Rapid economic development in the 20th century has left us with a legacy of mass production, mass consumption, and mass disposal, which has only served to aggravate global environmental issues such as environmental destruction, resources depletion, and global warming. Now, there is a loud cry for switchover to a "sound material-cycle society," where high value is placed on resources and the environment. By definition, a sound material-cycle society is a society where environmental preservation measures are taken in every field, resources are used without any waste, and systems and rules for environmental preservation are built into the market.

  Conducted between FY2003 and FY2007, this Program pursued the three approaches of "development of planning tools," "development of a security system," and "development and accumulation of 3R technologies and appropriate treatment and disposal technologies," successfully building an international-standard center of research and education concerning strategic solid waste management for the creation of a sound material-cycle society.

URL http://ambiente.okayama-u.ac.jp/sswmss/en/index.html

MEXT' s "Initiatives for Attractive Education in Graduate Schools"
Program : Environmental Ethics-Health and the Environment

  True to its founding philosophy of integrating various environmental studies in the fields of science, literature, and medicine, the Graduate School of Environmental Science (est. 2005) places a unique focus on ecology and public health ? studies of nature and humans themselves ? at the Division of Biological and Human Environment, one of its three divisions.

  For this Initiative (FY2005-FY2006), the curriculum of the Graduate School of Environmental Science served as a system for developing a curriculum for this center of environmental science in Asia where future staff at UN agencies and other international organizations are trained. Featuring an "approach of caring for human and natural life" and a "human resources development course for acquiring solution skills," this unique curriculum aims to provide a link between environmental science and public health.

URL http://ambiente.okayama-u.ac.jp/en/index.html

UNESCO Chair in Research and Education for Sustainable Development
at Okayama University

  The UNITWIN/UNESCO Chair Programme is a project which was adopted at the 26th UNESCO General conference in 1992 to promote education and research activities by all higher education organizations in the university network, and to advise on matters related to the exchange of knowledge across national borders. In order to promote the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2014, DESD), Okayama University filed an application for the establishment of the "UNESCO Chair in Research and Education for Sustainable Development at Okayama University" with UNESCO, which was duly accredited in April 2007. Having its "Development of Environmental Specialists ? Program for the Creation of an International ESD Center via the UNESCO Chair (FY2007-FY2009)" successfully chosen as a Partnership Project under MEXT's special education and research grant, a series of ESD projects designed to create a sustainable society are being conducted under the UNESCO Chair at Okayama University through cooperation with other ESD promoting bodies both in and outside of Okayama.

URL http://www.esd-okayama-u.jp/en/index.html