SATREPS (Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development, 地球規模課題対応国際科学技術協力) is a Japanese government program that promotes international joint research targeting global issues. The program is a collaboration between two Japanese government agencies: the
Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) and the
Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). SATREPS projects are expected to lead to outcomes with potential for practical utilization, and to enhance
research
Research is "creativity, creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular att ...
capacity in the
developing countries
A developing country is a sovereign state with a lesser developed industrial base and a lower Human Development Index (HDI) relative to other countries. However, this definition is not universally agreed upon. There is also no clear agreem ...
all around the world. Some of the global challenges cannot be met by a single country or region acting on its own, so engagement by the
international community
The international community is an imprecise phrase used in geopolitics and international relations to refer to a broad group of people and governments of the world.
As a rhetorical term
Aside from its use as a general descriptor, the term is ...
is essential. To address these issues, SATREPS works through international projects by developing partnerships among researchers in Japan and researchers in developing countries.
Distribution of ongoing projects
SATREPS projects are selected each year from project proposals developed together with partner institutions in the developing countries and submitted by Japanese
research institutions
A research institute, research centre, research center or research organization, is an establishment founded for doing research. Research institutes may specialize in basic research or may be oriented to applied research. Although the term often i ...
. In the four years since its commencements in April 2008, a total of 60 projects are in developed in 33 countries:
{, class="wikitable"
, -
! Region !! Number of Countries !! Number of Projects
, -
,
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...
, , 10 countries , , 31 projects
, -
,
Latin America
Latin America or
* french: Amérique Latine, link=no
* ht, Amerik Latin, link=no
* pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
/
Caribbean
The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
, , 6 countries , , 9 projects
, -
,
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
, , 15 countries , , 18 projects
, -
, Other , , 2 countries , , 2 projects
The framework
SATREPS projects are conducted through
collaboration
Collaboration (from Latin ''com-'' "with" + ''laborare'' "to labor", "to work") is the process of two or more people, entities or organizations working together to complete a task or achieve a goal. Collaboration is similar to cooperation. Most ...
between JST and JICA. JST uses research contracts to support research costs incurred inside Japan and possibly some other locations excluding the country involved in the project. JICA provides support through its technical cooperation project framework to cover costs in the country involved in the collaborative project. Overall
R&D management of the international joint research is handled jointly by JST, which has expertise in funding research projects at research institutions in Japan, and JICA, which has expertise in technical cooperation in developing countries.
SATREPS projects typically share the following characteristics:
:Joint research conducted for the purpose of resolving specific issues, where there is a strong need to enhance research capacity in the developing country involved in the project.
:Research with outcomes expected to contribute to both the developing country and the wider community.
:Research expected to contribute to the advancement of Japan's
science
Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe.
Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...
and
technology
Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use of technology is widely prevalent in medicine, science, ...
Possible potential collaboration topics
* Research contributing to
adaptation to climate change
Climate change adaptation is the process of adjusting to current or expected effects of climate change.IPCC, 2022Annex II: Glossary öller, V., R. van Diemen, J.B.R. Matthews, C. Méndez, S. Semenov, J.S. Fuglestvedt, A. Reisinger (eds.) InClimat ...
or mitigation of climate change
* Research contributing to the acquisition and treatment of safe water supplies
* Research contributing to the secure management of chemical risks
* Research contributing to the development of a closed-loop economy
* Research contributing to
biodiversity
Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') l ...
and
ecosystem
An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syste ...
conservation
Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws.
Conservation may also refer to:
Environment and natural resources
* Nature conservation, the protection and manageme ...
, including bio-remedies.
External links
SATREPS (Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development)*
Japan Science and Technology Agency :ja:科学技術振興機構
Government of Japan
Japan International Cooperation Agency