Institute for Agro-Environmental Sciences, NARO

MARCO (Monsoon Asia Agro-Environmental Research Consortium)

MARCO logo

paddyfield(photo)

What is MARCO?
Mission Statement
Member Institutes
Contact Us
Related Links
Workshop/Symposium

What is MARCO?

"Monsoon Asia" is an Asia region under monsoon climate, which has rice farming as a basis for food production. Agriculture in the Monsoon Asia is very diverse from north to south, while the monsoon Asian countries are all characterized by high biodiversity around rice fields.

These countries are also all confronted with environmental deterioration in agro-ecosystem. This problem may be caused by the change in land use as economical development and as population growth, the invasion of alien species due to globalization of trade, and the contamination of farmlands by chemical pollutants from industries. Furthermore, there is a great concern that the agricultural ecosystem could collapse due to global warming, and another concern that the agricultural activities themselves cause environmental pollution such as water pollution with excess chemical fertilizers and pesticides, generation of green house gases such as methane and nitrous oxide from farmlands.

To solve these issues, researchers in the region should collaborate to tackle against them.

Therefore, NIAES held the international symposium entitled "Evaluation and Effective Use of Environmental Resources for Sustainable Agriculture in Monsoon Asia: Toward International Research Collaboration", 12-14 December, 2006.

http://www.naro.affrc.go.jp/archive/niaes/sinfo/sympo/h18/20061212/

At this symposium, all participants agreed to adopt the Symposium Statement.

Symposium Statement

"To Further Advance Agro-Environmental Research in Monsoon Asia"
The 276 participants from 15 countries in the international symposium "Evaluation and Effective Use of Environmental Resources for Sustainable Agriculture in Monsoon Asia -Toward International Research Collaboration", hosted by the National Institute for Agro-Environmental Sciences (NIAES) and supported by the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Research Council of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, hereby confirm and agree upon the following points by consensus.

1. In monsoon Asia it is urgent that we solve environmental problems affecting agriculture in order to achieve sustainable development while maintaining a sound agro-ecosystem.
2. Solving these problems requires that researchers, administrative authorities, research institutes, and other entities connected with agriculture and the environment in the countries of this region make a concerted effort under close collaboration.
3. For that purpose, we shall create the Monsoon Asia Agro-Environmental Research Consortium, which transcends the boundaries of specialization and countries, and conduct agro-environmental research through international collaboration under the consortium.

Based upon the Symposium Statement, NIAES will pursue the following activities for the purpose of conducting research under the Monsoon Asia Agro-Environmental Research Consortium (MARCO).

1. Regularly provide venues for events such as international symposia for exchanging research information.
2. Provide a website as a venue for exchanging consortium information.
3. Help train the people who will carry on activities under the consortium.

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Mission Statement

The mission of MARCO is to promote the development of agro-environmental research in Monsoon Asia in order to achieve sustainable development of agriculture while maintaining the sound agro-ecosystem.

Objectives

To accomplish the mission defined as above, the objectives of MARCO are as follows:

To improve the knowledge on agro-environment and ecosystem services.
To develop technologies, standards, and monitoring systems in order to maintain the sound agro-ecosystem and to conserve environmental resources.
To develop technologies for and their applicability to the preservation and re-establishment of environmental balances.
To foster collaborative research on agro-environment under the Consortium.
To exchange research information for sharing advanced knowledge on agro-environment.
To make concerted efforts under close collaboration for solving agro-environmental problems.

Activities

To achieve the objectives, MARCO shall design the following activities.

To organize, sponsor, and co-sponsor seminars, workshops, symposia, and conferences oriented to the objectives of the Consortium.
To promote exchanges with professionals through the Consortium.
To provide a website as a venue for exchanging information on the Consortium.
To help train personnel who will carry on activities under the Consortium.
To develop relations with research organizations in the Asian monsoon region for pursuing common objectives
To establish relationships with international organizations whose activities are common to those of the Consortium.
To strengthen the network among research organizations in the Asian monsoon region whose objectives fall in the domain of those of the Consortium.

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Member Institutes

Agriculture College, Yangzhou University. Yangzhou, P. R. China
Agricultural Environment Pollution Remediation Research Center, Agro-Environmental Protection Institute, Ministry of Agriculture, Tianjin, P. R. China
Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, P. R. China
Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences. Beijing, P. R. China
The Institute of Biodiversity Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, P. R. China
Hi-Tech Key Laboratory of Information Agriculture, Jiangsu Province, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, P. R. China
National Physical Laboratory, New Delhi, India
Faculty of Agriculture, Annamalai University, Annamalainagar, India
Department of Agricultural Meteorology, CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar, India
Institute for Agro-Environmental Sciences, National Agriculture and Food Research Organization, Tsukuba, Japan
National Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Jeonju City, Rep. Korea
Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Government College University Faisalabad, Pakistan
Department of Environmental Sciences, Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan
Philippine Rice Research Institute, Science City of Munoz, Nueva Ecija, Philippines
Tropical Marine Science Institute, National University of Singapore, Singapore
Faculty of Agriculture, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka
The Southern Institute of Water Resources Research, Hochiminh City, Vietnam

