Ten Institutes to Join the Nippon Foundation Nereus Program

Nippon Foundation Nereus Program: Press Release (22 January 2018)
Expectations for the Nippon Foundation Nereus Program Grows as 10 New World Class Research Institutes Join the Program
The Nippon Foundation Nereus Program is welcoming ten new research institutes from Europe, North America and Australia to its research partnership, bringing the total to 17. The program is an international collaboration between The Nippon Foundation and the University of British Columbia. Launched in September 2011 with the aim to make comprehensive forecasts of the ocean's future, the program has grown into one of the world's largest research initiatives in its field.
Principle investigators from eight out of the ten newly joined universities and institutes gathered in Tokyo last December to partake in an international symposium titled "Limits of Oceans". They discussed a range of topics including major effects of climate change on marine ecosystems; seafood dilemma of health benefits vs. health hazards from contaminants; and modern slavery in the fishing industry. As guest speaker, Paul Greenberg, author of the bestselling "Four Fish: The Future of the Last Wild Food" shed light on the state of commercial fishing and aquaculture.
Yohei Sasakawa, Chairman of The Nippon Foundation noted the sense of crisis: "A sustainable ocean is of the utmost importance for people. If current conditions continue, the ocean will only survive 500, 1,000, or at most 2,000 years, which is a blink of the eye in terms of the earth's history. For a long time, humans thought of the ocean as being unlimited, and we now face a variety of issues including a drastic decline in biodiversity." He also called for research from a global perspective into what needs to be done for the ocean's future. "
Going forward, the addition of ten world class research institutes made possible with additional commitments from the Nippon Foundation in 2016, will allow the Program to be more comprehensive in its research scope and be more policy-relevant. The new partners-University of Wollongong (Australia), Harvard University (USA), University of Washington (USA), Arizona State University (USA), University of South Carolina (USA), Agrocampus Ouest (France), Monterey Bay Aquarium (USA), Stanford University (USA), University of Ottawa (Canada), Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH Zurich, Switzerland), Rutgers University (USA)-will engage in research such as regional fisheries policy, social responsibility of seafood, science communication, up-welling system, ecosystem based approach, the state of blue fish tuna, bycatch, climate related extreme events, marine pollution, and population health and ecological adaptation (see below for details).

Nereus new Principal Investigators are:
" Agrocampus Ouest (France)
Principal Investigator: Dr. Didier Gascuel. Modelling large scale ecosystem responses to climate change.
" Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH Zurich, Switzerland) Principal Investigator: Dr. Thomas Frölicher. Extreme climate events and its implications for marine ecosystems and fisheries under climate change.
" Harvard University (USA)
Principal Investigator: Dr. Elsie Sunderland. Modelling global impacts of marine contaminants on marine ecosystems and their implications for public health.
" Arizona State University (USA)
Principal Investigator: Dr. Jack Kittinger. Social implications of Fisheries Improvement Projects (FIPs) for artisanal fisheries, particularly in the developing countries.
" Monterey Bay Aquarium (USA)
Principal Investigator: Dr. Andre Boustany. Management of the multi-national fisheries (e.g. Pacific bluefin tuna) and roles of science in evaluation of alternative policy options.
" Rutgers University (USA)
Principal Investigator: Dr. Malin Pinsky. Adaptation capacity and policies for regional fisheries under climate change and globalization.
" University of South Carolina (USA)
Principal Investigator: Dr. Ryan Rykaczewski. Responses of Eastern Boundary Upwelling ecosystems and fisheries to climate change and other human stressors.
" University of Washington (USA)
Principal Investigator: Mr. Hanson Hosein. Communication strategies for global, cross-boundary ocean issues and social innovation through corporate engagement.
" Wollongong University (Australia) Principal Investigator: Dr. Quentin Hanich. Ocean governance and management policies for South Pacific island nations.
" University of Ottawa (Canada) Principal Investigator: Dr. Laurie Chan. Responses of food systems to ecosystems and socio-economic changes and the impact to health risk among coastal communities in Arctic and the world.
" Stanford University (USA) Principal Investigator: Dr. Larry Crowder. Interacting effects of environmental variability and management on fisheries' social ecological resilience.

Related Link
The Nippon Foundation - University of British Columbia Nereus Program
http://www.nereusprogram.org/

Contact
Communications Department
The Nippon Foundation
E-mail: cc@ps.nippon-foundation.or.jp

THE NIPPON FOUNDATION
https://www.nippon-foundation.or.jp/en/who/about/
The Nippon Foundation was established in 1962 as a non-profit philanthropic organization, active in Japan and around the world. Initially our efforts focused largely on the maritime and shipping fields, but since then the range of our activities has expanded to education, social welfare, public health, and other fields—carried out in more than 100 countries to date. Together with our more than 20 partner organizations in Japan and worldwide we are funding and assisting community-led efforts aimed at realizing a more peaceful and prosperous global society.

THE NEREUS PROGRAM
http://www.nereusprogram.org/about/the-program/
The Nereus Program, a collaboration between the Nippon Foundation and the University of British Columbia, has engaged in innovative, interdisciplinary ocean research since its inception in 2011

The Nippon Foundation
cc@ps.nippon-foundation.or.jp
1-2-2 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-8404 Japan

The Nereus Program
Aquatic Ecosystem Research Laboratory, The University of British Columbia
2202 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC, Canada, V6T 1Z4
l.lafreniere@oceans.ubc.ca

Future Earth Inc. (PR Agent)
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This release was published on openPR.