Water / Soil / Ground Environment

Support Project for Introducing Total Pollutant Load Control System (TPLCS) in East Asian Countries

Ministry of the Environment, utilizing its experiences and knowledge for measures to prevent eutrophication in sea areas, supports East Asian countries to introduce Total Pollutant Load Control System (TPLCS).

Objectives

Along with rapid economic growth in East Asian countries, a large amount of land-based pollution loads flows into enclosed coastal seas where water is not easily replaced, and contributes to eutrophication.

To cope with this situation, the TPLCS, which Japan introduced in 1978, would work effectively. In East Asia, however, there is an absence of technical and institutional knowledge required for implementing this system and the lack of deep understanding and interest of the officials.

Under such circumstances, Ministry of the Environment makes international contributions, capitalizing on Japan's experience and knowledge of the TPLCS, in order to improve water quality while securing sustainable economic development in East Asian Countries with which Japan has a close relationship.

Japan-China Joint Research on TPLCS of Nitrogen and Phosphorus

China started the TPLCS with the 9th Five-Year Plan (1996-2000) and has made efforts to improve the water environment, but the water pollution of lakes and seas is still worsening and has become a serious problem.

China, therefore, considered adding nitrogen and phosphorus to the list of total pollutant load control items in the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015) in addition to Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) listed in the 11th Five-Year Plan.

At the 5th director-general level dialogue on Japan-China environmental pollution countermeasures in December 2008, it was agreed that the joint research concerning TPLCS of nitrogen and phosphorus would be conducted to find an effective implementation method along with the conditions of China. At the 6th dialogue in March 2009, the know-how to be provided by Japan and the future plan were discussed. Under the agreement, Japan-China Joint Research on TPLCS of Nitrogen and Phosphorus was carried out in cooperation between the Environment Ministry of Japan and the Ministry of Environmental Protection of China for two years from FY2009 to 2010.

Based on the outcomes of the cooperation, ammonium nitrogen was added as pollutant subject to TPLCS since the 12th Five-Year Plan in China.

The joint research includes the followings:

  1. Japan-China Joint Research Report
    Prepare a Japan-China joint research report on the legal system and the achievement of TPLCS in Japan and China, and draft enforcement policies on TPLCS of nitrogen and phosphorus in China.
  2. Capacity building
    Invite Chinese officials to a facility in Japan to observe the achievement of TPLCS as preparation for the implementation in China.
  3. Feasibility studies in model area in China
    Verify the feasibility of implementation methods of TPLCS of nitrogen and phosphorus described in the joint research report.

Guideline for introducing TPLCS

"Guideline for introducing TPLCS" was developed, based on the experience and knowledge obtained from Japan-China Joint Research on TPLCS of nitrogen and phosphorus.

The Guideline for introducing TPLCS of the following languages:

Summary ver.

Full ver.

[LINK]

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