trees) to the coastal forests, tree diameter, annual rings, tree height, and ground level were surveyed. Using the surveyed data, satellite photos from Google and Yahoo, and electronic data obtained from the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan, the mutual relationships among the tsunami inundation depth, the rate of forest damage, tree diameter, and height of coastal forests were examined. The diameter and age of tsunami-resistant trees still standing after the tsunami were considered in detail. Results indicate that trees with a diameter greater than 35 cm, which were more than 51years old, were not felled by the mega tsunami.

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This study examined transplantation to stream flow environment for the purpose of conservation of Isoetes japonica. As a result, Isoetes japonica was possible transplantation to stream flow environment, and being suitable for growth in 50% of the light shielding areas. High frequency weed control in the stream flow environment was adverse effects for growth and gemmation of Isoetes japonica.

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In this study, we developed the subjective vitality scale, Japanese version (SVS-J) to investigate the improvement effect exerted by environment on psychological vitality. First, we translated the original SVS questionnaire into Japanese. Second, to develop the SVS-J, we conducted two experiments (exp. 1 and exp. 2) involving 168 participants. In exp. 1, 123 participants were exposed to a video of a forest environment for approximately 15 minutes in a room (off-site). Participants completed the SVS-J pre- and post-exposure. Then, we examined the reliability and construct validity of the data. Subsequently, in exp. 2, 45 participants were exposed for approximately 30 minutes to an on-site forest environment; they completed the SVS-J and other questionnaires pre- and post-exposure. Finally, we examined the criterion-related validity of the data by evaluating the correlation between the SVS-J and other questionnaires. Results verified that the SVS-J is valid and reliable scale and is therefore suitable for practical use.

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This research aimed to reveal the landscape characteristics of traditional Korean villa garden by viewshed analyasis. Through the field survey， quantitative GIS analysis and landscape simulations of five gardens in Honam region， the following are consequently observed; 1) much wider area is included as viewshed than previous research suggested， 2) landscape characteristics is categorized in two of the 'the mountain view type' and 'the plain view type'， 3) gardens gain the overlaying composition of mountain view as the basic characteristics. These observations are to be significant for future conservation of those traditional gardens

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This study aims to define the demand for farmland utilization among organizations and explore the possibility of them becoming new supporters of urban farmland. A questionnaire was completed by companies, schools, and other organizations in Yao City. The results indicated that schools and social welfare organizations have a high level of intention to use such land for educational or welfare purposes, whereas specified-non-profit organizations and civic action groups tend to have varying usage intentions depending on the objectives of each organization. The results also revealed that there are demands for farmland utilization not only for welfare purposes but also as a facet of participation in a new agricultural business or for social contribution activities. In the future, because the usage intentions are different depending on organizational type, it is suggested to expand the utilization of urban farmland, such as by matching the needs of each organization to the best-suited piece of farmland.

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It is a study on Uji City, Kyoto in which tea-producing areas are said to originate from temples. Through analysis of changes in land use and tea production volume, this article aims to explain the transition process of tea plantation in Uji, and the characteristic of cultural landscape in tea-producing areas with a temple tea origin. As a result, it is revealed that (1) there was a significant decrease of tea plantation in Uji from 1890 to 2006. (2) Since 1955, distribution and location of tea plantation have significant changed. (3) There are also changes in relationship between tea plantation and other land use around it, from 1890 to 2006. From the above, when preservation of cultural landscape in Uji City, a reconsideration on the selection of elements is required.

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In the regional vitalization and town planning, it is important to effectively utilize the local resources. Because of this, it is necessary to understand the involvement of local residents and local resources. In this study, it was carried out semi-structured interviews with groups that use the forest resources in Takashima, Shiga Prefecture. The text data of the interview record was visualized by using the corresponding analysis and self-organizing map. From these analyses we identified the themes which each of the groups are interested in, and found these themes differ according to their activity contents.

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Recently, some polarimetric decomposition techniques have been developed using multi-polarized synthetic aperture radar (SAR). In this study, the dual-polarized (HH/VV) SAR data acquired from TerraSAR-X were decomposed to three components using m-chi decomposition. Some models were developed using the double (even) bounce components and the crop height values with the determination coefficient of 0.79 for rice transplanted in paddy, 0.60 for rice seeded directory in dry field and 0.70 for the combination of them. Although the volume scattering is the main scattering pattern for many kinds of plants, the determination coefficients between the crop height and it were inferior to those between the crop heights and the double (even) bounce components. This result clarified the response of the X-band microwave to rice.

