The Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), established under an initiative of the Japanese government in 1998, is an international research institute conducting practical and innovative research for realising sustainable development in the Asia-Pacific region. On 1 April 2012, IGES made the transition to a public interest incorporated foundation.
Expanding economic activities in this area are triggering a variety of drastic changes in the lives of people in this region. IGES policy research is required to strategically meet the actual needs of this area.
Currently, the Fifth Phase of IGES strategic research (April 2010 to March 2013) focuses on three issues of critical importance in the Asia-Pacific region; climate change, natural resource management, and sustainable consumption and production. The research is conducted taking into consideration the three key terms of “actual research themes”, “analytical frameworks”, and “stakeholders”.
Moreover, IGES plays important roles in such cross-cutting themes as formulation of low-carbon society, climate change adaptation, 3R initiatives and water environment governance, serving as the secretariat for various international initiatives and research networks. In these areas, IGES is actively contributing to policy formulation in the form of information sharing and policy proposals.
IGES has been carrying out projects with high public interest, but from now on, it will be required to move ahead with highly reliable research projects that better serve the public interest from a global perspective and meet expectations and requests, under results-oriented management.
This fiscal year 2012 sees the wrapping up of the Fifth Phase of IGES strategic research and our focus turns to formulating a plan for the Integrative Strategic Research Programme for the Sixth Phase which begins in April 2013. Looking towards the 15th year since the establishment of IGES, and with a sense of renewal as a public interest incorporated foundation, we will continue to take steps to strengthen our impact on dynamically evolving international policy making processes. We ask for your continued support.
Strategic Research for Practical Results
Focusing on the environment and development in the Asia-Pacific region, strategic and flexible research is carried out on various issues, with a multilateral cross-sectional approach involving issues, dicsipline and stakeholders.
Impact on Policy Formulation
Through involvement in international/regional policy initiatives and networking activities, IGES contributes to policy formulation through information dissemination and policy recommendations based on research outcomes. As well as participating in major international conferences such as the UN Climate Change Conference, IGES holds the International Forum for Sustainable Asia and the Pacific (ISAP) each year, sharing the latest research results internationally, and promoting discussions among stakeholders for new policy recommendations.