Global environmental problems are local, regional and global challenges that have arisen from the intricately intertwining of various phenomena created by humankind as part of the development of civilization with the earth and life history. In order to solve these problems, this program aims to shed light on the connections among people, society and nature, and to integrate research that considers the earth and humans as a linked system.

How can human beings build a sustainable society in the overwhelmed global environment due to the expansion of human activities and the cascade of events that will exceed them? The underlying basic question is how people should behave. This program clarifies the various boundaries and linkages existing in the earth-human system that compose complex global environmental issues. The program focuses on promoting better understanding and communication methods that make changes in human lifestyles, values, behavior and society. We want to transform the relationship between humans and nature for a sustainable future by co-creating a multi-scale social design that connects all the people.

In our lives, we make seemingly contradictory choices, such as securing homogeneous resources and maintaining a diverse environment, enjoying benefits and mitigating disasters, and choosing between immediate decisions and distant goals. It is necessary to reconsider and re-establish various boundaries among people, society, and nature by moving from the confrontation and separation of nature and human society toward a symbiotic, coexisting society based on norms. This program tries to reduce conflicts/tradeoffs among resources, and among social activity processes, and increase synergy among them through co-creation with stakeholders.

Mission Statement

This program commenced in April 2024. Various types of research projects at different stages will collaborate to advance research toward achieving the program’s goals. In FY2024, the program consists of six Incubation Studies (IS), three Feasibility Studies (FS), and three Full Research (FR) Projects, which include:

1 An Interdisciplinary Study Toward Clean Air, Public Health and Sustainable Agriculture: The Case of Crop Residue Burning in North India
2 Adaptive Governance of Multiple Resources based on Land- Sea Linkages of the Water Cycle: Application to Coral Reef Island Systems
3 Towards Sustainable Nitrogen Use Connecting Human Society and Nature

Additionally, the program has initiated the T3 Earth Forum, which discusses transformations such as perception change, behavior change, and institutional change, which are common challenges of the program. The program will share the challenges and research processes of these forums and individual projects, utilizing their outcomes within the program.

Furthermore, the second year open call (FS only) will be conducted with a deadline in January 2025.