The Monsoon Asia Agro-Environmental Research Consortium (MARCO): Toward International Research Collaboration

NIAES International Symposium “Evaluation and Effective Use of Environmental Resources for Sustainable Agriculture in Monsoon Asia — Toward International Research Collaboration” was held on 12–14th December, 2006 in Epochal Tsukuba.

Symposium Program (PDF 1,970 KB)

On the day 1, the six invited speakers gave their excellent and informative lectures on agro-environmental research in Monsoon Asia.

S–1 Agro–Environmental Research and Consortium in Monsoon Asia (Yohei Sato)

S–2 Environment and Sustainable Agriculture in Monsoon Asia (Koji Tanaka)

S–3 Rice Research for Poverty Alleviation and Environmental Sustainability in Asia (Robert S. Zeigler)

S–4 Rice Production in Southeast Asia for Sustainable Agriculture and Environment — International Collaboration for Rice Technology Development (Shu Fukai)

S–5 Impact of Nitrogen Cycling on Global Warming in Agro–Ecosystems of East Asia (Ryusuke Hatano)

S–6 Effect of Global Warming on Invasion of Alien Plants in Asia (Rm. Kathiresan)

On the day 2–3, the following 4 workshops were held, and the current status of the research and the future strategy were discussed.

W–1 Invasive Alien Plants in Asia, Status and Control

W–2 Monsoon Asia Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Emission Studies

W–3 Prediction of Rice Production Variation in East and Southeast Asia under Global Warming

W–4 Ecological Risk Assessment for the Gene Flow from the Genetically Modified Crops

At the end of the symposium, all participants agreed to adopt the Symposium Statement.

Symposium Statement

To Further Advance Agro–Environmental Research in Monsoon Asia

The 276 participants from 15 countries in the international symposium “Evaluation and Effective Use of Environmental Resources for Sustainable Agriculture in Monsoon Asia —Toward International Research Collaboration”, hosted by the National Institute for Agro–Environmental Sciences (NIAES) and supported by the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Research Council of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, hereby confirm and agree upon the following points by consensus.

1. In monsoon Asia it is urgent that we solve environmental problems affecting agriculture in order to achieve sustainable development while maintaining a sound agro–ecosystem.

2. Solving these problems requires that researchers, administrative authorities, research institutes, and other entities connected with agriculture and the environment in the countries of this region make a concerted effort under close collaboration.

3. For that purpose, we shall create the Monsoon Asia Agro–Environmental Research Consortium, which transcends the boundaries of specialization and countries, and conduct agro–environmental research through international collaboration under the consortium.

Based upon the Symposium Statement, NIAES will pursue the following activities for the purpose of conducting research under the Monsoon Asia Agro–Environmental Research Consortium (MARCO).

1. Regularly provide venues for events such as international symposia for exchanging research information.