Research Findings Presented at "Eco2 2010 Yokohama: International Conference on Eco2 Cities"

From October 21 to 23, the event "Eco² 2010 Yokohama: International Conference on Eco² Cities*" was held in Yokohama. Organized by JICA and the World Bank, and with support from Yokohama City, this conference was intended to discuss the compatibility between environment and economy. In a session on climate change adaptation held on the second day, JICA-RI Research Fellow Megumi Muto presented the findings a joint research project involving JICA-RI, the World Bank, and the Asian Development Bank.

The method of research, which derived socioeconomic costs from geographic information systems data and flood simulations in order to analyze the impacts of climate change on the Philippine coastal area of Manila, was highly praised by the attending panelists including James Warren Evans, the session moderator and director of the World Bank's Environment Department.

In the discussions for the post-Kyoto Protocol framework on climate change, adaptation issues have been gaining great attention worldwide. JICA has been contributing to these issues through its various activities. Likewise for JICA-RI, Muto who represents the cooperative research project mentioned above, has published the research results of "Impacts of Climate Change upon Asian Coastal Areas: The Case of Metro Manila."

* "Eco² Cities," short for "Ecological Cities as Economic Cities," is an initiative by the World Bank which seeks to maximize efficiency in energy as a resource, and promotes compatibility between the urban function as a center of economic growth and the mitigation of the impacts of climate change, environmental consideration for biodiversity, etc.

RELATED RESEARCH AREA: Environment and Development / Climate Change

RELATED RESEARCH PROJECT: Impacts of Climate Change upon Asian Coastal Areas