Monday, 8 February 2016
The University of Tokyo
The University of Tokyo was established in 1877 as the first national university in Japan. As a leading research university, UTokyo offers courses in essentially all academic disciplines at both undergraduate and graduate levels and conducts research across the full spectrum of academic activity. The University aims to provide its students with a rich and varied academic environment that ensures opportunities for both intellectual development and the acquisition of professional knowledge and skills. To learn more about the University of Tokyo, please visit the pages below.Our special guest is Ms. Naoko Ishii, a UTokyo alumna who tackles global-scale environmental issues as the first Asian CEO of the Global Environment Facility (GEF). Ms. Ishii, who traverses the globe for her work, is welcomed by President Gonokami, who is pressing forward with efforts to transform the University of Tokyo into a global base for knowledge collaboration. Time seemed to pass by quickly as they talked about a wide range of topics, including the problems humanity faces, the role of the University of Tokyo in dealing with these issues, and the significance of diversity.
Moderator: Today, we invite Ms. Ishii to be here at the earnest request of President Gonokami who aspires to make the University of Tokyo into a global base for knowledge collaboration. I imagine that GEF, of which Ms. Ishii is the CEO, must be a place where knowledge collaboration transcends the boundaries of academic disciplines, administrative sections and geographical regions. With these perspectives in mind, Ms. Ishii, could you tell us about the activities of GEF?
Ishii: Your description of GEF's essence is spot-on. GEF is an entity founded to contribute to the compliance of three international environmental agreements: the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Convention on Biological Diversity and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification. In this sense, GEF is bound by treaties. Other barriers exist, too: the borders between countries and divisions between the public and private sectors. When I became CEO, I felt that GEF has been unable to fulfill its core mission of improving the global environment due to being held back by these barriers. Thinking about how to overcome these barriers, I produced my strategy document GEF 2020.
Gonokami: I am also in the middle of writing my action plan, which is called The University of Tokyo: Vision 2020.
Ishii: It made me happy to hear after I made my plan that its title was so similar to yours. As a theoretical background for GEF 2020, I used the concept of planetary boundaries1 proposed by environmental scientist Johan Rockström. The planetary boundaries concept focuses on nine important system processes that constitute the Earth system, including the climate system, aquatic environment and biodiversity, and quantifies the burden human economic activities have placed on the Earth system. The concept is based on the assumption that once passing a certain threshold, the Earth system may become unable to function normally, and unpredictable changes may take place.
The mission of GEF is, in short, to ensure that further economic growth will fall within the thresholds that the Earth system can support. That's why GEF has provided capital grants to developing nations that are implementing projects for solutions to global-scale environmental issues.
Moderator: Today, we invite Ms. Ishii to be here at the earnest request of President Gonokami who aspires to make the University of Tokyo into a global base for knowledge collaboration. I imagine that GEF, of which Ms. Ishii is the CEO, must be a place where knowledge collaboration transcends the boundaries of academic disciplines, administrative sections and geographical regions. With these perspectives in mind, Ms. Ishii, could you tell us about the activities of GEF?
Ishii: Your description of GEF's essence is spot-on. GEF is an entity founded to contribute to the compliance of three international environmental agreements: the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Convention on Biological Diversity and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification. In this sense, GEF is bound by treaties. Other barriers exist, too: the borders between countries and divisions between the public and private sectors. When I became CEO, I felt that GEF has been unable to fulfill its core mission of improving the global environment due to being held back by these barriers. Thinking about how to overcome these barriers, I produced my strategy document GEF 2020.
Gonokami: I am also in the middle of writing my action plan, which is called The University of Tokyo: Vision 2020.
Ishii: It made me happy to hear after I made my plan that its title was so similar to yours. As a theoretical background for GEF 2020, I used the concept of planetary boundaries1 proposed by environmental scientist Johan Rockström. The planetary boundaries concept focuses on nine important system processes that constitute the Earth system, including the climate system, aquatic environment and biodiversity, and quantifies the burden human economic activities have placed on the Earth system. The concept is based on the assumption that once passing a certain threshold, the Earth system may become unable to function normally, and unpredictable changes may take place.
The mission of GEF is, in short, to ensure that further economic growth will fall within the thresholds that the Earth system can support. That's why GEF has provided capital grants to developing nations that are implementing projects for solutions to global-scale environmental issues.
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