On 5 October 2018, general meeting and the 4th symposium of Nepal JSPS Alumni Association (NJAA) were organized in Kathmandu, Nepal.
In the morning, executive committee (EC) meeting of NJAA was held and two new members were approved as the next-term EC members. This time, Dr. Rijan Bhakta Kayastha was reappointed as the President for the following term. We congratulated on his reappointment and hoped his continuous efforts for NJAA activities.
In the afternoon, the 4th symposium of NJAA on the theme “Sustainable Waste Management in Nepal: Challenge and Opportunities” was convened, with approximately 100 participants including researchers, government officials and so on.
After the inaugural session, His excellency Masamichi Saigo Japanese ambassador to Nepal, Dr. Buddhi Ratna Khadge (Secretary, Nepal Academy of Science and Technology), and Mr. Giriraj Mani Pokhrel (Honorable Minister of Education, Science and Technology) offered opening remarks.
Afterwards, scientific session was held and two Japanese speakers gave lectures related to the theme of this symposium.
First, Dr. So Sasaki (Professor, Faculty of Economics, Chuo University) delivered keynote presentation on “Linkage of waste trade to Circular Economy.” He introduced international trend of waste treatments and its situation of Thailand was given a large amount of influence by recent plastic waste import policy of China.
Next, Dr. Misuzu Asari (Assoc. Professor, Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies, Kyoto University) spoke on “Solid waste management and 3R activities toward the sustainable lifestyle.” She explained the problems of solid waste treatments of Asia-Pacific countries and Kyoto prefecture in Japan.
From Nepal side, Mr. Rabindra Rai (Director, Env.Division, KMC), Mr. Pratip Amatya (Env.Engineer, LMC), and Dr. Dhundi Raj Pathak (Solid Waste Manegement Specialist, GIZ) gave lectures on their specialized field and approach to environmental issue.
After all lecture ended, there were plenty of questions were raised exceeding scheduled time.We feel that Nepalese people were deeply concerned with environmental problems.
Wrapping up the Symposium, Prof. Kuniaki Yamashita, Director of JSPS Bangkok Office, introduced overview of JSPS, functions of JSPS Bangkok office and Alumni associations, and JSPS international programmes.
Especially, he emphasized the importance to find host researcher in Japan before applying for programmes. Participants seem to be greatly interested in JSPS international programmes and alumni activities.
JSPS Bangkok Office will be grateful to cooperate with Alumni association, universities and research institutions in Nepal and to support international academic exchange opportunities for all countries in this region.
