Kenichi Tsukahara

Basic of project management and environmental project cases

This chapter gives an outline of the basic knowledge of project management while introducing the main points of environmental project cases and case methods. Practical skills in project management methodology, which is management thinking, are required to execute environmental projects along with a deep knowledge of specific expertise. Moreover, it is important to have the ability to take a commanding view and grasp environmental issues in a wide and interdisciplinary manner. Furthermore, the requirements of an environmental project manager include strategic innovation ability in project design, consensus formation skills among a wide variety of stakeholders, and facilitation skills, among others. This chapter gives an explanation of basic vocabulary in project management in Sect. 19.1, the main points of environmental project cases in Sect. 19.2, and case methods in Sect. 19.3.

Introduction—Why Is Resilience Lost?

Since the beginning of the 21st century, as changes in the global environment and social structures have increased the threat of natural disasters, the significance of resilience has been attracting global attention. Tracing the global-scale changes from the 1990s reveals why resilience is needed now and what hope it represents. To improve resilience, it is important to clarify the causes and mechanisms that may lower resilience, and to design specific measures to halt their progression.

Smart Shrink Strategy and the Fiscal System

Despite economic, scientific, and technological advances, damage and losses by natural disasters still remain at a high level in Japan. This is mainly because many people still reside in disaster-prone places both in urban and rural areas. We propose some policy measures to promote relocation from vulnerable places to safe places using financial incentives to residents and local governments. We then go on to review policy reforms/measures in promoting the Smart Shrink strategy in Japan.