The origins of the Biwako Environmental Innovation Research Center dates back to April 1994 when the Biwako-Kusatsu Campus (BKC) was established. The College of Science and Engineering has expanded significantly since its relocation to BKC, including the addition of the Departments of Biological Engineering, Environmental Systems Engineering, and Informatics . Furthermore, research centers in various fields were established independently of the college to receive commissioned research and engage in joint research. Amid this backdrop, the Center for Environmental Research began its research activities, and in 2004, it was reorganized into the Biwako Environmental Research Center , with the environment of Lake Biwa as its main focus of research.

Later, in 2010, it was re-launched as the Research Center for BIWAKO Σ. The “Σ” (sigma) in the center's name meant "sum” or “coordination.” Collaborating with researchers within the university in a wide range of specializations and with external organizations, the center developed distinctive activities as a center for more comprehensive research related to Lake Biwa and the environment.

Building on this foundation, Research Center for Lake BIWA ＆ Environmental innovation was established in 2020. Director Kubo explains the leadup to the center’s establishment as follows:

“The basic concept of the center, ‘to widely disseminate and the findings of research related to the environment of Lake Biwa and the Lake Biwa area and feed them back into society,’ was inherited from our predecessor center. In addition to this, we have added ‘innovation’ to the name of the center in order to broaden our points of contact with society and accelerate practical implementation in the real world. Our goal is to conduct activities that benefit society by focusing not only on basic research but also on applied research, and by expanding our reach to include industry-academia collaboration and contribution to the local community.”

Next, Director Kubo touched on the significance of environmental technology research for Lake Biwa and the Lake Biwa area.

“While ancient lakes are considered to be those that are at least 100,000 years old, Lake Biwa, the only ancient lake in Japan, is believed to have been formed approximately 4 million years ago. Lake Biwa has a large number of endemic species, as ancient lakes are more conducive to unique biological evolution. It is also notable for its role as a vital water source, supplying water to many cities along the Lake Biwa Canal and the Yodo River system.

On the other hand, Lake Biwa is now facing a range of problems. Since the period of rapid economic growth, environmental pollution due to urbanization has progressed. The effects of global warming are also becoming more pronounced, as the accumulation of phosphorus and other nutrients has led to eutrophication, the influx of chemical fertilizers from farmland are changing the nutrient balance in the lake, and native species are on the decline due to an increase in non-native aquatic organisms and non-native fish. In the Lake Biwa area, problems such as wild animal damage from deer and wild boars, forest degradation, and the weakening of the relationship between Lake Biwa and people's daily lives have also been pointed out.

With regard to its long history from ancient times to the present, the rich relationship with people and society in terms of water resources, fisheries and tourism, and the protection of the natural environment, the current situation is that Lake Biwa faces various problems, and these problems are interconnected in complex ways. I believe that the center’s environmental technology research, which aims to address these issues, is of great significance not only for the conservation and improvement of lakes, water bodies, and watershed environments in general, but also as a model case for a sustainable society and environment that can be widely deployed both domestically and internationally.”

The center’s research covers a wide range of areas, focusing on the three environmental elements of water quality, soil, and air quality, as well as observation network systems. The following are some specific examples of the center’s research projects.

Visiting Professor Michio Kumagai (Ritsumeikan University Research Organization of Science and Engineering), who is a member of the center, analyzes the complete circulation of Lake Biwa in relation to environmental conservation. Complete circulation is a phenomenon in which cold, oxygen-rich water near the lake surface is replaced by warmer, less oxygen-rich water from the bottom of the lake, which plays an important role in maintaining the ecosystem. However, since the late 1980s, global warming has prevented complete circulation from functioning adequately, and the environment has been deteriorating, with a decrease in the number of sweetfish, Biwa trout, lake bottom organisms. In addition to continuous environmental surveys like these, Dr. Kumagai has developed a technology called Wave Pump to assist the natural mechanism of cold winter surface water flowing into the lake bottom by using a clean wave-powered submersible pump.

What is unique about this project is that he plans to work with children from elementary, junior high, and high schools to develop an automated measurement and complete circulation support system to understand the current state of Lake Biwa, and he has solicited crowdfunding for this purpose. The project, which also aimed to raise people's interest in Lake Biwa's environmental problems, was a great success, receiving more than four times its goal of 1 million yen in support.

