With China′s rapid economic development, the water quality of water bodies has gone from bad to worse. In addition to government and enterprises, ordinary citizens need also to play an important role in reducing the deterioration of the water environment. Therefore, it is very important to reveal Chinese people′s awareness of the water environment though surveys and studies of awareness of the water environment have been few. Referring to the water environmental consciousness investigation performed in Japan, we investigated awareness of the water environment in urban and rural areas of the Hanjiang River basin, Hubei Province from March to May 2008. According to the results of the investigation, by a comparative study with the case of Japan, we examined people′s awareness of problems of the water environment in the Hanjiang River Basin from the following viewpoints, (1) current water environment problems; (2) routine life with water problems; (3) measures for the protection of the water environment; (4) national efforts to protect the water environment; (5) national requirements for water environmental policy. As a result, many similarities were revealed concerning awareness of the water environment, recognition of current water environment problems and water environmental protection measures between the Hanjiang River Basin in China, and Japan. Industrial wastewater discharge was considered as the main cause of river water pollution in the Hanjiang River Basin, while domestic wastewater discharge was recognized as the main cause in Japan, which shows a clear difference between them. Much attention has been paid to the problem of industrial wastewater in China, though in recent years water pollution caused by domestic wastewater has increased rapidly and this has received much less attention. Although many people are hoping for improvements in the water environment in the Hanjiang River Basin, few people know how to reduce water pollution in their daily lives. It is hoped that comparative studies such as this one may be helpful in the planning of future measures for water environment conservation in China.

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The adverse effects of climate change are expected to affect developing countries to a greater degree than industrialized nations. Poorer countries lack the financial resources and technology to implement adaptation activities against climate change. Consequently, financing is a vital issue in creating international institutions for adaptation. This study explores effective and high-performance financing systems to promote adaptation activities in developing countries that are vulnerable to climate change. Two approaches are used: 1) a new analytical framework and criteria, based on studies of international politics and development financing, evaluate the effectiveness and performance of existing financing systems for adaptation; and 2) an analysis of case studies of Samoa and Tuvalu, which have different degrees of vulnerability to climate change. The results indicate that effective donor-recipient combinations differ between Samoa and Tuvalu because of different adaptation needs, domestic situations, and the relationships between donors and recipients. This research implies that financing systems for adaptation need to be best match-based with regard to the needs and national situations of the developing countries and the characteristics of the financing systems.

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In this study, the life cycle assessment and life cycle cost were applied for comparison with lighting bulbs and the economic and environmental valuations of the effect of converting traditional lighting bulbs to low-carbon-type lighting bulbs. When an incandescent bulb was converted to a LED lighting bulb, CO₂ emission was decreased by 78%. However, when a fluorescent bulb was converted to a LED fluorescent bulb, there was no decrease in CO₂ emission. Next, the effect of both types of conversion on the household′s CO₂ emission and cost was calculated. As a consequence, annual CO₂ emission per household decreased from 73 to 41 kg, and the annual cost decreased from 3,800 to 2,160 JPY. Further, sensitivity analysis was performed by shortening the time for which an occupied compartment was used. The results showed that the effect of converting an incandescent bulb on the reduction in CO₂ is higher than the effect of converting a fluorescent bulb.

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We studied the simultaneous analytical method with GC/MS for the 60 agricultural chemicals which are the candidate of “Complimentary Items” in drinking water. In the GC/MS measurement for the mixture of standard solution of agricultural chemicals, the linearity of a calibration curve and the reproducibility of repetitive measurements were satisfactory. The quantification limits of all 59 substances, to which the desired values can be estimated based on the ADI, were lower than the corresponding desired values. Furthermore, quantification limits of 56 substances were lower than 1/100 of the corresponding desired values. In the recovery tests using purified water and tap water (with or without dechlorination), the recovery rates were correlated to the values of LogP_ow of each agricultural chemical. Satisfactory recovery rates (70 to 120%) were obtained in 43 substances among 60 substances tested. In order to expand the GC/MS simultaneous analysis method developed in present study as an official analytical methods of drinking water, validation test of this method is should be carried out in the future.

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This study aims to verify which CO₂ reduction measures are effective for strengthening local regions through the local economy, job creation, etc. First, we assembled practical measures, based on national and regional laws and institutions for reducing CO₂ emissions. We then created two Roadmaps for Aichi prefecture to reduce CO₂ emissions — one based on national measures (RM-1), and one on local measures (RM-2), which together will reduce CO₂ by 40% of 1990 levels by 2030. We estimated the CO₂ emissions and investment amount of each reduction measure by evaluating its introduction capacity. Next, we used a “Model of Local Climate Policy and Economic Analysis” developed in this research project to predict the economic effects in 2030 in Aichi.
As a result, the gross regional product of the RM-2 Roadmap based is predicted to be approximately 7 trillion yen higher than RM-1 in 2030, and the impact on job creation of RM-2 is calculated to be about 60,000 to 90,000 larger than RM-1. The CO₂ reduction measures based on local regions will not only cut CO₂ emissions but also contribute to the resiliency of local regions by stimulating job creation, revitalizing the local economy, and progressing toward a low-carbon society.

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