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Significant information about agricultural fields has been obtained through microwave remote sensing, and these techniques are increasingly being used to manage land and water resources for agricultural applications. Furthermore, synthetic aperture radar (SAR) systems are not dependent on atmospheric influences or weather conditions unlike passive systems and they are especially suitable for a multi-temporal classification approaches. In this study, the six TerraSAR-X images were analyzed in order to identify the rice fields of two different cropping systems and wheat fields. Applying the model-based clustering, achieving overall accuracies of 90.0% for the fields planting whose conditions were checked.

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This paper aims to examine the issues of estimating the change of plants' volume, calculated with DSM which is led by “Structure from Motion-Multi View Stereo” (SfM-MVS systems). The 3D model of a resprouting stub of Quercus glauca read out sensitive DSM, however the plants' volume calculated with the DSM could be overestimated, because of plants' figure. More multifaceted output form of 3D modeling is expected.

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As a detailed inspection of a concrete structure in service, core samples are usually drilled out and then mechanical properties are measured. In this study, damage estimation of concrete structures from core samples is developed, applying X-ray computed tomography method. Concretecore samples were taken from reinforced concrete of an existing canal. These samples are strongly influenced by freezing and thawing process. The crack distributions of concrete-core samples were inspected with helical CT scans, which were undertaken at one-millimeter intervals. Applying the concentration index parameter, quantitative estimation of crack damage is conducted by comparing X ray CT images with spatial statistics. These values are affected by the internal actual cracks. Thus, the damage of concrete structures could be detected by X-ray CT.

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In order to utilize local variety as local resources, the process of the expansion of the number of farmers and the cultivation area of each local variety of vegetables was studied. Three local variety “Komoike Dainagon” (Red Bean),”Harimao Ninniku” (Garlic), “Himeji Ebiimo” (Taro) were selected. Those examples revealed 1) expanding processes were different whether a farmer tried alone or farmers were organized; 2）the trigger of the expansion was interchange with outsiders who were interested in utilization of local variety and the farmers; and 3）the construction of the seed management and the securing of market brought increase of the number of farmers and cultivation area expansion. Furthermore, the comparison between examples clarified the main point and problems to utilization those vegetables as local resources.

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This paper analyzes value recognition and features of biodiversity-friendly agriculture perceived by urban residents, using factor analysis and cluster analysis. A total of six factors were obtained using factor analysis, including high interest in biodiversity-friendly agriculture, support of and cooperation with initiatives, and many considerations when making purchases. Cluster analysis led to classification of the respondents into five clusters. Many differences between clusters were found from the cross table and test for independence. It is likely that targeting the kind of urban residents who expressed support for biodiversity-friendly agriculture initiatives will help initiatives to progress, but it is nevertheless important to perform marketing activities efficiently and effectively.

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This study investigated the water flow through the vessels of tomato by using AE method. The detected frequency was compared with the calculated frequency by a bubble motion model considering attenuation characteristics of AE. The results suggest that the characteristics of frequency are similar to the analytical results. Considering the attenuation is effective for increasing the accuracy of moisture condition monitoring.

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In Japan, agricultural water channels have important roles as regional resource not only for irrigation but also for recreation, conservation of ecosystem and so on. All regional inhabitants owe immense benefits to water channel. But recognition by inhabitants for water channel as regional resource are fading because of aging population and increasing farmers with side job and non-farmers. We need to reconsider the way to involve people to conserve water channel. In this situation, Tojogawa area tries to make inhabitants know better about water channel as regional resource by holding art events since 2014. In this research, we collected questionnaires from the participants of art events and non-art events, and investigated the change of their consciousness before and after the event. As a result, it turned out that the art event enhanced their consciousness more than those events without artistic elements.

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An industrial waste disposal facility was set up in agricultural region of Azumino. Theresidents have started a movement against its operation to protect the environment of Azumino bypreventing air and water pollution. This agricultural environment of “Satoyama” was inherited fromtheir ancestors to them. However, their environmental rights over Satoyama have not been establishedby law. This case study gives an insight into the Environmental Rights and the Rights of Nature.

