Environmental Studies

This course examines the long-term perspectives of environmental and climate change policies in France and Japan, considering historical developments, current challenges, and future prospects. It engages with a range of sources in French, English, and Japanese to develop a comprehensive understanding of the policies, strategies, and frameworks implemented in the context of environmental and climate change.  The course provides an opportunity to develop one's ability to analyze and compare the approaches and effectiveness of environmental and climate change policies between France and Japan.

This course will be essentially taught in English and, depending on the students' proficiency level in French, will use some or many documents in French. 

This course delves into the intricate domains of urban planning and environmental management, offering a multifaceted exploration of critical topics essential for sustainable development and effective governance. It examines public goods, infrastructure development, urban planning, and environmental conservation from a legal framework.

This course examines tree measurement, stand variables, growth and yield modelling, sampling, forest Inventory, log measurement, surveying and area measurement, mapping and aerial photography, and global positioning systems (GPS) and geographic information systems (GIS).

The course links knowledge on marine environment and organisms with applied cases, where such knowledge is required (e.g. climate change, eutrophication, pollution). The course is based on several themes representing specific applied issues, which provide the frame for understanding and assessing the potentials, limitations, and environmental effects of human activities on marine ecosystem structure and function. The cases are presented in a scientific context, where an understanding of the underlying basic physiological and ecological processes provide the foundation for evaluating, predicting, and managing environmental effects of human activities on marine systems. Each theme involves lectures, student presentations, and theoretical exercises. Students work in groups and deliver a written report for each theme.

This course provides an understanding of the challenges associated with the transition from fossil-based fuels to renewable energy, considering both the supply and demand side of energy markets. This includes the technological challenges of introducing renewable energy in the energy system and the regulatory challenges of designing optimal policies to facilitate the transition. While the course generally deals with the several energy markets, special emphasis is placed on electricity markets due to the significant role of electricity in a carbon neutral energy system. The course applies theory and analytical tools from microeconomics, macroeconomics, and econometrics. A large part of the course is also based on numerical structural models of the energy system.

This course offers a study of the risks arising from climatic, hydrological, and internal and external geodynamic and biological processes. It discusses the social repercussions of extreme events, the approach to preventative and mitigation measures, and the response of land use planning. This course analyzes extreme episodes of natural and associated risks including the extent to which they are influenced by direct anthropic intervention in the biophysical environmental and by the variability of natural factors.

This course presents basic concepts and information of plate tectonics and the tectonic history of the Asiatic continent and the Japanese islands, active faults and earthquakes, and volcanoes. The lectures include how past and recent environment influence human livelihood.

The course covers the following topics:
- Introduction of the course
- Basics of Plate tectonics
- Plate margin and Japan island arc
- Rock structure beneath surface
- Geology and natural resources
- History of earth and geological timescale
- Earthquake and active faults
- The Great East Japan earthquake
- Rheology of rocks and subduction zone earthquake cycles
- Volcanoes
- Advancement in geodynamics with space geodesy
- Advancement in geodynamics with InSAR and machine learning

The lecture series on "Advances in Water Management and Climate Adaptation" is a comprehensive course designed to explore the latest techniques, tools, technologies, strategies, and policies in managing water resources and adapting to the challenges posed by climate change. Tools and technologies will include, among others, advanced modelling techniques, digital technologies, remote sensing, and geographic information systems. Water management and climate adaptation strategies and policies will unpack the intertwined relationship between environmental, technological, societal, and economic stakes, and include topics related to climate justice, multi-objective optimization, risk and conflict management, and multi-sector dynamics under uncertainty. After an introductory session, different early-stage researchers from international universities, research institutions, technology centers, and policy institutes will present cutting-edge research, projects, lessons learned, challenges, and visions on water resources management and climate adaptation. Each lecture will be followed by a class discussion.

This course examines the core hydrological and climatic processes that cause change within the environment, particularly the role of water. It covers why climate varies spatially, and why vegetation has such an important influence on the availability and timing of moisture and stream flow. It will also examine how hydrological and climatic systems respond to human interaction and environmental change. The emphasis will be on providing the skills necessary to interpret the processes controlling the spatial and temporal variability in climate and water availability.

This course explores the factors that have triggered the evolution of environmental law and governance beyond state (since the development of the UN Sustainable Development Goals), and how the theoretical approaches of environmental studies developed in that context. Additionally, it reflects on how and to what extent environmental law and governance can be resilient and adaptive in facing global challenges.