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【JWF News Vol.164】JWF Fund 2017 Completed!
June 20, 2018
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◇Contents◇
・Foreword Human Evolution to Erect Bipedalism
・Announcement from the Japan Water Forum
– JWF Fund 2018 is now open for applications!
・Report from the Japan Water Forum
– JWF Fund 2017 Completed!
– JWF Fund 2016 follow-up Completed!
– 4℃ AQUA PROGRAM 2017 Completed!
– Flood Fighting Drill Tour 2018
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・Foreword Human Evolution to Erect Bipedalism
By Kotaro Takemura, Chair of the Japan Water Forum
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Human Evolution
I spent the May holidays watching TV at home, as the cities were crowded with visitors. I closely watched a special series on NHK entitled The Birth of Humanity.
The title of the first episode was How Man was Born. I learned in high school that man is defined as an erect, bipedal mammal.
Why did man begin to walk upright on two legs? This is an eternal mystery.
It is very strange for a mammal to evolve from quadrupedal to bipedal walking. It is also a very risky evolutionary step, because it may risk the health of a baby if its mother walks and runs in the presence of the Earth’s gravity. Babies of quadrupedal mammals feel safe and comfortable in their mother’s womb, as though they are sleeping in a hammock. There is no problem for these babies even if their mother runs around.
Man, who walks on two legs, however, cannot move around in such a way. Mothers have to fight gravity. Therefore, I was skeptical that such risky bipedal walking was really an evolutionary advantage for man. I was looking forward to hearing the answer to my question on that TV program.
The answer they gave was that man became bipedal in order to carry food in his arms.
Deductive Reasoning from Results
To tell the truth, I was disappointed with this answer. I don’t think the merits and risks of bipedalism are well-balanced. There must be a compelling reason for walking on two legs, as it may endanger the life of a baby when its mother gives birth. There is a risk of dropping the baby because of the effects of gravity.
“Man became bipedal in order to carry food in his arms. Man became bipedal in order to hold tools with two hands.” Those reasons sound like reasoning deduced from the results of becoming erect and bipedal. Even if man carries food in his arms, he doesn’t need to walk on two legs all the time. Also, man doesn’t need to be always bipedal to carry tools. He can walk on two legs only when necessary, just as a chimpanzee does.
However, the posture of a chimpanzee and that of erect and bipedal man are entirely different. A baby of chimpanzee grows safely in the womb. It does not need to fight gravity. I wonder why only man gives birth to a baby in a way that defies gravity.
Why did man take the risk to evolve into an erect and bipedal mammal?
Humanity is an eternal mystery.
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・Announcement from the Japan Water Forum
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– JWF Fund 2018 is now open for applications!
The JWF Fund was founded in 2005 and solely operated by Japan Water Forum (JWF), which aims to support selected grass-roots organizations in developing countries who have been addressing water-related issues in their own countries. Every year, JWF publicly seeks for projects and those adopted after due assessment will be eligible to get funding up to 1,000 USD per project.
The JWF Fund is based upon membership fees of the JWF members and donations from general contributors through the Charity for Water run by JWF.
Japan Water Forum starts to call for application for the JWF Fund 2018.
The closing date for applications is 6:00 p.m. (GMT+9), 31 July, 2018.
To apply for the fund, please read through the guidelines beforehand and use the prescribed application form.
We hope that it will be a small but certain step to solve water-related issues while utilizing local resources as well as meeting local need.
We look forward to receiving your applications!
▼Please visit the following website for details▼
https://www.waterforum.jp/en/news_en/grassroots_en/2018/0601/?p=8868
（Reported by Akie Gunji, Manager)
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・Report from the Japan Water Forum
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– JWF Fund 2017 Completed!
The JWF Fund was founded in 2005 and solely operated by Japan Water Forum (JWF), which aims to support selected grass-roots organizations in developing countries who have been addressing water-related issues in their own countries. Every year, JWF publicly seeks for projects and those adopted after due assessment will be eligible to get funding up to 1,000 USD per project.
The JWF Fund is based upon membership fees of the JWF members and donations from general contributors through the Charity for Water run by JWF.
The JWF Fund 2017 was conducted where 7 projects from 6 countries were selected out of 211 projects submitted from 31 countries.
▼Please visit the following website for details▼
https://www.waterforum.jp/en/whatwedo_en/grassroots_p_en/2018/0531/?p=9005
（Reported by Akie Gunji, Manager）
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– JWF Fund 2016 follow-up Completed!
Our priority is placed in responding to the issues and needs of the field in anefficient and effective way.
To grasp changes of the issues and needs after completion of the projects, we decided to carry out follow-up observations for the projects in 2014, and since then we have collected information on effects and impacts of the projects.
The JWF Fund 2016 supported 6 projects one each in Madagascar, Tanzania, Togo, Pakistan and two in India.
As a result of our request, we received consents from 3 organizations out of 6 who were supported by the Fund in 2016.
With their cooperation, the follow-up observations were carried out to see the conditions, one year after the completion.
▼Please visit the following website for details▼
https://www.waterforum.jp/jp/news/grass_roots_projects/jwf/2018/0615/?p=9461
(Reported by Akie Gunji, Manager)
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– 4℃ AQUA PROGRAM 2017 Completed!
4℃ AQUA PROGRAM is a joint project with a jewelry brand “4℃” and Japan Water Forum.
It aims to bring “beauty” and “inspire” the women of developing countries who face serious water and hygiene problems by supporting water issues.
As the tenth-year program, aiming at freeing women from burden of fetching water as well as securing safe drinking water, we have carried out rainwater harvesting tanks installation to 30 households an training on operation and maintenance in a rural village, Morrelganj Upazila, Khulna Division, Bagerhat District, Bangladesh.
▼Please visit the following website for details▼
https://www.waterforum.jp/en/whatwedo_en/grassroots_p_en/2018/0615/?p=8724
(Reported by Akie Gunji, Manager)
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– Flood Fighting Drill Tour 2018
On May 19, the 67th Flood Fighting Drill in the Tonegawa River Basin took place , in the City of Sakae, Chiba Prefecture. This drill is aimed at handing down Japan’s traditional flood prevention techniques and raising public awareness of flood prevention. The JWF has been holding the Flood Fighting Drill Tour since 2006 for officials from embassies and international organizations in Tokyo, with the aim of transmitting information to the rest of the world about our experience and the lessons learnt from water disasters, as well as traditional flood fighting activities carried out by local residents.
▼Please visit the following website for details▼
https://www.waterforum.jp/all/transmitting_japanese/flood_fight/2018/0620/?p=9513
(Reported by Sayoko Kuwahara, Manager)
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JWF News Vol. 164 / June 20 2018
Japan Water Forum
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