Download Research coordination of JSPS Coastal Marine Science Program in Thailand Chapter 19

Chapter 19
Research coordination of JSPS Coastal Marine Science
Program in Thailand
Charoen Nitithamyong
Department of Marine Science, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand
Introduction
In Thailand, the interest in marine science
was initiated during the reign of King
Rama IV when the Dutch ichthyologist, Dr.
Pieter Bleeker, conducted the freshwater
and marine fish survey in the Kingdom of
Thailand and published his findings in
1864. Foreseeing the importance of science, the King Rama IV had therefore supported the establishment of a museum for
further study and exchange of fish specimens in 1874.
The first marine expedition in the country was the joint Danish-Thai marine expedition in 1899 when Johannes Schmidt
and Theodor Mortensen were advised by
General Andreas de Richelieu who worked
for the Royal Thai Navy to survey the
Chang Island with the assistance of the
Royal Thai Navy. Mangrove, plankton and
fauna in the intertidal zone down to the 50m depth were the targets of the survey. The
results led to the second Danish-Thai Expedition that explored the Gulf of Thailand
using the research vessel DANA and another expedition using the research vessel
Galathea (Jensen and Knudsen 2001). The
most thorough expedition was the NAGA
Expedition, a joint initiative between
United States of America, Thailand and
South Vietnam in 1959–1961 using the
research vessel from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, the Stranger
(Robinson 1974). The results of this expedition had brought about the intense interest in marine science in the country such
as the marine fish resources survey in the
Gulf of Thailand and the Andaman Sea by
the Department of Fisheries. The National
Marine Science Committee was also
formed in 1962 in order to set the direction of and promote marine science research and survey in the country. This particular committee had also sought international academic cooperation and has resulted in several marine related bilateral
or multilateral academic cooperation, such
as ASEAN-Australian project, NRCT (National Research Council of Thailand)-JSPS
(Japan Society for the Promotion of Science) cooperation, Swedish-Thai cooperation, not to mention that this has made
Thailand a member of the UNESCO-IOC
(Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission). Each cooperative program has its
own emphasis. The ASEAN-Australian
program was interested in coral reef, mangrove and benthic organisms while the
NRCT-JSPS program focus on other as-
S. Nishida, M. D. Fortes and N. Miyazaki, eds.
Coastal Marine Science in Southeast Asia —Synthesis Report of the Core University Program of the Japan
Society for the Promotion of Science: Coastal Marine Science (2001–2010), pp. 189–199.
© by TERRAPUB 2011.
190
C. NITITHAMYONG
pects. The first two Departments of Marine Science, one in the Faculty of Science,
Chulalongkorn University and the other in
the Faculty of Fisheries, Kasetsart University were founded in 1968 from the recommendation of this committee.
The cooperative research program between Thailand and Japan in the field of
marine science started in 1978 with the
aims to promote cooperative research and
exchange in research knowledge and experience. Main activities have been researcher exchange, initiation of cooperative research, academic seminar, and Doctorate Degree by research program
(RONPAKU). In 1989, the bilateral cooperation was transformed to the Bilateral
Core University Program with the Department of Marine Science, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University as the
Thai Core Institute and the Ocean Research
Institute, the University of Tokyo as the
Japanese Core Institute.
Since then all the activities mentioned
above have been very active. Researcher
exchange was in the form of both short and
long term exchanges. Several cooperative
projects were launched resulting in rapid
advancement of marine science in Thailand, not to mention several Thai researchers who received doctorate degree under
the RONPAKU Program. Universities and
government sectors involved in the cooperative program apart from Chulalongkorn
University are Kasetsart University, Prince
of Songkla University, Burapha University,
Ramkamhaeng University, Department of
Fisheries, and Marine Department (Formerly Harbor Department). The list has
also expanded to cover newly established
institutes or marine science programs including Department of Coastal and Marine
Resources, Mahidol University, and
Srivijaya Rajamangkala University of
Technology (Formerly Rajamangkala Institute of Technology - Trang Province).
