M/F doctoral contrat "multirisk management in forests, Franco-Japanese approach"

Job Description

Thesis Subject

Japan, whose land is largely covered by forests, is a country exposed to many different hazards. Despite its humid continental climate, it experiences wildfires every year. The year 2025 was particularly notable in this sense, due to a fire that affected more than 3,000 hectares in the north of the country, making it the largest fire recorded in Japan since the 1960s. Although wildfires are not usually as extensive in the archipelago as those that occur every summer in France, their evolution over time seems to follow the same dynamics. Wildfire isn't the only hazard that happen in the forest. Indeed, hydro-gravitational hazards are also very common. Japanese forest are mountainous forest, crossed by smalls temporaries streams in which runoff occurs mainly during flash floods. For control hydro-gravitational hazards, a lot of structural measures called “Sabo” works are put in practice. In France, these issues are also prevalent and are managed through the actions of the RTM (Mountain Land Restoration). This hazards overlay in a same area refers to multi-hazard concept. In fact, when hazards interact with each other, they can generate new ones or exacerbate existing ones. When these hazards affect people or environment, they can become risks.
Therefore, Japan has implemented numerous non-structural measures to limit the occurrence of risks. On the archipelago, the prevention education to these issues was mainly done during the childhood. In France, this prevention is less systematically done in the country level and relay on sensibilization action done in the local level.
Despite the implementation of numerous management measures, ongoing global warming could increase various hazards: wildfires, intense rainfall, and therefore hydro-gravitational hazards, whether in Japan or France. Other evolution, such as demographical and territorial ones, could also increase the associate risk. Furthermore, in case of evolution of the risks, the prevention and management action done may show limitations linked to the lake of the updating of the knowledge, thus becoming outdated. Finally, in the Japan case, the limited cross between risks may restricts the consideration of multi-risk dynamics and their potential interactions.
In this context, the aim of the thesis will be to understand how the multi-hazard in forest overlay and generate risks in the context of the actual environmental an societal change, and how their management can be completed by a multi-risk approach through the example of Japan and in comparison with the dynamic observed in France.
The initial aim will be to characterize the hazards of wildfires in Japan and France, as well as their interactions with other hazards, and to understand how these multi-hazards transform into multi-risks. Secondly, it will be necessary to understand their potential evolution in a context of global change and demographic change. Finally, the last aim will be to compare Japanese and French prevention and management actions, understand their limitations, and then suggest ways to improve multi-risk management in forests in this context of global change.

Your Work Environment

The doctoral contract corresponds to that of an international PhD funded by the MITI (Mission for Cross-cutting and Interdisciplinary Initiatives) of CNRS in association with the international laboratory – IRL – CNRS MITATE Lab. A cross-disciplinary and multi-scale approach is planned. The study will cover both the national level, in Japan and France, and the local level. The national level will be studied in order to analyze the legislation farm of the management of hazards and risks, the management action put in practice, the possible amelioration axes, and the environmental and societal evolutions. This work will be done both with bibliographical analyzes (legislative documents, prevention documents and pocket-book) and by the studies of meteorological, environmental and demographical data, published in Japanese, English and French. The local study will provide examples of multi-hazard and multi-risk interactions and the application of elements observed at the national level. These studies will be done by the used of GIS data and fieldwork in the forest for defining the hazards and risks present. It will be complemented by field surveys and semi-structured interviews to determine the limits of prevention measures and to propose possible ways of improvement, with the aim of moving from the local to the national level. The thesis will be co-supervised by Olivier Evrard (Research Director (senior researcher) at CEA (French Atomic and Alternative Energy Commission) at LSCE (Laboratory for Climate and Environmental Sciences) and Deputy-Director of MITATE Lab (International Research Laboratory – IRL 2039 – CNRS-CEA-Univ. Fukushima)) and by Kazuoki Hori and Naoya Takahashi (Professors at the Department of Geography of the University of Tohoku, in Sendai, Japan).

Constraints and risks

The PhD project will involve extended stays in Japan and fieldwork in forests.
* The candidate will be proficient in both French and Japanese languages. A degree in Japanese language is expected.
* The candidate will have background in geography or in environmental science.
* Proficiency in the use of Geographical Research Systems, and of environmental data analysis.
* Experience in conducting stakeholders' interviews will be an asset.
* A first research experience in Japan will be an asset.
* A good command of English language is expected as well.

Compensation and benefits

Compensation

2300 € gross monthly

Annual leave and RTT

44 jours

Remote Working practice and compensation

Pratique et indemnisation du TT

Transport

Prise en charge à 75% du coût et forfait mobilité durable jusqu’à 300€

About the offer

About the CNRS

The CNRS is a major player in fundamental research on a global scale. The CNRS is the only French organization active in all scientific fields. Its unique position as a multi-specialist allows it to bring together different disciplines to address the most important challenges of the contemporary world, in connection with the actors of change.

CNRS

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