Since the mid-2000s, the Center for Southeast Asian Studies (CSEAS) has initiated a series of large-scale projects that have been funding by the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). Between 2007-11, CSEAS hosted a Global COE program titled “in Search of a Sustainable Humanosphere in Asia and Africa” which aimed at developing an integrated multidisciplinary approach to the ‘humanosphere’ (in Japanese Seizon Kiban 生存基盤 or literally translated as the foundations for survival). This term refers to both the temporal and spatial dimensions that incorporate the entirety of material and energy circulation of the earth and systems of governance toward its sustainability. The above program was a key turning point in the mid-2000s in comparatively researching the geosphere, biosphere and human societies in tropical regions and tackle both regional and global issues. Leading on from this CSEAS received additional funding for a subsequent initiative, “Southeast Asian Studies for Sustainable Humanosphere” (2011- 16) which further refined inquiries as to what could constitute a sustainable humanosphere through context specific knowledge in Southeast Asian societies and theorize through empirically driven research from the ground up.

From 2016, CSEAS has continued its push to explore multidisciplinary dialogues within and beyond academia with the “Japan-ASEAN Platform for Transdisciplinary Studies” (2016-2021). This program has been set up to advance transdisciplinary research that integrates academic, governmental, and civil societies initiatives and create new collaborative research ventures that bring together the expertise of scholars on Southeast Asia, scientists and engineers, and Japanese and ASEAN political and business communities.

In particular this platform emphasizes the establishment of new relationships, especially between Japan and Southeast Asia and to develop projectbased or problem-solving “wisdom” from local realities through empirically ground research. One of the features of this approach has been prioritize local realities and focus on the production of new knowledge through synergistic research with local researchers and practitioners on the basis of an equal partnerships.

One of the defining features of all these projects has been to set up a post-doctoral system and invite in young up-coming scholars who are carrying out cutting edge research who often work closely in collaboration with both faculty and local researchers. In this special feature, we introduce a number of the younger scholars and project members who are currently working on different projects within the current Japan-ASEAN platform initiative.

 

Experiencing Transport in Kota Medan, Indonesia -- Soo Chen Kwan

Can Mangroves Protect Coastal Communities from Super Typhoons? -- Moises Neil V. Seriño

Examining Forests Fires and Their Social Impacts on Local Communities in Central Kalimantan*
　 -- Daisuke Naito, Nina Yulianti, Masahiro Kawasaki