In 2001 the cooperative program was
transformed from a bilateral to a multilat-
eral cooperative program between Japan
and the ASEAN countries: Republic of
Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and the Republic of Vietnam. The
multilateral program was also given a new
name: “Coastal Oceanography” which
later in 2006 was changed to “Coastal
Marine Science”. In this multilateral cooperative program, all the member countries agreed to divide the scope of cooperative research into 4 categories. Each
category has a research project with a Japanese researcher as the project leader and a
co-leader selected from the ASEAN countries. Each project deliberates its research
plans, workshops or academic seminars to
conduct research relevant to the ASEAN
countries and Japan. Building the capacity of young researchers is also the aim of
the projects. The venue for regional workshop and academic seminar rotates among
the member countries. National coordinators meet every year (annexed to the conference in some cases). The academic
seminar is held every other year. A marked
progress in the fields of marine science in
Thailand was observed during this past 10
years judging from the praise of the foreign marine scientists who gave the assistance during the tsunami incident in 2004.
Part of the success is owing to the capacity building of the young scientists from
several international cooperation including
JSPS multilateral program.
National Coordination and
Scientific Activities
In the past, the national committee for the
cooperative research between NRCT and
JSPS had the responsibility in the selection of young scientists to participate in a
scientist exchange program in order to
build their capacity. The committee consisted of representatives from universities
who have marine science or related field
curricula as well as government agencies
who are responsible for related coastal ac-
Research coordination of JSPS Coastal Marine Science Program in Thailand
tivities. The universities involved were
Chulalongkorn University, Kasetsart University, Prince of Songkla University,
Burapha University, Ramkhamhaeng University, and Rajamangkala University of
Technology Srivijava. On the other hand,
the government agencies involved were the
Marine Department, Department of Marine
and Coastal Resources, Department of
Fisheries, and NRCT which is the granting agency for the cooperative research.
However, the particular role of this committee was discontinued as the scientist
exchange program is now in the form of
workshops and the project or group leader
is responsible for the participant selection
without consultation to this committee.
The sole role of this committee is recommendation of the application for the
RONPAKU Program. At present, most of
the communications among the committee
is by e-mail, the means which is applied
to the communication between the national
coordinator and the NRCT-JSPS members
as well. Nevertheless, as most marine scientists in the country belong to a close
community, tracking of the research work
is not the problem. The marine science
community in the country also agrees to
host the marine science conference every
other year starting in 2008.
Membership
As the format of the cooperation has transformed from bilateral to multilateral, scientist exchange program has also been
modified to training workshop. To be invited to the training workshop organized
by each project or groups in the project,
one has to be an active member. The host
country is allowed to involve more young
researchers with the country’s own financial support. There are 35 active members
of the NRCT-JSPS: 5 in Project-1, 10 in
Project-2, 17 in Project-3 and 3 in Project4 (details to be provided in the project
leader reports). The focal persons catego-
191
rized by the projects and the groups are
presented in Table 1.
Accomplishments
The NRCT has been the sole funding
agency of the academic cooperation between Thailand and Japan in the JSPS Program. Apart from supporting the 4 research
projects during the 10 years multilateral
cooperation, NRCT also supports national
conferences and workshops, and administration of the program.
Funded research projects
During the multilateral cooperation, 4
research projects have been funded by the
NRCT with a total amount of 4,261,630
Baht.
a. A two-phase project (2003–2005):
Accumulation of Organochlorines and
Heavy Metals in Marine Mammals from
the Thai Waters with Dr. G. Wattayakorn
as the principal investigator. The Japanese
counterpart researcher is Dr. H. Harino.
b. A two-year project (2003–2005):
Ecology of Noctilluca in Bang Pakong
River Mouth - Ang Sila, Chon Buri Province with Dr. T. Lirdwitayaprasit as the
principal investigator. The Japanese counterpart researcher is Dr. K. Furuya.
c. A one-year project (2003–2004):
Succession in Phytoplankton Communities
and Populations of Bacteria Affecting
Phytoplankton Communities in the Coastal
Area of Chon Buri Province with Dr. A.
