Environmental science in rural area

This course will cover the following topics: (I) Overview of rural and mountain villages and associated issues; (II) Environments and structures created by rural and mountain villages; (III) New uses and ways of life in rural and mountain villages; and (IV) Revitalizing and developing rural and mountain villages.

Session (I) will give an overview of rural and mountain villages and the current state of the environment. Session (II) will explain agricultural and forestry technologies and the regional systems that are based on them, illustrated by case examples from research areas that the instructors are involved in. In Session (III), we will explain each technology in detail and explore new ways of life. Based on the above, in Session (IV), we will consider future courses of action for revitalizing and creating rural and mountain villages. The lectures will be easy to understand and centered around concrete examples from the specialized perspectives and research fields of each lecturer.

Shinshū, semi-mountainous area, environment, regional revitalization

This sequential course is conducted in the following order, with several instructors giving lectures.

I. Overview of rural and mountain villages and awareness of issues
1. Orientation; lecture overview: Society and rural villages in the future (Uchikawa)
2. Safe and secure life in rural villages (Uchikawa)
3. Significance of rural villages in the context of contemporary social conditions (Uchikawa)

II. Environment and structure created by rural villages
4. Links between mountain villages and the surrounding seminatural areas (1) (Obasute rice terraces and water use) (Uchikawa)
5. Links between mountain villages and the surrounding seminatural areas (2) (Watershed forests and irrigation ponds) (Okano)
6. Links between mountain villages and the surrounding seminatural areas (3) (Weed control in rice terraces) (Watanabe)
7. Links between mountain villages and the surrounding seminatural areas (4) (The plants of rice terraces and irrigation ponds) (Arase)
8. Links between mountain villages and the surrounding seminatural areas (5) (Structure of giant biotopes) (Okano)

III. New usages and ways of life in rural and mountain villages
9. Changes in the use and vegetation of seminatural areas (Yasue)
10. Evaluation and use of useful plant resources (Arase)
11. Cultivation of artificial forests and their uses (Okano)
12. Conserving and using traditional vegetables (Matsushima)
13. Using timber resources from seminatural areas (Yasue)
14. Environmental characteristics and uses of rural and mountain villages: Mountain dairy farming (Uchikawa)

IV. Regeneration and development of rural and mountain villages
15. Revitalization of rural and mountain villages (summary) (Uchikawa)

Each instructor conducts a short test in their sessions to assess students’ level of understanding of the topics shown in the course outline.

Syllabus (Japanese site only)