Tottori University conducted the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology’s sponsored project; Global COE Program (GCOE) “Global Center of Excellence for Dryland Science” from FY 2007 to FY 2012, of which the leading department was Arid Land Research Center.
GCOE established a Center for Education and Research in the field of Dryland Science through developing various initiatives by putting the following three goals as main pillars of the program:

1. Fostering the talents who work globally
2. Promotion of world-class research activities
3. Establishment of academic research network

From FY 2012, Tottori University has been conducting a multidisciplinary project in its own style, “Post-GCOE Project (Dryland Science)” in order to develop and enhance the functions of the Center which was established by the Global COE Program.

-Promote research activities by five research groups, which are collaborating with each othher.
-Implement the human resource development plan for young researchers mainly by HRD Lader.

Role	Name	Title and Affiliation
Project Leader	Atsushi TSUNEKAWA	Professor, Division of Biological Production, Arid Land Research Center
Leader of Human Resourse Development (HRD)	Yoshinobu KITAMURA	Professor, School of Agricultural, Biological and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture
Leader of Environment Restoration Group	Norikazu YAMANAKA	Professor, Division of Afforestration and Land Conservation, Arid Land Research Center
Leader of Agricultural Production Group	Hideyasu FUJIYAMA	Professor, School of Agricultural, Biological and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture
Leader of Molecular Breeding Group	Hisashi TSUJIMOTO	Professor, Division of Biological Production, Arid Land Research Center
Leader of Health and Medicine Group	Youichi KUROZAWA	Professor, School of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine
Leader of Global Environment Group	Masato SHINODA	Professor, Division of Climatology and Water Resources, Arid Land Research Center

Human Resource Development

Foster talent groups who are internationally active

• Employ highly capable young researchers as project researchers, cultivate them as Dryland Science specialists and produce significant research achievements.
• Employ doctoral course students as RAs, and help them to concentrate on research activities and enhance their research skills.
• Support doctoral course students’ overseas surveys. Send students to the fields of overseas’ dryland and help them to acquire ample knowledge on events particularly related to drylands. Finally produce talent people who have practical abilities and language skills.

(Contents)

1. Employment of postdocs as project researchers
2. Financial support to doctoral course students
   • Domestic conference presentation
   • International conference presentation
   • Overseas survey
   • English language editing for publication
   • Employment as RAs
3. Training course of writing English paper
4. Seminars, lecture meetings

Reserach

Promote research for supporting sustainability of the nature-society system in drylands and publication of the research achievements

• Continually conduct research on environmental restoration of desertified lands which started under the Global COE Program and publish the achievements on peer reviewed journals and books. Conduct joint research, especially on a saltwort Tamarisk which is established with Desert Research Institute (USA).
• Continue the basic research on sustainable agricultural production and the applied research in Shandong Province which have been conducting since the time of Global COE Program. Promote onsite deployment of technology manual,”Field Management for Sustainable Agriculture in Drylands” to agricultural sites in the world.
• Evaluate and investigate drought tolerance of transgenic lines and heterologous genes lines, which were developed during the time of Global COE Program in the fields of drylands.
• Established a research center to analyze effects of Asian dust events on health, set up alarm system, monitor source of dust emission and control. Succeed its achievements to the other projects such as “Dust Emission, Effect Assessment and Control in Degraded Drylands of East Asia’ and “Japan Eco and Child Study.”
• Continue observation and study in Mongolia; sophisticate the environmental estimation of the wind velocity of dust emission which is affected by ground surface; create and publish a dust hazard map.
• Make joint and collaborative research with other projects, and publish more effective, and unique achievements.

Global Network

Strengthen the global academic network

• Enhance exchanges with overseas institutions because collaboration with the fields of dryland is necessary to promote research of Dryland Science.
• Promote to train the talents who work globally with overseas institutions and to conduct international joint researches.