CREST International Symposium on water environment held in Vietnam (14 November 2014)

The second CREST international symposium, titled "Water Environment in Da Nang and New Approaches forward to 21st Century Type Water Cycle System", took place at Da Nang University of Technology (DUT), Vietnam, on 14-15 November 2014. The event was organized by the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) and Core Research for Evolutional Science and Technology (CREST) in cooperation with DUT and Kyoto University's Graduate School of Engineering (GSE) and Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies (GSGES).

Following an opening address by Dr Le Thi Kim Oanh, Vice-Rector of DUT, Professor Hiroaki Tanaka of the GSE gave a keynote speech that focused on the development of a water cycle system befitting the 21st century.

The symposium included eleven oral presentations and five poster presentations, which addressed contemporary water and environmental issues in Da Nang and new approaches to water cycle management, stimulating discussions about risk assessment, cost effectiveness, and applications of water reuse technologies. Dr Shuhei Tanaka, Associate Professor at the GSGES, gave a presentation titled "Estimation of Current Water Sources and Contamination of Micro-Pollutants in Da Nang" and Ms Yuri Taniguchi, a master's student at the GSE, also gave a presentation about a "Survey on Fecal Contamination in the Water Environment of Da Nang, Vietnam and Examination of Ceramic Membrane Filtration on its Removal". The symposium brought together 55 participants from Japan and Vietnam, with the shared goal of learning more about Da Nang's water environment and new methods for researching and developing water cycle systems.

On the second day, participants went on a study tour to the Cu De River and a local industrial wastewater management facility. After listening to an overview given by the manager of the facility, the participants actively engaged in discussion about differences between Japanese and Vietnamese industrial wastewater management systems.