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Contact Us

For further details and inquiries, please contact us at: marco@ml.affrc.go.jp

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Workshop/Symposium

November 19-22, 2018 (Tsukuba, Japan)	NARO-MARCO International Symposium on "Nitrogen Cycling and Its Environmental Impacts in East Asia" Program and Abstracts (PDF) are available. (December 26, 2018)
September 27-28, 2018 (Tsukuba, Japan)	NARO-FFTC-MARCO Symposium 2018 on "Climate Smart Agriculture for the Small-Scale Farmers in the Asian and Pacific Region" Proceedings: "Climate Smart Agriculture for the Small-Scale Farmers in the Asian and Pacific Region" is published (May 8, 2019)
January 26, 2018 (Tsukuba, Japan)	NARO-MARCO Symposium 2018 on "MINCERnet: Multi-site monitoring network to cope with the heat stresses of rice under the climate change"
February 28 - March 1, 2017 (Tsukuba, Japan)	NARO-MARCO International Symposium: Soil Carbon Sequestration: Needs and Prospects under the 4 per 1000 Initiative
November 24-26, 2015 (Tsukuba, Japan)	MARCO Symposium 2015 Satellite Workshop; the kick-off meeting on "MINCERnet: Multi-site monitoring network of canopy micrometeorology and heat stresses of rice under the climate change"(PDF file)
October 20-23, 2015 (Tsukuba, Japan)	MARCO Satellite International Workshop 2015 "Adoption and Adaptation of SWAT for Asian Crop Production Systems and Water Resource Issues" (PDF file)
August 26-28, 2015 (Tsukuba, Japan)	MARCO Symposium 2015 "Next Challenges of Agro-Environmental Research in Monsoon Asia" PDF files of lectures and reports are available. (December 22, 2015) Proceedings: "The Challenges of Agro-Environmental Research in Monsoon Asia (NIAES Series 6)" is published. (March 28, 2016)
November 18-21, 2014 (Tokyo, Japan)	TUAT-MARCO Joint International Workshop on Rice Paddy Module Development in SWAT 2014 (PDF file)
September 23-25, 2014 (Taipei, Taiwan)	MARCO-FFTC International Seminar on Management and Remediation Technologies of Rural Soils Contaminated by Heavy Metals and Radioactive Materials (PDF file)
June 7, 2014 (Tsukuba, Japan)	MARCO International Workshop 2014 Andosols Revisiting -- Genesis and classification of volcanic ash soil (Andosols), and its utilization in Monsoon Asia --
October 16-17, 2013 (Tsukuba, Japan)	MARCO International Workshop 2013 on Evaluation and Mitigation of Environmental Impacts in Agricultural Ecosystems for Sustainable Management Plenary Lectures (PDF file)
October 8-10, 2013 (Tsukuba, Japan)	MARCO-FFTC Joint International Workshop 2013 on Benefits and Risks of Genetically Modified Food Crops in Asia Proceedings: "Benefits and Risks of Genetically Modified Food Crops in Asia"(PDF)
October 29-30, 2012 (Tsukuba, Japan)	MARCO Satellite Symposium 2012 "Risk Alleviation Technologies for Arsenic and Cadmium Contamination of Foods in Monsoon Asia"
September 24-27, 2012 (Tsukuba, Japan)	MARCO Symposium 2012 "Strengthening Collaboration to Meet Agro-Environmental Challenges in Monsoon Asia" Presentation files (PDF) of Plenary Session 1, Workshop 1 and Workshop 3 are available. (November 28, 2012)
July 9-12, 2012 (Tsukuba, Japan)	World Crop FACE Workshop 2012
November 15-18, 2011 (Tsukuba, Japan)	MARCO Workshop on Technology Development for Mitigating Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Agriculture Program and Abstracts [PDF: 32.4 MB]
September 27-30, 2011 (Taipei, Taiwan)	MARCO-FFTC International Seminar on Increased Agricultural Nitrogen Circulation in Asia: Technological Challenge to Mitigate Agricultural N Emissions
March 2-4, 2011 (Tsukuba, Japan)	International Workshop on Advanced Use of Satellite- and Geo-Information for Agricultural and Environmental Intelligence
November 9-11, 2010 (Tsukuba, Japan)	International Seminar on Enhancement of Functional Biodiversity Relevant to Sustainable Food Production in ASPAC -- In association with MARCO -- Proceedings of International Seminar on Enhancement of Functional Biodiversity Relevant to Sustainable Food Production in ASPAC, November 9-11, 2010 (Tsukuba, Japan)
September 28-29, 2010 (Bogor, Indonesia)	International Workshop on Evaluation and Sustainable Management of Soil Carbon Sequestration in Asian Countries Proceedings of International Workshop on Evaluation and Sustainable Management of Soil Carbon Sequestration in Asian Countries, September 28-29, 2010 (Bogor, Indonesia)
September 1-3, 2010 (Tsukuba, Japan)	MARCO/GRA Joint Workshop on Paddy Field Management and Greenhouse Gases Program, Abstracts, and Presentations of Workshop on Paddy Field Management and Greenhouse Gases, September 1-3, 2010 (Tsukuba, Japan)
October 5-7, 2009 (Tsukuba, Japan)	MARCO Symposium 2009 "Challenges for Agro-Environmental Research in Monsoon Asia" Proceedings of MARCO Symposium 2009: Challenges for Agro-Environmental Research in Monsoon Asia
October 14-15, 2008 (Tsukuba, Japan)	MARCO Workshop "A New Approach to Soil Information Systems for Natural Resources Management in Asian Countries"
October 22-23, 2007 (Tsukuba, Japan)	NIAES International Symposium 2007 "Invasive Alien Species in Monsoon Asia: Status and Control"
October 22, 2007 (Tsukuba, Japan)	ESAFS-JSSSPN-NIAES-JIRCAS-NARO.NARC-FFTC International Symposium "New Challenges for Agricultural Science : Harmonizing Food Production with the Environment."