Piumsomboon as the principal investigator. The Japanese counterpart researcher is
Dr. K. Fukami.
d. A three-year on going project (2008–
2010): Noctiluca Red Tide Formation
Mechanism in the Eastern and Western
Coasts of the Upper Gulf of Thailand with
Dr. T. Lirdwitayaprasit as the principal investigator. The Japanese counterpart researcher is Dr. K. Furuya. This project is
supposed to receive another year of support.
Affiliation
Department of Marine Science,
Faculty of Science, Aquatic Resources Research Institute,
Chulalongkorn University,
PhyaThai, Bangkok 10330, Thailand
Department of Aquatic Science, Faculty of Science,
Burapha University,
Chonburi 20131, Thailand
Department of Marine Science, Faculty of Science,
Chulalongkorn University,
PhyaThai, Bangkok 10330, Thailand
Institute of Marine Science,
Burapha University,
Chon Buri 20313, Thailand
Department of Fishery Biology, Faculty of Fishery,
Kasetsart University,
Chatuchak, Bangkok 10900, Thailand
Department of Biology, Faculty of Science,
Prince of Songkla University,
Hatyai, Songkhla 90110, Thailand
Name and position
Anukul Buranapratheprat
Assistant Professor
Thaithaworn Lirdwitayaprasit
Associate Professor
[email protected]
Thidarat Noiraksar
Research Scientist
[email protected]
Chatcharee Kaewsuralikhit
Associate Professor
[email protected]
Anchana Prathep
Assistant Professor
[email protected]
Project 3
Seaweeds and
Seagrasses Group
Project 3
Seaweeds and
Seagrasses Group
Project 3
Seaweeds and
Seagrasses Group
Project 2
Project 1
Project 1
Project
Diversity, distribution, ecology and abundance of seaweed and seagrass
Systematic and Phylogeography of Padina and Halimeda
Seagrass community and productivity
A study on the development and preservation of seaweed and seagrass resources
along the Andaman Sea Coast
Diversity of the Non-articulated Coralline Red Algae (Rhodophyta: Corallinaceae)
Culture of Gutweed ( Ulva intestinalis Linnaeus) for supporting shrimp polyculture syste
Seagrasses tissue culture for reservation and utilization
Status of Marine Biodiversity Resources along Nang-rong Beach,
Jorake Island and Juang Islands, Amphur Sattahip, Chon Buri Province
Transplanting of Sargassum at Rat Island, Sattahip District, Chon Buri Province
Harmful algal bloom
Satellite data and ecosystem model to investigate phytoplankton dynamics
and controlling mechanism of plankton blooms
Integration of all the relevant knowledge to develop an ecosystem prediction model
to assess risks due to red tide in Gulf of Thailand toward global environmental changes
Descriptive coastal and estuarine oceanography, Numerical modeling, Coastal Erosion
Current research field
List of focal person categorized by project and group.
Pramot Sojisuporn
Assistant Professor and Deputy director
[email protected]
Table 1.
