International Collaborations

Last Updated: April 28, 2022

 GSJ recognizes that cooperation with overseas geological research organizations is a priority issue. Our international research activities include bilateral and multilateral cooperation. The latter is implemented within the framework of international organizations or consortia.

Multilateral cooperation

 The activities in the Coordinating Committee for Geoscience Programmes in East and Southeast Asia (CCOP) are typical examples of our multilateral cooperation. CCOP is an intergovernmental organization whose objectives are to encourage economic development and to improve quality of life in East and Southeast Asia through its projects and workshops in the field of earth science.
 CCOP was established with only four member countries in 1966. After a half century, it now has 16 member countries. No other international research organization has such a long history in the field of earth science.
 GSJ has assumed leadership of CCOP since its establishment and provided technical supports for CCOP. Ongoing projects led by GSJ are as follows:
- CCOP GSJ Groundwater Project
- Geoinformation Sharing Infrastructure for East and Southeast Asia Project (GSi Project)
- Compilation and Publication of a Revised “Magnetic Anomaly Map of East Asia 1:4,000,000” on CD-ROM (MAMEA Project)

 OneGeology is an international initiative of the geological surveys of the world. This project was launched in 2007 with the goal of creating dynamic digital geological map data for the world and providing service to other types of geoscience data. The OneGeology Portal is available to view the geological maps in the world (OneGeology Portal).

 The Commission for the Geological Map of the World (CGMW) is an international non-profit association governed by French law, established in 1913 at the 12th International Geological Congress (IGC). The CGMW is responsible for designing, promoting, coordinating, preparing and publishing small-scale thematic Earth Science maps of the globe, continent, major regions and oceans. The CGMW is affiliated to the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) and to the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG), and is supported by UNESCO.

  • G-EVER(The activity was ended in March 2020)

GSJ has been cooperated with other Asia-Pacific countries in the activities of Asia-Pacific Region Global Earthquake and Volcanic Eruption Risk Management (G-EVER) since 2012. The project includes compilation and improvement of seismic and volcanic data, hazard information sharing, and international standardization of earthquake and volcanic information to assess the risks of earthquake and volcanic hazards. The compiled data are available from following links.
- Eastern Asia Earthquake and Volcanic Hazards Information Map
- Asia-Pacific Region Geological Hazards Information System

Bilateral cooperation

 Bilateral research cooperation is promoted under a memorandum of understanding with a number of overseas geological institutes. In cooperation with geological institutes in the so-called industrialized nations, main activities include developing innovative survey and analysis techniques applicable to research in such fields as earthquake, tsunami, and volcanic hazard assessment; the development of geothermal resources; and CO2 geological storage. Through many years of partnership, solid relationships and mutual trust have been built.
 In cooperating with the so-called developing nations, priority is given to understanding the scientific and technical needs of the counterparts, as well as scientific issues GSJ should tackle. Through joint activities such as geological surveys, GSJ provides cooperation in human resource development and the compilation of geological information for resource development and natural disaster mitigation.

  • Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)

Updated April 2023

CountryCounterpartStart DateEnd Date
Mongolia Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy in Mongolia (MMRE), Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC) July, 2010 indefinite
Vietnam Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST) April, 2020 April, 2025
Mongolia Geological Department, Mineral Resources and Petroleum Authority of Mongolia (MRPAM) January, 2008 indefinite
USA United States Geological Survey (USGS) [on Landsat data] November, 2013 through the
operational lifetime of
Landsat satellites
Thailand Department of Mineral Resources (DMR), Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE) July, 2018 July, 2023
France Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières (BRGM) July, 2019 July, 2024
Italy National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) November, 2019 November, 2024
Canada Geological Survey of Canada (GSC), Department of Natural Resources of Canada (NRCan) February, 2020 February, 2025
Turkey General Directorate of Mineral Research and Exploration (MTA) January, 2021 December, 2025
USA United States Geological Survey (USGS) December, 2021 December, 2026
New Zealand Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences (GNS) February, 2022 February, 2027