The center is also conducting research to help preserve the environment of increasingly urbanized bodies of water like Lake Biwa. Deputy Center Director Satoshi Soda (Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, College of Science and Engineering) specializes in biological wastewater treatment using microorganisms and plants, with a particular focus on the removal of organic matter, nitrogen, and metals. Biological wastewater treatment is slower, but has the advantages of low cost, low environmental impact, and ease of control due to the low consumption of chemicals and electricity. Dr. Soda has accumulated numerous achievements, including research on treatment technology for mine wastewater using artificial wetlands in collaboration with the Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security and research on removing excess sludge from urban sewage using aquatic worms in collaboration with the Industrial Technology Center of Wakayama Prefecture. In recent years, he has been engaged in exchange with universities in Vietnam and India to pursue appropriate technologies for water environment issues in those countries.

Meanwhile, Director Kubo is engaged in research on biomass resource recycling using microorganisms in which he is developing a technology to measure the number of microorganisms living in soil. Furthermore, he has succeeded in developing a new technology called SOFIX (Soil Fertility Index), which diagnoses the fertility of agricultural soil by analyzing the quantity of microorganisms in the soil, as well as the activity of the nitrogen and phosphorus cycles and the amount of biomass in soil.

Utilizing this technology, he is investigating the relationship between the water quality of Lake Biwa and the microorganisms in the lake bottom soil. In the southern part of Lake Biwa, where sludge has accumulated and the water has become polluted, the number of microorganisms in the lake bottom soil was found to be only 1/100th that of the northern part of the lake.

He recently established a university venture and is participating in an industry-academia joint demonstration experiment aimed at realizing a sustainable regional circulation system for organic agriculture in Shiga Prefecture. He is working to establish a circulation model for local resources, treating the entire process from soil analysis and fertilizer design using the SOFIX analysis technology to the production, sale, and consumption of agricultural products as a series of projects. He has also developed SOFIX Powder, an organic fertilizer that improves soil. He says it improves the nutritional value, taste, yield, and shelf life of agricultural products, and considerably reduces fertilizer runoff into rivers and lakes.

Next, Center Director Kubo discussed the aim of the industry-academia collaborative research as follows.
“Chemical fertilizers and pesticides flowing into Lake Biwa from nearby farmland are one of the causes of water pollution, so it is very important to improve the soil environment of farmland in order to improve the water quality of Lake Biwa. To this end, we need to communicate the technologies we have researched and developed to the world and ensure they are actually used by as many people as possible. We would like to actively collaborate with industry to spur on innovation."

This kind of proactive industry-academia collaboration is a hallmark of the center. The center attracts a diverse array of members, including faculty members from the Departments of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Robotics, Mechanical Engineering, Electronic and Computer Engineering in the College of Science and Engineering, faculty members from the Department of Biological Engineering in the College of Life Sciences, faculty members from the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences in the College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, and faculty members from the Department of Information Science and Engineering in the College of Information Science and Engineering. They actively pursue joint research with both their colleagues in the center and with outside partners like companies and local governments.

“The center's strength lies in the fact that its membership is diverse, and that discussions among researchers from various backgrounds can generate unprecedented ideas," says Director Kubo. The center also provides opportunities for researchers to interact with each other on a regular basis, with the main event being the Research Exchange Meeting. At this meeting, each laboratory gives oral or poster presentations, which provides the members with a good opportunity to learn about and gain inspiration from research in other fields. Director Kubo says it also functions as a venue for education, with undergraduate and graduate students invited to give research presentations.

Once every two years, the center co-hosts a symposium with the Ritsumeikan University Research Center for Biological Resources, and invites researchers from Japan and abroad. About 100 people, including the general public, attend the event, which indicates the high level of interest in Lake Biwa and environmental issues.

We concluded the interview by asking Center Director Kubo where the center will turn its focus in the future.

“Our goal is to increase our presence so that people will think to contact us first for anything related to Lake Biwa or the environment. Even now, we receive consultations from local governments and companies throughout Japan, and we listen to them and introduce them to researchers whose topics match their issues, but we hope to expand upon these kinds of opportunities even further. To do this, we must disseminate the center's unique research activities both domestically and internationally. To enhance our research activities, we would like to further activate cooperation among our members and create an environment that supports challenging endeavors. We are also looking into the possibility of working on common research topics on a center-wide basis."

How will the center communicate its initiatives to the world and spark innovation in response to environmental issues that we can no longer wait to address? We are very excited to see what the center will do going forward.