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C. NITITHAMYONG
Affiliation
Institute of Marine Science,
Burapha University,
Tambol Saensook, Amphur Muang, Chon Buri 20131, Thailand
Phuket Marine Biological Center,
Department of Marine and Coastal Resources,
Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment,
P.O. Box 60, Phuket 83000, Thailand
Phuket Marine Biological Center,
Department of Marine and Coastal Resources,
Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment,
P.O. Box 60, Phuket 83000, Thailand
National Science Museum,
Ministry of Science and Technology,
Technopolis, Klong 5, Klong Luang, Pathum Thani 12120, Thailand
Department of Marine Science, Faculty of Science,
Chulalongkorn University,
PhyaThai, Bangkok 10330, Thailand
Name and position
Khwanruan Srinui
Senior Scientist
[email protected]
Suree Satapoomin
Senior Scientist
Chief, Marine and Coastal Resource
Assessment and Productivity Unit
[email protected]
Ukkrit Satapoomin
Senior Fishery Biologist
Chief, Marine and Coastal Resources
Exploration Unit
Somchai Bussarawit
Director, Natural History Museum
[email protected]
[email protected]
Gullaya Wattayakorn
Associate Professor
[email protected]
Project
Project 4
Project 3
Benthos Group
Project 3
Fish Group
Project 3
Plankton Group
Project 3
Plankton Group
Current research field
Coastal pollution and its impacts
The compounds include polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons,
tributyl-tin and organochlorine pesticides in coastal waters,
estuarine sediments and marine mammals
Biodiversity research of marine and coastal invertebrates and vertebrates
Diversity of coastal fish along the Andaman Sea coast of Thailand
Marine plankton ecology, with focus on zooplankton
Zooplankton biodiversity
Research coordination of JSPS Coastal Marine Science Program in Thailand
193
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C. NITITHAMYONG
Fig. 1. Group photo of the first joint seminar on coastal oceanography, 2003 in Chiangmai,
Thailand.
Conferences
Since 2001, the multilateral core institute program in coastal marine science in
Thailand has arranged 7 academic conferences as follows:
a. “The First Conference on Coastal
Oceanography” was the first international
conference organized after the start of the
multilateral cooperative program (Fig. 1).
The venue of the conference was Chiang
Mai Hill Hotel, Chiang Mai Province and
the date was 14–16 December, 2003. The
budget for this conference was received
mostly from JSPS and NRCT. The conference drew more than 150 researchers from
the member countries and comprised 4 sessions according to the 4 projects set up.
There were 70 oral and 41 poster presentations.
b. “The Gulf of Thailand: The Physical and Biological Aspects Observed by
Satellite Remote Sensing” was the academic conference under Project-1 convened on February 4, 2005 at Patumwan
Princess Hotel, Bangkok. The conference
was attended by 64 researchers from Japan and Thailand. Three sessions in the
conference were 1) the physical outline of
the Gulf of Thailand, 2) biological aspect,
and 3) progress on marine environment
monitoring technology. The financial support was provided by JSPS.
c. “Material Transport in the Coastal
Sea of the Southeast Asia” was another
academic conference under Project-1 (Fig.
2a). The venue of the conference was the
Sichang Marine Research Training Center,
Aquatic Resources Research Institute,
Chulalongkorn University, Chon Buri
Province. The date was 8–9 February 2007.
The conference was attended by 34 researchers from member countries. Three
main topics of the conference were 1) research works in the Gulf of Thailand,
2) research works in the important ecosystem in other ASEAN countries, and
3) major techniques for studying physical
oceanography. NRCT provided the travel
and other expenses of the Thai researchers while JSPS was responsible for the expenses of the Japanese and other ASEAN
country researchers.
d. “Education and Research in Coastal
Oceanography: 36 Years of Experience as
a Basis for the Future” was the national
conference held on May 19, 2006. The
venue of the conference was the Faculty
of Science, Chulalongkorn University.
NRCT provided the budget for the conference which drew 91 Thai researchers. The
4 main topics of the conference were:
1) Research and study in the past 36 years,
2) Marine Science Curricula in Thailand,
3) Thai-Japanese Cooperative Research in
the Future, and 4) Thai Marine Science
Consortium.
e. “Marine Science Conference 2008”
was the first national conference during the
multilateral cooperative program and was
convened during 25–27 August 2008 at
Metropole Hotel, Phuket. The Department
of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR)
was the main host with the co-sponsorship
of NRCT. The conference drew 415 participants with 4 keynote speeches, 82 oral
and 42 poster presentations.
