The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
By Daryl Rose Virtudazo
The Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) has announced that 14 projects were selected from 89 proposals for this year’s Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development (Satreps) program.
This program combines international joint research with official development assistance (ODA). It is a science-and-technology diplomacy initiative that promotes international joint research using advanced science and technology from Japan.
The program is a collaboration between Jica, the Japan Science and Technology Agency, and the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (Amed).
In recent years global issues that cannot be resolved by one country or region alone have been on the rise around the world, including global warming, energy and resource issues, the spread of infectious diseases, and the occurrence of natural disasters.
Global issues adversely affect people’s lives, health and economic well-being around the world, especially those of poor people in developing countries.
In 2008, Jica launched a program called “Science and Technology Cooperation on Global Issues” as a framework for international cooperation that strives to resolve these global issues.
Based upon the needs of and requests by recipient-countries, this program aspires to promote international joint research between research institutions in Japan and those in recipient-countries in order to obtain new knowledge that’s conducive to resolving global issues. It also aims to ensure capacity building of research institutions in developing countries.
The following projects have been provisionally selected for 2016.
Environment and Energy
• Comprehensive Assessment and Conservation of Blue Carbon Ecosystems and Their Services in the Coral Triangle (Blue CARES) (Philippines/Indonesia)
• Development and Implementation of New Damage Assessment Process in Agricultural Insurance as Adaptation to Climate Change for Food Security (Indonesia)
• Development of Next-Generation Sustainable Land Management (SLM) Framework to Combat Desertification (Ethiopia)
• Strengthening of the Environmental Radiation Control and Legislative Basis for the Environmental Remediation of Radioactively Contaminated Sites (Ukraine)
• Comprehensive Conversion of Biomass and Waste to Super Clean Fuels by New Solid Catalysts (Thailand)
• Smart Cities for Emerging Countries based on Sensing, Network and Big Data Analysis of Multimodal Regional Transport System (India)
Bioresources
• Breakthrough in Nutrient Use Efficiency for Rice by Genetic Improvement and Fertility Sensing Techniques in Africa (Madagascar)
• Developing Countermeasures Against Striga to Conquer Poverty and Improve Food Security (Sudan)
• Improvement of Agricultural Productivity and Poverty Alleviation through Effective Use of Kodjari Rock Phosphate (Burkina Faso)
• Marine Technopark Computing System for Food Security and Sustainabilities (Maritep-COMSYSS)” (Indonesia)
Disaster Prevention and Mitigation
• Development of Extreme Weather Monitoring and Alert System (Philippines)
• Evaluation and Mitigation of Seismic Risk to Earth Structure Including Composite Structure (Earth and Stone) Buildings (Bhutan)
• Development of Innovative Diagnostic Tools to Detect Drug-resistant Fungi and Their Application to the Epidemiological Surveillance (Brazil)
Infectious Diseases Control
• One Health Approach to Control of Neglected Tropical Diseases with Special Attention to Sandfly and Mosquito-borne Infections (Turkey)
Satreps aspires to acquire new knowledge that may help to tackle global issues, like the environment and energy, bioresources, disaster prevention and mitigation, and infectious diseases control.
It also aspires to encourage future use of the acquired knowledge in society, and build the capacity of researchers and research institutes in developing countries through joint research cooperation with Japanese research institutes, based on social needs in developing countries.
Based on the needs of developing countries, JST and Jica cooperate to promote international joint research targeting global issues with an objective of future utilization of research outcomes.
Implemented through collaboration with ODA, the aim of the program is to acquire new knowledge and technology that lead to the resolution of global issues and the advance of science and technology, and through this process, to create innovations.
International joint research under this program also aims to enhance the research and development capabilities of developing countries, and helps create sustainable research systems able to address and resolve issues.