This year we launch the project “Collapse and restoration of ecosystem networks with human activity (led by Norio Yamamura)” of Research Institute for Humanity and Nature (RIHN). RHIN was established in 2001 and has driven projects for global environmental problems by combining both natural and human/social sciences. The main goal of our project is to clarify the mechanisms resulting in the deterioration of ecosystems, and then pave the way to restore and maintain healthier ecosystems. We selected Mongolia and Sarawak, Malaysia as research sites. In Mongolia, livestock have grazed the grasslands extensively for thousands of years. In recent years, over-grazing by livestock, especially by the increased number of goats for the production of cashmere for export, has caused a serious problem. In Sarawak, land use has shifted from extensive agriculture in tropical forests by indigenous people to forests as a source of timber for export, and then to oil-palm plantations, over the last 100 years. These changes are associated with changes in land ownership in the indigenous society and the sense of belonging to and dependence on the land of the local people. In the five years ahead we will investigate potential mechanisms to restore the ecosystems, which may include certification systems of timber, plantation and livestock products and community-based management of natural resources.