Kyoto University Opens Research Base in Amazon Jungle

May 11, 2018

Manaus, Brazil- Japan's Kyoto University has opened a large research base in the jungles of the Amazon basin in Brazil.

Previously, no accommodations had been available on the ground for researchers from around the world who are studying flora and fauna, and ecosystem in the area, and they therefore had had to use ships anchored far away or other facilities as their research bases.

The research station, which opened on Tuesday, is expected to help such researchers conduct long-term and comfortable fieldwork.

The university established the base in cooperation with the state-affiliated Japan International Cooperation Agency, major Japanese trader Itochu Corp. and Brazil's National Institute of Amazonian Research (INPA).

The base, named Field Station, is located in the jungle along the Cuieiras River some 130 kilometers by water from Manaus, a Brazilian city in the middle basin of the Amazon River.

The base, which covers an area of 750 square meters, comprises a multipurpose facility and a residential building that can accommodate up to 60 people.

Mario Cohn-Haft, a U.S. researcher who has studied birds in the Amazon basin for 30 years, said he can bring a large amount of equipment with him to the base and that the research station offers a good environment for fixed-point observations.

He described the base as a five-star hotel for researchers.

Juichi Yamagiwa, president of Kyoto University, said that the university has made achievements in the studies of rainforests in Asia and Africa.

He said that the new base is expected to help further advance the research to save the treasure trove of biodiversity.

Luiz Renato de Franca, head of INPA, suggested that Field Station may be a good place for environmental education for native inhabitants, saying that the base will benefit residents living nearby.

He added that the research station is a symbol of coexistence of mankind and nature. Jiji Press