Research Topics
1．Solving global environmental issues
【Field】Research and educational practice for solving global environmental issues, environmental education, environmental inquiry studies
【Academic society・Research society】Japan Society for Environmental Education, Society for the Study of Environmental Inquiry, Society for the Study of the History of Nature and Culture
【Organization】Earthwatch Japan（EWJ）, Japan Environmental Education Forum（JEEF）
2．Forest Resource Management
【Field】Forest Policy Studies, Area Studies
【Academic society・Research society】Japan Society of Forestry Economics, Japan Society of Wood Use System Studies，The Japanese Association for South Asian Studies
3．Promotion of mathematical education and development of citizen scientists
【Academic society・Research society】Hands-on Mathematics Research Group, Mathematical Women's Association of Japan
Outline of Past Studies and Research
１．Research and study on India
1) Fieldwork in India
India has produced many researchers and practitioners whom I respect, such as Dr. Amartya Sen and Mr. Satish Kumar, and I have learned a lot from them. One in particular whom I pay high respect is Dr. Vandana Shiva. I have visited her farm in Navdanya, which she heads, and later stayed there as an intern. She reported on her research and the results and challenges she faced at the field plantation (nagahama et al.2014).
2) Doctoral Research
In a village managed by the VP (Van Panchayat), an autonomous forest management organization, she 1) clarified the "commons-like" use of forests (communal use by local people), management, and attitudes of local people; 2) analyzed forest management regulations at the village level and forest resources through a survey 3) to identify the characteristics of sustainable forest use and management through comparative analysis on forest management regulations and forest resource surveys at the village level. In villages where VPs have been created since 1990s in Theri Garhwal district of Uttarakhand, a decline in forest management was noted through semi-structured interview surveys at the household level (Nagahama et al. 2016a). The process of VP creation was also discussed in the context of the history of colonial forest policy, and the tendency toward tighter regulation due to the revision of state regulations in the "VP Regulations" was discussed (Nagahama et al. 2016b). Furthermore, interviews and tree surveys were conducted in four villages regarding local regulations and resource use, and a paper（Nagahama et al.2019）was published in March 2019, identifying factors that enhance public participation in forest management. In April 2021, her doctoral thesis was accepted at the University of Tsukuba. A paper published in October 2022 discussed issues related to community-based forest management (Nagahama et al. 2022).
3) Japan-India Joint Research
With Dr. Takeshi Sakurai (University of Tokyo) as the principal investigator, a research group of three Indian researchers and four Japanese (including the applicant) has formed a research group to conduct "The History and Present of Multi-level Governance of Rural Resources: Comparative Institutional Analysis between Japan and India. The applicant is involved in forest resource governance in India from the perspective of environmental studies and has been conducting research. The Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research will end in March 2019, but the members are gathering with their research papers and preparing to publish a collection of their papers (co-authored). Bilateral Exchange Program Joint Research Report
２．Domestic Forestry Research Activities
1) Project "Cyber Forest" in Kaoru Saito Laboratory, University of Tokyo
At the Kaoru Saito Laboratory, to which I belonged, video cameras were installed in several forested areas in Japan to monitor images and sounds, and they are accumulating research on teaching materials and practical studies on environmental education. Oral presentations were made at the Japanese Society for Environmental Education and published as "Materials" in "Environmental Education"（Nagahama et al. 2015）.
2) Tanushimaru Zaisan District, Kurume City, Fukuoka Prefecture
Dr. Nagahama believe that Zaisan district forests are an example of community forests managed by local people and can be compared with Van panchayats (people’s self-governing organizations) in India, Nagahama’s group conducted fieldwork in forest areas and held interviews with the chair of Zaisan district. A survey of questionnaires from management committee’s members has begun. Two oral presentations were given at the Kyushu Forestry Society in October 2022 and 2023. In March 2024, She published a paper summarizing her practice and research (Nagahama 2024).
3) Takase District, Hita City, Oita Prefecture
Hita in Oita Prefecture, along with Tenryu in Shizuoka Prefecture and Yoshino in Nara Prefecture, is a leading forestry region in Japan. In particular, “Hita Cedar'' has long established its position as a branded material. Dr. Nagahama visited the forest land with the Takase Production Forest Association, focused on the school forest in the district, and discussed factors for sustainable forest use and management, and had a presentation at the "Environmental Research Forum 2023."
３．Practical research on deforestation and conservation in developing countries
We have been accumulating classroom practices on the theme of deforestation and conservation in the world at schools and research institutes, using research sites in developing countries (VP forests in India, mangrove forests in Kenya, etc.) as case studies. As a practical research, he made an oral presentation from the Japanese Society of Environmental Education and published it as a research paper in "Environmental Education" in 2017 (Nagahama et al. 2017).He has been giving on-site classes as outreach activities of his research at educational institutions such as elementary schools, preparatory schools, and universities, as well as in local communities.
４．Joint research with other universities
Since 2013, we have been participating in the "Governance and Environmental Issues" research project with Kagohashi and colleagues at the Institute of Social Ethics, Nanzan University, and have co-authored a report (English and Japanese versions) of the 2014 international conference.（Kagohashi, Nagahama et al. 2016）
Since 2015, he has been involved in research by constructing FFP classes and training programs for "Aiming to Become a University Teacher" in collaboration with Professor Kayoko Kurita and others at the Center for Integrated Research at the University of Tokyo, and has been involved in the research project. (University of Tokyo FFP)
5．Group to study qualitative (qualitative) research
There is a growing interest in sociological approaches in forest sociology, environmental studies, environmental education research, and "qualitative research" involves a variety of methods of data collection and analysis. Together with members of the Society for Environmental Education, I have organized the "Society for Studying Qualitative Research" (hereafter referred to as the "Society for Qualitative Research") for several years, and we have been holding monthly study groups. Since qualitative research has been criticized as "small sample size" and "not objective" compared to quantitative research, the issue is how to conduct qualitative research of a high standard. Every year, we hold a workshop in the "Independent Study" session at the research conference of the Japanese Society for Environmental Education, and we invite you to participate. (Sonoda, Nagahama et al. 2020）
6. Practical research by the Society for the Study of Environmental Inquiry (KanTanKen)
The "EW Environmental Education Study Group (tentative name)" was established in March 2018 as a study group for members who participated in the Kao/teacher fellowship organized by the authorized NPO Earthwatch Japan (EWJ) to discuss their experiences there and initiatives at school sites, develop teaching materials, and submit them as academic papers. From FY2019, it was renamed the "Study Group on Environmental Inquiry Studies" and now aim to systematize "Environmental Inquiry Studies" as a new academic system by integrating the trans-disciplinary studies of "Environmental Studies" and "Inquiry Education" by gathering a wide range of members with diverse specialties and field experiences. With this goal in mind, research and practical activities are being carried out. （Nagahama 2019）introduces the essence of the Institute for Environmental Exploration.
A research conference is held every March. Anyone over elementary school age can present their research, so please visit our website.
The Society for the Study of Environmental Inquiry (KANTANKEN)
