Eastern marsh harriers are similar to hawks, and are at the top of the wetland food chains, particularly in reed bed ecosystems. They cover wide areas and prey on small animals. Populations in Japan have dwindled to around 50 breeding pairs due to factors such as the shrinking of reed bed areas as a result of land development, and it has been desginated as a category 1B endangered species on the Ministry of the Environment red list. In order to conserve the eastern marsh harrier, information collection from each region it inhabits was started in 2006, but there is a need for further research into its behaviour and habitats and to process the information collected. The first year of this project will involve attaching GPS tracking devices to marsh harriers that inhabit the Yufutsu plains in western Hokkaido, identifying their home-range and nests, surveying the environment in these areas, and researching the types of prey eaten, the amount of resources, and the breeding situation. It will also process and analyse information on the breeding situation of marsh harriers that have been gathering for many years at Kahokugata Lagoon in Ishikawa Prefecture. The results of research and analysis from these two areas will be published in a report. The second year will involve holding a symposium and inviting experts from the UK, a leading country for eastern marsh harrier conservation. This will allow Japanese researchers to deepen their knowledge of marsh harrier and wetland ecosystem conservation, compare the situations in the UK and Japan, and propose conservation measures that are suitable for Japan. Finally, an information pack will be published as the culmination of the entire project.