Research coordination of JSPS Coastal Marine Science Program in Thailand
195
(a)
(b)
Fig. 2. Group photos of the Project I conference in 2007 (a) and 2009 (b) in Sichang Island,
Chulalongkorn University.
f. The conference of Project-1 “Material Transport in the Coastal Sea of the
Southeast Asia” was held again during 25–
27 August 2009 at the Sichang Marine
Research Training Center, Aquatic Resources Research Institute, 2 years after the
first one in 2007 (Fig. 2b).
g. Marine Science Conference 2010
entitled “Marine Biodiversity in Thailand:
Challenges and Opportunities” was organized during 28–30 June 2010 at Royal
Phuket City Hotel, Phuket (Fig. 3). The
DMCR was again the main host with
NRCT as the co-sponsor. The conference
drew 469 participants with 5 keynote
speeches, 84 oral and 70 poster presentations.
Funded workshops
Nine workshops were organized in
Thailand during the multilateral cooperative program. All workshops were financially supported mainly by JSPS with the
financial support from NRCT for the expenses of the Thai participants. These nine
workshops are:
196
C. NITITHAMYONG
Fig. 3. Group photo of the organizers of National Marine Science Conference in 2010 “Marine Biodiversity in Thailand: Challenges and Opportunities” in Phuket, Thailand.
Fig. 4.
Group photo of the seaweeds and seagrasses workshop participants at Kasetsart
University and Koh Samui in 2009.
a. JSPS International Workshop for Inter-calibration of Hazardous Chemicals,
10–14 March 2003, at the Department of
Marine Science, Chulalongkorn University.
b. JSPS-PMBC International Workshop
on Taxonomy of Marine Fish, 27–29 September 2003, at the Phuket Marine Biological Center, Department of Marine and
Coastal Resources.
c. JSPS-NaGISA International Workshop on Taxonomy of Marine Polychaetes,
Research coordination of JSPS Coastal Marine Science Program in Thailand
197
Fig. 5. Activity during the zooplankton diversity workshop in 2009, at Chulalongkorn University and Burapha University.
27–29 September 2003, at the Phuket Marine Biological Center, Department of
Marine and Coastal Resources.
d. JSPS-PSU Regional Workshop on
Taxonomy and Ecology of Macroalgae and
Seagrasses from Talibong Island, Trang
Province, Thailand, 24–28 September
2003, at the Department of Biology, Prince
of Songkhla University.
e. NRCT-JSPS Training Course on
Methods of Zooplankton Ecology and
Identification, 18–23 December 2003, at
the Department of Marine Science,
Chulalongkorn University.
f.
JSPS-NRCT
International
Biodiversity Workshop: Taxonomy and
Ecology of Seaweeds and Seagrasses, 12–
20 August, 2009, at the Faculty of Fisheries, Kasetsart University and Koh Samui,
Surat Thani (Fig. 4).
g. JSPS-PMBC Training Course and
Workshop on Fish Taxonomy and Diversity, 15–20 March 2009, at the Southern
Marine and Coastal Resources Research
Center, Department of Marine and Coastal
Resources in Songkhla Provivce.
h. JSPS-NRCT Workshop on
Zooplankton Biodiversity in Southeast
Asia, 5–14 October 2009 at the Institute
of Marine Science, at Burapha University
and the Sichang Marine Science Research
and Training Center, Aquatic Resources
Research Institute, Chulalongkorn University (Fig. 5).
i. PMBC-JSPS Training Workshop on
Identification of Small Shrimps in Thai
Waters, 22–26 March 2010, at the Phuket
Marine Biological Center, Department of
Marine and Coastal Resources.
Publications
During the multilateral cooperative
program, two books, two proceedings, and
one manual were published. There were at
least 20 research papers published in the
peer-reviewed journals not to mention several scientific papers presented in conferences (Appendix-2).
198
C. NITITHAMYONG
Scientist exchange
During the 10 years of the multilateral
cooperative program, the scientist exchange process has been modified to training workshops. This is a good way for capacity building as the workshops aim at
enhancing the knowledge of the participants and expecting them to train the new
or younger generation of scientists in their
respective countries. The numbers of scientist exchange (total man-days) since the
start of the multilateral cooperative program until 2010 are as follows:
From Thailand to: Japan, 336; Malaysia, 79; Vietnam, 86; Philippine, 93; Indonesia, 76.
