1. Activities undertaken in the period August 1996 - May 1998 1.1 Meetings of the National Committee
1.1.1 Decisions regarding the composition of the IHP National Committee
Election of a new Chairman: On 22 May 1998, Takao Takeda, a member of the Japanese National Commission for UNESCO, was elected as the Chairman of the Japanese IHP National Committee, replacing the former Chairman, Fumio Nishino, who served during 1996- 1997.
1.1.2 Status of HIP-IV activities
1.1.3 Decisions regarding contribution to/participation in MP-V Decisions were made to contribute to:
1. The implementation of Asian Pacific FRIEND.
2. Preparation of the Catalogue of Rivers for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, Vol. 3.
3. Graduate-level education in universities on hydrology.
1.2 Activities at a national level in the framework of the MP 1.2.1 National/Local scientific and technical meetings 1.
2.
Workshop on the Japanese Contribution to Asian Pacific FRIEND, Kyoto, 7 November 1997.
National IHP Working Group Business Meeting (Chairperson: Yutaka Takahashi) held in Tokyo on 16 April 1998.
1.2.2 Participation in IHP Steering Committees/Working Groups 1.2.3 Research/applied projects supported or sponsored
The following research Project 2 was conducted and Projects 1 and 3 are now being conducted with, as Leaders-in-Research, Yutaka Takahashi (Project 1) and Shuichi Ikebuchi (Projects 2, 3), financially supported by a Grant-in-Aid from the Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture (Monbusho).
1.
2.
3.
“Comparative study on rivers and water resources of Southeast Asia and the Pacific and the fundamental study for establishing a database”, Grant-in-Aid for International Scientific Research 1996- 1998, from Monbusho.
“International Co-operative Research on the Situation of Water Use and the Data Environment in Southeast Asia and the Pacific”, Grant-in-Aid for International Scientific Research 1997, from Monbusho.
“Water-Man-Earth Interactions and Sustainable Water Resources Co-operation in East Asia and Oceania”, Grant-in-Aid for International Scientific Research 1998-2000, from Monbusho.
1.2.4 Collaboration with other national and international organizations/programmes The Japanese IHP National Committee has closely collaborated with:
1.
2.
3.
The Liaison Committee on Hydrological Sciences, Science Council of Japan.
The GAME Sub-Committee of the Special Committee on WCRP, Science Council of Japan.
The national government and its branches relating to hydrology and water resources administration.
4. Nagoya University and other university and research institutes.
1.2.5 Other initiatives
1. Contribution to the Catalogue of Rivers for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, Vol. 2
The Japanese IHP National Committee took a strong initiative for publishing the Catalogue of Rivers, Vol. 2, by contributing the Chikugo River, the Fuji River and the Ishikari River. Financial support was offered by the Tokyo Club and the International Institute of Infrastructure Engineering, Japan, for editing, printing and distributing the Catalogue.
2. Contribution to the Catalogue of Rivers for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, Vol. 3
The National Committee is actively contributing to Vol. 3 as well. On 16 April 1998, it formed the editorial committee and decided to contribute the following three rivers with the responsible editors:
The Shimanto River: Michio Hashino The Watarase River: Shigeki Kobatake Another river is in the course of selection.
3. Preparation for contributing to Asian/Pacific FRIEND
The National Committee requested the administrative bodies concerned to support the scientists interested in FRIEND projects by providing the necessary data, information and other assistance.
1.3 Educational and training courses
1. Master of Science degree on atmospheric and hydrospheric sciences:
The Graduate School of Science of Nagoya University accepts students from the Asia and the Pacific region for a Master of Science degree on atmospheric and hydrospheric sciences, with the financial aid of the Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture. Five foreign students from China, Nepal and Thailand entered the course in October 1997, and five new students have been selected from China, Nepal and Bangladesh for entering in October 1998.
2. IHP training courses:
The Institute for Hydrospheric-Atmospheric Sciences of Nagoya University offers IHP training courses for both foreign students of the Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University and trainees chosen by UNESCO Office, Jakarta. The 7th training course on Snow Hydrology was held for 20 participants, including five UNESCO trainees from Bhutan, China, Nepal (two) and Pakistan, from 9 to 22 March 1998.
These training courses were implemented by the Japanese Fund-in-Trust for IHP.
1.4 Publications
“International Cooperative Research on the Situation of Water Use and the Data Environment in Southeast Asia and the Pacific”, a report to the Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture, Grant-in-Aid for International Scientific Research 1997 (Leader-in-Research, S. Ikebuchi).
IHP Newsletter, No. 11, 14 March 1997.
1.5 Participation in international scientific meetings 1.5.1 Meetings hosted by the country
1.5.2 Participation in meetings abroad
1. From l-4 October K. Takara attended the 3rd FRIEND Conference and 1st FRIEND Inter- group Co-ordinating Committee (FIGCC) held in Postojna, Slovenia.
2. From 12- I5 November 1997 K. Takeuchi and K. Takara attended the 1 st RSC-TSC for Asian Pacific FRIEND and the 1st Meeting of the Coordination Committee of the Regional Humid Tropics Hydrology and Water Resources Center for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, preceded by the Workshop on “Local Scale Hydrological Processes in Islands, Highlands and Urban Areas in Malaysia: Needs and Future Direction”.
3.
4.
From 17- 19 December 1997 K. Takeuchi, Y. Takahashi, K. Kan, K. Takara, Y. Katsuraba and H. Ishidaira attended the Fifth Session of the IHP Regional Steering Committee for Southeast Asia and the Pacific and the International Symposium on Hydrology and Water Resources for Research and Development in Southeast Asia and the Pacific, held in Nong Khai, Thailand.
From 20-30 March 1998 S. Ikebuchi. K. Takeuchi, K. Takara, M. Hashino, Y. Ujibashi, A. Kondo and H. Ishidaira attended the First Asian/Pacific FRIEND Workshop on Data Archive and the Scientific Methods for Comparative Hydrology and Water Resources held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
1.6 Other activities at a regional level 1.6.1 Institutional relations/co-operation
1.6.2 Completed and ongoing scientific projects
The Japanese IHP National Committee has been strongly supporting the activities of the RSC, financially as well as scientifically, in the following projects of the RSC:
1. Publication of the Catalogue of Rivers for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, Vol. 2 was successfully completed in December 1997. Preparation of the 3rd volume is ongoing.
2. Asian/Pacific FRIEND was launched in Yogyakarta in November 1996 and its Science Plan was approved in Kuala Lumpur in March 1998. Research Project Teams are now under formation.
The Japanese Fund-in-Trust was and will be used in implementing these projects.
2. FUTURE ACTIVITIES
2.1 Activities foreseen until December 1999
The Japanese IHP National Committee plans to participate in:
1.
2.
3.
4.
The 6th RSC in Korea, November 1998.
The 7th RSC in China, 1999.
Nagoya University IHP training courses, 1999.
All kinds of activities relating to Asian/Pacific FRIEND and the Catalogue of Rivers.
2.2 Activities planned for 1998-1999
1. Participation in RSC activities including Asian/Pacific FRIEND and the Catalogue of Rivers.
2. Nagoya University IHP training courses.
2.3 Activities envisaged for 2000-2001
1. Participation in RSC activities including Asian/Pacific FRIEND and the Catalogue of Rivers.
2. Nagoya University IHP training courses.