UNU acts as the nominating authority for the JSPS-UNU
Programme, and UNU-IAS administers the programme on behalf of UNU in
the nominating process. Candidates apply to UNU-IAS using the
prescribed application form with the following documents:
recommendation letters, and a certificate of his/her Ph.D. degree, etc.
It is necessary for applicants to indicate the prospective host researcher at the time of submitting the application. The list of prospective host researchers and their areas of specialisation
is available as an example for candidates. (It is not necessary to
obtain confirmation of acceptance from the prospective host researcher
at this stage.) After screening the candidates, UNU will assist in
receiving acceptance from the host researchers for the short-listed
candidates. After the host researcher is secured for each short-listed
candidate, UNU will make nominations to JSPS, which contributes
financially to this programme. The final award decision will be made by
JSPS and Awards Letters will be issued by JSPS to the fellowship
awardees. An advisor for each fellowship awardee will be selected for
the period of research in Japan from among the UNU (UNU-IAS or UNU
Centre) faculty members after consultation with the host researcher.
Biodiplomacy The
Biodiplomacy Initiative (BI) is a multifaceted approach to supporting
international, regional and national processes concerning development
and implementation of law and policy relating to conservation and use
of biodiversity, access to genetic resources and benefit sharing,
protection of traditional knowledge, intellectual property rights,
bioethics, biosafety and biosecurity. The BI includes policy research,
outreach and capacity building activities.
Sustainable Development Governance Studies
on the governance and effectiveness of institutions for sustainable
development, interlinkages/interplay between MEAs, both at global and
regional levels; ethics and the role of environmental principles in
international governance, WTO and sustainable development in developing
countries, development of markets and policies for environmental goods
and services, WTO and investment in developing countries, and impacts
of WTO accession on sustainable development particularly sectoral
analysis on health, welfare, poverty reduction, culture and environment.
Science Policy for Sustainable Development
Studies on policy issues related to the implementation of technology
transfer provisions of Convention on Biological Diversity
(CBD),International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and
Agriculture (ITPGRFA), and the United Nations Convention to Combat
Desertification (UNCCD); country case studies and best practices in
biotechnology development and transfer in developing countries context;
policy studies on the application of science and technology for
achieving the millennium Development Goals, particularly in regard to
poverty alleviation in Africa; institutional innovations in linking
science and technology with the development process in developing
countries.
Ecosystems & People
Studies on the linkages between human well-being and ecosystems;
poverty and environment; poverty reductions strategies/Millennium
Development Goals related to environment; pro-poor markets for
ecosystem services, roles of MEAs in improving human well-being; and
ecosystem assessment leading towards integrated policy making;
particularly focused on the development of training and teaching
materials for policymakers in these areas. Also, this programme has an
existing concentration on Urban Ecosystems - including the application
of the ecosystem approach to the study and management of cities.
Current priorities include exploring the drivers of urban environmental
and ecosystem change, urban metabolism and other ecosystem approaches
to understanding cities. The programme is also exploring the relevance
and effectiveness of ecosystem approach influenced policies as they are
applied to urban regions.
Education for Sustainable Development
Further development and implementation of the UNU strategy to promote
education for sustainable development (EfSD) and the Decade of
Education for Sustainable Development (DESD), which started in January
2005. Possible topic for research may include, for instance, case
studies of Regional Centers of Expertise (RCE) on EfSD regarding their
development processes and success factors, development of curricula for
priority topics on EfSD etc. An RCE is a group of organizations that
deliver education for sustainable development at regional and local
levels. Research may document how an RCE is developed to translate and
articulate a global vision of education for sustainable development
into the context of the local community in which it operates, thereby
critically examining whether an RCE can serve as a platform to promote
dialogues among EfSD stakeholders towards locally relevant and
culturally appropriate EfSD.
Peace and Governance 1)
International order and justice (analyzes and contributes to the UN's
roles in meeting the most pressing challenges to international order
and justice; addresses proposals to make the UN system more efficient
in strengthening international peace; in promoting human rights, rule
of law and good governance) 2) Conflict and security (focusing on
the roots of human, national, regional and international security
threats, and the provision of security by civil society, state,
regional and international actors, including conflict prevention and
peacebuilding) 3) Human rights and ethics (focusing on the
challenges of promoting human rights in a divided world, and the
ethical and normative dimensions of contemporary foreign policy and
international institutions) 4) Policy and institutional frameworks
(exploring the modalities, values and institutions that are employed to
organize governance at the regional, transnational and global levels)
Environment and Sustainable Development 1)
Management of fragile ecosystems (managing agrodiversity, sustainable
land management in drylands, mountains and forests). Three programmes
are conducting research that would lead to integration of
sustainability into the management of endangered fragile ecosystems. 2)
Water crises (international rivers and lake basins management, managing
basin water cycle for sustainable water resources development,
environmental monitoring and governance in coastal hydrosphere) The
research programme on ‘Water crises' seeks to promote sustainable
environmental and political management of critical water resources that
will ensure adequate quality and quantities of water for all. 3) Sustainable urbanization (research on multi-hazard risk assessment, innovative communities, Zero Emissions Forum) 4)
Global environmental governance and information (studies on Forum for
Globally-Integrated Environmental Assessment Modeling, information
society and environmental issues, The Inter-linkages Initiative) 5)
Holistic view of environmental transitions. This is the new thematic
area that addresses global view on diverse environmental challenges.
All applications must be received by post on or before12 May 2006 to the address below:
JSPS-UNU Postdoctoral Fellowship Programme United Nations University Institute of Advanced Studies 6F, International Organizations Center, Pacifico-Yokohama 1-1-1 Minato Mirai, Nishi-ku, Yokohama 220-8502 Japan Fax: +81-45-221-2303
Applicants are encouraged, in addition to the mailed hard copy, to also
submit application electronically as an email attachment. These
electronic applications represent a supplement to the hard copies
mailed to the UNU-IAS, and they do not replace the mailed hard copy.
All parts of this form must be completed in English. Uncompleted parts
may result in the application being rejected.