To Thaialand from: Japan, 903; Malaysia, 213; Vietnam, 176; Philippine, 42; Indonesia, 177.
Advocacy and Community Outreach
As Thailand has a long coastline and is
blessed with abundant marine resources,
fisheries is one of the major industries.
During the past two decades, however,
small scale fishers have observed the decreasing trend of these resources. Knowledge in marine science from the academic
and governmental agencies, especially
those on coastal ecosystems encompassing diverse habitats such as mangroves,
coral reefs, seagrass beds and mud flats,
has been very useful in educating the public and raising awareness to conserve these
valuable ecosystems. Public participation
is now the key success factor for coastal
conservation in the country as science,
while recognized as the knowledge base,
cannot solve the problem alone.
During the tragic 2004 tsunami incidence, the marine scientists have shown to
the public the solidarity of their effort to
assess the damage and provide assistance
for rehabilitation (Department of Marine
and
Coastal
Resources
2005,
Chulalongkorn University 2005). Such involvement also created the opportunity for
raising the public awareness on the importance of the marine ecosystem to the wellbeing of mankind.
Contribution of JSPS Program
During the cooperative program which
dated back more than 30 years since the
first bilateral program in 1978, the marine
science community in Thailand has gained
enormously in terms of knowledge and
experience. A number of young scientists
received short or long term training in renowned Japanese institutions not to mention the few Thai researchers who received
doctorate degree from Japanese universities. These experiences have a positive
impact on their academic and research careers. The benefits remain even though the
number of young scientists was cut down
to a minimum due to the limited budget.
However, the benefits from the training
workshops are not only the capacity building on the part of the researchers but also
the opportunity for the marine scientists
in the ASEAN region to interact with each
other which could result in more cooperative studies in the future after the program
ends. The cooperative research projects
funded by the NRCT have also increased
the chance for Thai researchers to interact
a great deal with the Japanese researchers
resulting in exchange of knowledge, idea
and experience. Several useful field guides
for different flora and fauna were also produced as a result of this cooperative effort.
Constraints and Prospects
The new arrangement of the multilateral
cooperative program gave the project or
group leaders the prerogative to select the
member in their project/group to participate in the workshop. On one hand this is
a good practice if the project/group leaders knew the situation in the member countries real well. On the other hand, this has
put the ASEAN national coordinators in a
Research coordination of JSPS Coastal Marine Science Program in Thailand
difficult position as they can no longer
ensure fair distribution of the chance for
capacity building to various institutions
within their countries. Communication
between the national coordinator and
project/group leaders was limited. Nevertheless, in Thailand this was not a big problem as the national coordinator had good
contact with all the active members and
could keep track of their activities. Moreover, the project/group leaders have been
in close communication with their members. Such practices will result in establishing cooperative research projects in the
future, not only between the ASEAN member countries and Japan but also among the
ASEAN countries themselves. This is
hoped to strengthen our knowledge and
harmonize our effort in the region.
At the Marine Science Conference
2010, three major issues were identified,
namely, marine biodiversity loss, coastal
erosion and impact of climate change on
the marine ecosystem. There was also an
agreement that a consortium should be
formed to replace the National Marine
199
Science Committee which has been dissolved some years ago. The consortium
will be a united body aiming to fill gaps in
knowledge and management in the field of
marine science as it is impossible for any
academic or governmental institution to
have the complete knowledge or manpower to cover these 3 major issues. The
consortium will be responsible for setting
the direction of and promoting marine science research and survey in the country.
The consortium is also responsible for offering international graduate degrees.
Acknowledgements
The information for this chapter was kindly provided
by all the active NRCT-JSPS members especially
those listed in Table 1. During the 10-year multilateral cooperative program I have learnt a lot on marine science from my colleagues from Japan and
ASEAN countries as well as gained friendship and
trust. In the marine science prospective, it is impossible to work as a single nation. A united effort to
work in harmony for at least the whole region is essential. Therefore, it is unfortunate that the multilateral cooperative program has come to an end.
References
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