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In this study, we analyzed the current situation of Internet uses, connections of Internet use and satisfaction and factors affecting overall Internet satisfaction in rural China. We carried out a questionnaire survey mainly targeting Internet users in villages near Beijing. In the result, we found that ‘search' and ‘online shopping' were used. Besides, we also found that “Improvement of work”, “Improvement of quality of life” were important for the satisfaction of the Internet use, but it was revealed that satisfaction was low. In addition, it was revealed that satisfaction was related to the purposes of Internet.

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Forest plots have been managed for the collection of leaf litter for agricultural use by farming households in Bhutan for generations. These plots are an important source of fertility in the mixed crop-livestock farming systems still prevalent today. Efforts towards increased production and diversification, policies on organic agriculture, legislative amendments to land ownership are all factors influencing the traditions of leaf litter collection. A household survey was conducted in western Bhutan, between January and March, and again in October of 2014, in three regions with varying socio-economic and agro-ecological characteristics. Changes in the perception of leaf litter collection, synthetic fertilizer use, and cultivation area were analyzed. Regional differences were revealed in how farmers are approaching production increase and soil fertility management, providing an insight into how traditional forest resource uses and agricultural practices are transitioning in Bhutan today.

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Since the end of Vietnam War, land use in rural area of Vietnam has been changed dramatically due to FLA (Forest Land Allocation) and the settlement policy for ethnic minorities. Most of the ethnic minorities living in central Vietnam are engaging in forestry, especially acacia plantation. The objectives of this study is to clarify the ethnic minority people’s livelihood based on their land use and to reveal the structures of their land use from a microscopic perspective through the field survey and statistical analysis. In the results, this study found the structure of land use relying on acacia forestry and potential risks caused by monoculture. In addition, it revealed the lack of crops for personal consumption and situation of non-land use work relying on acacia forestry.

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Abstract：In 1981, the Decision about Accelerating the Production and Construction of Eastern Mountain Area in Jilin Province (DAPC) restricted the collection of fuel wood outside of collective forests. Since then, the traditional fuel wood resource use has changed in Korean-Chinese villages of Hunchun City, Jilin Province, China. This study aims to clarify the state of fuel wood resource use and the present role of collective forests in order to meet the needs of villagers. We utilized multiple methods: interviews and questionnaires about fuel wood use; recorded fuel wood resource locations by observing villager's field collection; and, map analysis of possible forest fuel wood resources. The results suggested that the government may need to set up new public fuel wood forests in collective forests based on the factors of labor shortage, preference for collecting the species Quercus mongolica Fisch. ext Turcz., abundant collection in the closest forest areas, and national forest protection.

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In this paper, we examine the effect of non-policy factors, such as temperature and slope, on the diffusion of Electric Vehicle (EV) by conducting multiple regression analysis. Using an air conditioner and steep slope, for example, increase electricity consumption and decrease the cruising range of EV, which is one of the key factors of the EV diffusion. Therefore, we alternately used some indicators representing temperature and angle of slope as explanatory variable to investigate that effect on the diffusion of EV. The multiple regression analysis result shows that low temperature hinders the EV diffusion and does not show that angle of slope statistically have an effect on it. Thus, we confirmed that it was significant to consider the effect of temperature on the EV diffusion, for example, when policy makers try to introduce a subsidy.

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Pavement materials devised design, color and others have lately been used, which is one of considerations for comfort of pedestrians’ space and universal design. However, numerical standard on hardness of sidewalk is hardly fixed from pleasant walking viewpoint. This report researched that characteristics of pavement materials affected pedestrians by measuring acceleration of pedestrians’ ankles and questionnaire survey．As the result, corrugation of acceleration on subjects who sensed hardness of sidewalk surface showed distinction.

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Fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) have been attracting increasing attention as the next generation of zero-emission vehicles (ZEV), following battery electric vehicles. However, despite several efforts and investments, the commercialization of FCEVs remains a difficult task. By drawing and expanding on Schumpeter’s theory of innovation, this study proposes a mechanism related to a disruptive innovation that displaces other innovations. In addition, a meta-analysis is conducted on the prior literature to quantify hyper-expectations from this mechanism. From the meta-analysis, the number of year specific assumptions increased at an accelerating pace after 2006. A gap of recognition to academic papers between authors and readers in the industry was discussed based on the results of meta-analysis.

