In 2003, during the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, the Asia Pacific Initiative (API) was launched because of the call for “…education and awareness-raising, capacity building and information for decision making and scientific capabilities” by world leaders. The API was developed and launched with the vision of the Leadership for Environment And Development (LEAD) Japan as a type II partnership agreement. The program was to encourage extensive cooperation between universities and research institutions in the Asia Pacific region by working together to develop online educational materials related to the human development and environmental sustainability. API began with a strong focus on research and development that is related to building online communication using next generation broadcasting of field based environmental research within the Asia Pacific region. In order to reach a broader and wider audience and also to have a stronger impact, the mixture of education, entertainment and news was used.
Advanced Seminar in International Environmental Studies (ESD)
A pilot course began in 2005 between numerous educational and research institutions with the support of the Telecommunications and Information Policy Group (TIPG) at the University of Hawaii. Along with the API partners, TIPG helped to connect these institutions using video conferencing and online learning tools. The use of video conferencing and online learning tools played well with the environmental sustainability theme of the course because there was almost no long distance travel needed which allowed participants and lecturers to remain at their institutions and/or countries.
As the pilot course, the Advance Seminar in International Environmental Studies began in September 2005 and included partners from Keio University (Tokyo, Japan), the Foundation for Advanced Studies on International Development (FASID), the University of the Ryukyus (Okinawa, Japan), the Asian Institute of Technology (Pathumthania, Thailand), the University of the South Pacific (Suva, Fiji), the National University of Samoa (Apia, Samoa), the Research Institute for Subtropics (Okinawa, Japan), Asia Development Bank and the United Nations University (Tokyo, Japan). These institutions worked together to produce a seminar that involved numerous professionals and lecturers from all over the globe.
The course planning and coordination was spearheaded by Keio University, the United Nations University and the University of Hawaii acting as the secretariat. At each different institution, local coordinators were appointed and worked with the secretariat to produce a curriculum that was focused on linking real projects in the region to the seminar classes. The course offered advanced students and professionals who were interested in environmental studies, planning, and resource conservation and management the opportunity to learn from a diverse faculty from each participating universities as well as distinguished guest lecturers representing different regional and international organizations. The following topics were covered: Multilateral Environmental Agreements and International, Regional and Local Policies and Management; Earth Observing Technologies; Coral Reef Management and Marine Bio-Diversity; Coastal Zone Research, Planning and Management; Integrated Coastal Management; Watershed and Water Resource Management; Utilities Management and Sustainable Development; Sustainable Fisheries; Sustainable Agriculture; Land and Marine Based Chemicals; Waste and Pollution Issues; and Climate Change.
In 2006 the second round of the seminar started in late September. The number of participants had increased with the addition of Aoyama Gakuin University (Tokyo, Japan) and The Energy and Resources Institute (New Delhi, India). Lecturers from the first year were brought back as a result of positive feedback from the participants and new lecturers were also invited to share their research and knowledge. The topics for API 2006 included the following: Innovative Environmental Policy Tools: IIA, EIA and SEA; Kyoto Protocol Implementation; Monitoring the Earth: Earth Observing Technologies; Coral Reef Management and Marine Biodiversity; Land Tenure and Forest Resource Management; Coastal Zone Research, Planning & Management; Integrated Coastal Management; Land, Air and Marin-Based Chemicals, Waste and Pollution Issues; Agent Orange Impact on the Environment; The Earth Charter in Practice: An Introductory Workshop; Sustainable Agriculture; and International Negotiation for a Stable Global Climate.
This year (2007), the Environmental Seminar started around the same time in late September with a strong list of lecturers that includes Dr. Rajenda Pachuari, the Chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) which recently won the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize. After three years, the API collaboration has brought together participants and lecturers from all over the Asia and Pacific Region into a virtual classroom and online distance learning modules.
As the current Environmental Seminar continues, there are more and more issues relating to Environmental Sustainability and Awareness that will greatly impact the topics and curriculum of the Seminar. In addition, the speed of technology has improved the social interaction of the participants, the lecturers and the coordinators into an actual online community.
Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance (DMHA)
API DMHA is a pilot course with collaboration between nine education and research institutions in the Asia Pacific region utilizing constant and interactive video teleconferencing communications throughout the course sessions. The course offers graduate students and working professionals interested in disaster management and humanitarian assistance issues an opportunity to learn from a diverse faculty from throughout the region as well as distinguished guest lecturers from regional and international organizations.
In the course, it is intended to provide a broad overview of the field of Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance. For this year of 2007, there is Professor John Robert Egan at the University of Hawaii at Manoa as the program coordinator who facilitates the mainframe of the course. It is hoped to develop a coherent framework for understanding this remarkably complex and critically important human activity, while presenting selected examples of the contributions being made by the individuals, organizations and institutions that comprise the international disaster management community. The course participants will pay particular attention to the development of disaster management networks in the Asia Pacific region.
Within the current Disaster Management Seminar, there are increasing issues relating to disaster management and awareness that will greatly affect the topics and curriculum of the Seminar. Technology will play a large role in how these classes are delivered, with special attention to the development of on line web based applications that will increase inter-activity between the students and the instructor.
For the year of 2007, the following various topics will be covered by various lecturers from disaster management humanitarian assistance partnering sites: Communication Networks in Asia and the Pacific Islands; Distance Learning Guidelines; What is a Disaster?; What is “Disaster Management”; Discussion of Course Objectives, Student Work and Feedback Tools; Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance in Times of Terrorism; Who is Responsible for Disaster Management; Building Resilient Communities, Explorations of Linkages between Risks and Other Community Elements; Empowering Communities to Cope with Disaster Risks; Gender and Disaster; Volcanoes, Perception of Risks, Evacuation Psychology; Tsunami and Engineering, Inundation Mapping, Wave Surge; Information and Communication Technologies for Disaster Management; Earth Observation Systems and Geographic Information Systems Applications in Disaster; Global Observing Systems; Planning and Preparation for Cities in Hazardous Areas; Earthquakes in Indonesia: Response and Recovery; Historical Damages Caused by Typhoon Waves and Tsunamis, and Countermeasures Against Them in the Ryukyu Islands of Okinawa, Japan; Tsunami Hazard Assessment and Mitigation: A Case Study for Tropical-Subtropical Coastal Areas; Preparing for Disaster and Response Through the United Nations Specialized Agencies; Pandemics and the Globalization of Disease; Planning, the Urban Environment and Public Health; and Education for Sustainability.
Fall 2007 Participating Institutions:
Asian Institute of Technology: Pathumthani, THAILAND
National University of Samoa: Apia, SAMOA
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Tokyo, JAPAN
United Nations University: Tokyo, JAPAN
University of Gadjah Mada: Yogyakarta, INDONESIA
University of Hawaii at Manoa Hawaii, USA
University of Ryukyus: Okinawa, JAPAN
World Health Organization, Kobe, JAPAN
In Collaboration With:
Keio University, School of the Internet, Tokyo, JAPAN
API Web Site: http://www.unu.edu/api
