Toyobo supports "Lake Biwa Challenge: 100 sites eDNA survey" to accelerate efforts for biodiversity conservation

Toyobo Co., Ltd. will support "Lake Biwa Challenge: 100 sites eDNA survey," a project to research living organisms in Lake Biwa, Japan’s largest lake in Shiga Prefecture. The survey, conducted by Ryukoku University’s Center for Biodiversity Science, is a sub-project of “Ryukoku Lecture with Shiga Prefecture related to Lake Biwa Day,” an open lecture of Ryukoku University.

"Lake Biwa Challenge: 100 sites eDNA survey," started in 2021, involves collecting water samples annually at 100 locations along the entire lake by local citizens, organizations, and companies. The samples will be analyzed for environmental DNA^*1 at the university’s center, to obtain data essential for conserving biodiversity, such as the habitat distribution, and proliferation of invasive species. The results of this fiscal year’s analysis are scheduled to be released in December 2022 at the lecture.

The Research Center, a Toyobo research hub also located in Shiga Prefecture, has participated in local environmental activities and launched its own campaigns to clean up the lake with the aim of conserving the lake’s biodiversity. As part of its support for the latest project, Toyobo will regularly take its own water samples at a company site on the lakeside to obtain data over time in addition to participating in the annual lake water sampling. Toyobo will also consider conducting joint projects with the university center that use technology to analyze environmental DNA.

In Sustainable Vision 2030^*2 unveiled on May 26, 2022, Toyobo committed itself to finding solutions that ensure “the good condition of water area, atmosphere and soil, and biodiversity.” Toyobo also is dedicated to boosting its efforts to create value with various partners, such as universities and local governments, so it can contribute to biodiversity conservation.

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