■Issue of a Report on the "Approaches to Rehabilitation and Restoration of Wetlands and their Environment" by the KIWC Technical Committee

The KIWC Technical Committee issued a report of their research studies from FY2001 to FY2003, "Approaches to Rehabilitation and Restoration of Wetlands and their Environment", at the end of March, 2004. They provided the report to related organizations as reference material. The report includes research studies and case examples by each member of the KIWC technical committee, regarding rehabilitation and restoration of nature environment in wetlands in eastern Hokkaido.
Though the report is written in Japanese, an English summary will be made later.

■2004 JICA Training Course "Conservation, Restoration and Wise-use of Wetland Ecosystems and their Biological Diversity"

From May 17 to June 23, 2004, the JICA group training course on the "Conservation, Restoration and Wise-use of Wetland Ecosystems and their Biological Diversity" was held. JICA International Obihiro Center was the administrative institution, and the Nature Conservation Bureau of the Ministry of the Environment and the KIWC were the hosting institutions.
This course, which was the first session for this theme, was provided for seven participants from six countries who are researchers and mid-level administrative officers involved in environmental and nature conservation. Various case examples were presented in the course, illustrating approaches to the restoration and rehabilitation of damaged environment in Japan, from the Okinawa islands to Hokkaido, in order to conserve ecosystems and biological diversity in wetlands. Training participants participated in many practical training programs such as environmental education and eco-tours, and learned how to use natural resources in wetlands sustainably by firsthand experience.
During the stay in Kushiro region, some exchange programs including home visit were provided. Thanks to warm hospitality by local volunteers, training participants were able to enjoy a relaxing time between tough training programs.