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This survey was conducted in Kobe households to estimate the reduction in primary energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions by introducing a micro fuel cell heat and power generation system. As a result, Even in the least effective month (in August), the primary energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions has decreased by 13 percent thanks to the introduction of the system. Further, the reduction of annual carbon dioxide emissions are calculated and the price of the carbon credit are imported based on J-VER Scheme. The price of the carbon credit is equivalent or more than the subsidized cost of introducing the system. This promotion should be effective in reducing carbon dioxide emissions.

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The pig production system was promoted to intensive system utilizing import grains and automatic equipment in Japan. The purpose of this study was to assess the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of Japanese pork production system using the life cycle assessment method. The study included processes feed production, pig production with manure management, slaughterhouse and retailer. The functional of the system was to produce 1kg pork. The GHG emissions of 1kg pork was 11.12 kg-CO₂e. The impact of each process for the total GHG emissions were 21% at feed production, 12% at pig production, 35% at manure management, 2% at slaughterhouse and 30% at retailer.

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In this study, we developed the optimum operation model of residential fuel cell system, considering uncertainty of electric and hot water demands. Using stochastic dynamic programming, the model expresses an operation plan in combination of two operational status (minimum output and electric demand following), and decides the plan to minimize the sum of expected energy cost following 24 hours operation. We compared annual cost and CO₂ emission between different kinds of residential fuel cell. We also compared the results of this model to those of previous study’s model, to indicate demand uncertainty effect.

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The material-flow characteristics of Hachijo Island were evaluated. The local data through interviews were used as well as statistical data. The total amount of import was estimated as 218,952(t/year), which was ten times of the exported amount (28,059 t/year). Sands and gravels for maintaining sandy beaches were dominant materials in the imports contributing to huge stocks in the island. Maritime containers gave the largest amount in the exports and would cause the environmental burden. The estimated waste generation in Hachijo Island (1,394 g/capita/day) was much larger than that of Japan average (975 g/capita/day). Most of the sludge and construction wastes were recycled, but general recyclable wastes were exported to the mainland because no recycling facility is located in the island. From these results, it is indicated that the environmental burden generated in Hachijo Island can be bigger than that in the mainland.

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A case study to assess the environmental impacts to climate change and fossil fuel depletion throughout the life cycle of PET bottles was conducted based on primary data obtained for the production and filling of bio-PET bottles distributed in Japan. Multiple scenarios are assessed, where ethylene made from sugarcane bioethanol produced in brazil and fossil fuel origin ethylene are compared under multiple recycling rates. The results show that in regions such as Japan where a high recycling rate is achieved, a reduction of 10% in GHG emissions and 20% in fossil fuel depletion was observed throughout the life cycle of PET bottles by replacing fossil PET with bio-PET.

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The off-flavor taste of tap water due to 2-methylisoborneol (2-MIB) derived from blue algae is one of the water quality problems associated with high nutrient loads in the Kinokawa River. Existing monitoring data showed that 2-MIB concentrations tended to increase when total phosphorus (TP) concentrations exceeded 0.02 mg/L. This study employed mass load and river water quality analyses to examine ways in which TP loads in river runoff could be mitigated. The results suggested that TP mass loads could be reduced by approximately half if the drainage volume standards defined in the Water Pollution Control Law were more stringent. In addition, halving current mass loads could reduce TP concentrations to less than 0.015 mg/L and limit any increases in the concentration of 2- MIB.

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This study deals with Mount Fuji as a case study area and the purpose of this study is 1) to grasp the attributes of climbers and the characteristics of their climbing, 2) to grip and sort out the information expected by climbers through internet, and 3) to consider the future direction of information provision from the viewpoint of visitor management. As a result of questionnaire survey, 20s, 30s and first climber predominated in the answerers, and the destinations of climbing were concentrated near the summit. In addition, information regarding method of climbing, risks and crowding was expected to be provided and improved by climbers. From the result of considerations, it was thought that these kinds of information should be used actively to manage the climbers.

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In environmental design, feedback from people's actual behavior patterns in the environment to the design has a crucial importance. In this paper, we propose a method to model a walk environment in a bottom up approach based on pedestrians' GPS data, and to analyze their behavior patterns by this model. As a case study, we apply this method to analyze pedestrians' behaviors in a walking event named “TEKUPEKO Challenge” which was held at a university campus. As a result we visualized the patterns of the pedestrians.

