The Tokyo Metropolitan Government announced on August 24, 2007, that it has begun work on establishing a personnel training and certification system to cultivate people with the ability to take action in the field of nature and environmental protection. The aim of the system is to equip people with fairly extensive environmental knowledge and expertise in conservation, while at the same time promoting various organizations to employ them.

Under the new system, Tokyo will certify the curriculums of universities and graduate schools that are designed to equip students with practical knowledge and skills, regardless of existing academic disciplines such as natural science, social science, or the humanities. It will also certify practical internships in companies, non-profit organizations (NPOs), and public administrations. With both curriculums and internships approved under the "ECO-TOP program" of the Ecological Conservation Training of Personnel Program, Tokyo will register students who complete the program in order to periodically provide them with adequate follow-up on their expertise and skills.

Tokyo intends to provide organizations with trained personnel who would play a role in nature preservation, for example, as a public servant in charge of environmental administration, an employee belonging to a corporate social responsibility (CSR) or environmental department, or as a staff member of an NPO undertaking an eco-tourism project. Therefore, this system is expected to accelerate the commitment to environmental protection supported by governments, companies, and NPOs.

http://www.metro.tokyo.jp/ENGLISH/index.htm
http://www.kankyo.metro.tokyo.jp/kouhou/english/index.html

Posted: 2008/01/14 10:46:26 AM
Japanese version

TAG Local government , System/Law