Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute.
REDD-plus and Forest-DRR Research and Development Center.

Protecting Coastal Areas with Forests:
Toward the Development of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Technology

Date and Time

January 26, 2022 14:00-16:30 (JST)

Holding Method　

This seminar will be held in an online participation format. Those who have registered will be informed of the connection instructions later.

There is no plan to make the recording available. Summary report and presentation materials will be made available on this website later.

Purpose of the event

In recent years, an increase in the intensity and frequency of torrential rains and typhoons has been reported from many parts of the world, and there is a risk of increasing scale and frequency of slope disasters and severe storm surge damage in coastal areas.

In November 2021, the 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was held in Glasgow, UK. In this conference, the importance of forests as a “Nature-based Solutions" that contributes to both mitigation and adaptation to climate change was once again emphasized.

The REDD-plus and Forest-based Disaster Risk Reduction (F-DRR) Research and Development Center at the Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute (FFPRI), Japan, is currently engaged in research on both mitigation and adaptation to climate change with the use of forests. Such research includes the application of disaster prevention and mitigation technologies that utilize forest functions as adaptation measures in developing countries.

Since ancient times, Japan has been hit by natural disasters such as typhoons and tsunamis. As a countermeasure, mountain disaster control technologies that utilize the disaster prevention and mitigation functions of forests have been developed. In coastal areas, as a disaster prevention measure, forests have also been used as buffer zones around residential areas to protect living spaces from natural hazards, such as sediment runoff, floods, tsunamis, storm surges, and strong winds. Such forest-related disaster prevention and mitigation technologies, combined with auxiliary facilities, are expected to be applied to the developing countries that are trying to promote disaster prevention measures. Such technologies can be applied with relatively low-cost and expected to promote the improvement of the multifaceted functions of forests, e.g. source of timber and non-timber forest products, watershed protection and carbon sink.

This seminar aims to explore and discuss forest-related technologies that can protect people living in the coastal areas of developing countries from natural disasters. It includes presentations of reports and sharing of experiences from various countries, introductions of latest research findings, and discussions of local needs and approaches to the creation and management of mangrove forests. It also includes a panel discussion on the current issues and future directions regarding the “Creation and Management of Forests with Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Functions".

Program

Program Download Here (0.9Mb)

Registration is required

Please fill in your information on this online form.

https://forms.office.com/r/0V6VdGdiUk

Seminer Flyer Download Here （0.8Mb）