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The on-site fundraising system is considered a prospective PES. An internet questionnaire survey was conducted to elicit WTP for the entrance fee for world heritage sites; Yakushima, ShirakamiSanchi, Shiretoko, Ogasawara Islands, and Mt. Fuji. Multi-bounded multichotomous choice CVM was applied for the estimation of WTP and its determinants. Median WTPs ranged from 1125 to 1569, and mean WTPs from 2200 to 2890. Collecting the fees for wildlife conservation was highly appreciated by respondents rather than visitor access control and facility management. It was also suggested that an appropriately monitored admission gate system could be effective for the prevention of free-ride.

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This study aims to investigate the attributes and purposes of Marche users, as well as their awareness of Marche, at 4 Marche markets belonging to two different Marche groups located in Osaka City: Marche which focus is on providing spaces for selling new agricultural produce to consumers and Marche which focus on human interaction. The study then defined the challenges each Marche group faces for future development and future directions it should take. The results showed that the space-provision-based Marche group has being establishing their position as a market for daily use, and linking the new market to users' interest in agriculture was challenging. On the other hand, the human-interaction-focused Marche group has helped increase users' interest in both agriculture and exchange with the farming community to a certain degree; however, challenges included a low repeat rate among users and questions regarding more events for attracting visitors.

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This paper clarify the relationship between community participation on renewal of parks , use and attachment of parks in the case of Tsutsujigaoka district , Nabari city, Mie prefecture,Japan. Findings are as follows: 1) a resident except the group member almost never concern the plan of park, 2) there is a lot of installation of benches ,tables and playground equipments, in park renewal, 3) there are few groups which held events in addition to weeding, cleaning and pruning, 4)frequency of use and fondness of park are high in the park where park renewal by residents is going, 5) people who know activity of park management and had joined park management, use park more frequently and love park.

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This research has focused on the usage status of the lower reaches of Ohoka River and aimed to capture the relationship and its characteristics of organizations and civic groups upon Ohoka River's Sakurasanbashi Bridge, and was carried out through literature research and interviews of civic groups. As a result, user number of the berthing facilities of Ohoka River's lower reaches has increased by about 3.1 times during the period from 2011~2013, and the seasonal usage has been studied through the changes between "spring type", "summer type", and "autumn type”. Also, Ohoka River's Sakurasanbashi Bridge was equipped as a local owned bridge, and the management system of these organizations and groups are divided into "inauguration period - growing period - development period", and during the development period, geographical organizations and thematic organizations worked together to ensure a smooth usage of the river, and it was proved that that has become the receptacle of various river users.

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This research aims to consider the tendency of local people’s awareness modification through ongoing re-introduction project of White Storks and Japanese crested ibis, in Toyooka city and Sado city. A couple of questionnaire survey toward local people have been conducted in 2006,2009, 2011and 2014. As a result of survey, it was clarified that a number of agreement for re-introduction project have been increasing and expectation toward benefit from project itself also been expanding. It is suggested that local people’s expectation for local revitalization makes White Storks and Japanese crested ibis local-based resources, and its modification is a process of re-introduction project requiring local people’s agreement and cooperation.

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China’s public participation in the environmental policies making process is changing. However, the role and the framework of it haven’t been clear. This article focuses on the public participation in China, analyzes the making process of Regulation on Prevention and Control of Air Pollution in Beijing from 4 steps, based on materials and interviews. As a result, this paper finds that public participation had an effect on the revision process but still limited. Public participation in China is desired to spread all over the country.

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The Feed-in Tariff Scheme was introduced as part of the promotion of renewable energy in Japan. However, the quantitative expansion of renewable energy has raised various issues regarding the relationship with local communities, and thus the policies to address such issues are becoming increasingly important. This paper focuses on wind energy problems, in particular wind turbine noise problem, and a local community. There are a growing number of cases in which wind generation projects have been aborted due to such noise issues. To investigate the actual conditions involving complaints about noise related to wind power generation, the author conducted fieldwork in a community in M City having a wind generation project for which there have been continuous noise complaints..

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This research investigates Nagano Prefecture that is taking a proactive approach to the rapid increase in mountain climbing incidents. The incident records were analyzed with the cooperation of the Prefectural Police, the main risk management organization. Findings revealed a close relationship between climber demographics （gender, age, number in group）; temporal （year, month, time）; and spatial dimensions （area and climate） of the incidents. A questionnaire was also conducted on climbers in the Northern Japan Alps. Only half the respondents collected information about prior incidents. Also internal factors （psychological and physical） contributed more to injuries or anxiety than external ones （natural environment）. By combining the epidemiological data with the questionnaire results, these findings use empirical evidence to help deepen climbers' crisis awareness and preparation.

