ISSUE 40: NOVEMBER 2005-FEBRUARY 2006

FRONT PAGE | ARCHIVE |

UNU, Shimadzu Corp. extend water monitoring project

UN University has signed an agreement with Shimadzu Corporation that will extend their cooperative Hydrosphere Monitoring Project into a fourth phase and extend its coverage from east and southeast Asia to south Asia.

UNU Rector Hans van Ginkel and Shimadzu Corporation CEO and President Shigehiko Hattori formalised the agreement during a signing ceremony held at UNU Centre in Tokyo October 21.

Shimadzu Corporation, a leading manufacturer of laboratory instruments and testing equipment, has supported the UNU project on Environmental Monitoring and Governance in the Asian Coastal Hydrosphere for 10 years. This partnership between the public and private sectors has developed the chemical analysis capabilities of participating institutes through trainings and monitoring activities using instruments provided by Shimadzu.

Now UNU and Shimadzu have agreed to continue the project into a fourth phase (2005–2008). With Shimadzu's contribution of more than 50 million yen (about US$430,000) for three years, the project region will be extended from East and Southeast Asia to South Asia.

The fourth phase will target the monitoring of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in aquatic organisms. POPs are chemicals such as dioxins and DDT that remain intact in the environment for long periods and become widely distributed geographically. They accumulate in the fatty tissue of living organisms and can pose serious health risks, including increased incidence of cancers and disruption of the body’s hormonal system.

Initially, India and Pakistan will be added to the project, joining the nine current participants. China, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Viet Nam. POPs have been used extensively in agricultural activities in these two countries, particularly India where high concentrations of gamma-hexachlorocyclohexanes (Lindane) are reported. 

The latest analytical instruments and training in monitoring and chemical analysis will be provided to new project partners Bharathidasan University (India) and the Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources.

© 2006  United Nations University