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The importance of the Soil is not widely known in ecosystem. Elementary school students have little interest in the soil. How to contact with the soil when childhood, affect the imagination of the soil. Therefore the soil education at an elementary school is important. Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology・Japan(2014) promoted plentiful educational activities on Saturday for children. And Iwaki City has begun "Saturday learning". So soil education program was done by "Saturday learning". The level of satisfaction of the soil education program was estimated by the face scale before and after learning. And recognition of soil has been investigated by questionnaire survey. As a result, the soil education program made fun for children. And a lot of children were interested in the soil by soil education.

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This study examines the effect of environmental conservation education using a consciousness survey involving college students during their field practice. Moreover, it develops knowledge and techniques for the conservation of biodiversity. The results observed during the field practice indicate that the students were interested in the conservation of the environment. This interest could be posited as the first step toward future education and job training involving environmental conservation. To encourage and motivate students toward learning, it was necessary to effectively set up schedules and to have the course taught by professional lecturers. It was also important that the field practice had a specific level of difficulty and specialty to ensure the students’continued interest. These findings indicated the importance of conducting the program along with each program, review, and relevant practice.

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Questioner surveys for local people have been conducted at Sado City and Tsushima City in 2014 and 2015 regarding reintroduction projects of wildlife. Comparative analysis of local people’s concerns and/or hopes on environmental education and awareness enlightenment activities in line with reintroduction projects in each community. As a result of the analysis, it was clarified that there was little differences of awareness between these communities and target species. Expected purpose, contents, methodologies for environmental education and awareness enlightenment activities showed similar tendencies as well. Local people who have reserved his/her opinions for reintroduction project showed comparatively negative sense for the necessities on environmental education and awareness enlightenment activities.

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The common fuel in rural communities in Laos is firewood, and it is harvested from forests. In order to plan for sustainable forest use and to clarify the use of forests by local residents, we clarified the daily consumption of firewood and the amount of forest resources used as estimated from firewood consumption. The results show that two types of tree, Cratoxylum sp. and Peltophorum dasyrachis account for 60% of total use. On average each household consumes about 2,000kg per year, and the consumption of an entire village was 271,000 kg. This corresponded to forest resources equivalent to 16 ha of the village's fallow forest.

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While waste banks collect recyclables in several cities in Indonesia, their activities are not sufficiently investigated yet. We conducted a questionnaire survey for residents in Balikpapan city and analyzed relationship between recognition, awareness, actions of residents and activities of the waste banks. The result suggests that awareness and actions of residents near the waste banks for waste separation are promoted by use of the waste banks. Based on the result of relative analysis on waste separation actions near the waste banks, we found that there were relationships among concern and recognition of waste issues and waste separation, evaluation and implementation of waste separation actions, and dissemination of importance of waste separation to others. This result implies that activities of the waste banks promote the relations.

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Various nations and international organizations have adopted the theme based framework as the theoretical one for sustainable development indicators (SDIs). However, the difficulty in grasping an overall direction towards the sustainable development is a disadvantage of the theme based framework. Using the SDIs adopted in the Environmental Basic Plan of Japan, the present study aimed to comprehensively evaluate directions towards the sustainable development. As a result, it was revealed that an overall direction toward the sustainable development could be evaluated using evaluation methods presented by Eurostat (2014). It was also shown that, from the viewpoint of usefulness, it is valid to set the threshold value to 0.5 or 1.0 in these methods.

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Ecological Modernization Theory indicating that the environmental protection can coexist with the economic development is widely supported particularly in Europe. This study analyses whether this theory is applicable not only to developed countries but also to other countries/regions, using sulphur dioxide (SO₂) as the indicator. First, the trends of economic growth and SO₂ emission are compared in each region, and then the decomposition analysis is applied to identify the causes of the change. The results show that decoupling of the trends are observed in some of the non-developed regions, and SO₂ reduction per supply of fossil fuel has been continued in most regions. Therefore, the theory seems to be applicable to those non-developed regions. However, the overall judgement may be dependent on the future trend of Asia where SO₂ emissions are quite huge.

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