[Feature: Ocean Sustainability / Mini-Feature: 150th Anniversary of the Yochisha Elementary School] Kazuya Hirai: Fostering Ocean Literacy for Everyone

I wonder how many people are familiar with the term "ocean literacy." It is defined as "an understanding of the ocean's influence on you and your influence on the ocean." Its content could be described as the general knowledge about the sea that everyone should possess, but...

Literacy originally referred simply to the ability to read and write, but recently it has come to mean essential skills in the modern era (Fauville et al. 2019).

Ocean literacy was first systematically organized in the United States. Ocean researchers, educators, teachers, and government officials belonging to ocean-related agencies and organizations held repeated discussions to determine seven essential principles (Table 1) and 44 fundamental concepts. After peer review by the ocean science education community, these were compiled into a leaflet and widely released in 2005 with NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) as the copyright holder.

These essential principles were established as specific learning objectives for studying ocean science—which is indispensable for understanding the global environment—in both school and out-of-school education. Although created in the United States, they have had a significant impact on other countries, and awareness has grown among ocean educators and scientists worldwide. Subsequently, in 2017, UNESCO-IOC (Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission) published "Ocean Literacy for All: A toolkit," initiating a movement to spread ocean literacy in various countries and regions.

Now, regarding the Marine Learning Center (hereafter referred to by its Japanese abbreviation: Umiken), where I currently belong, it is an organization founded in 2005—the same year ocean literacy was launched in the U.S.—by ocean science researchers and informal educators, including myself, who provide ocean learning programs primarily for children. We operate with the goal of contributing to the formation of a society equipped with conservation awareness and scientific inquiry regarding the sea, and a society where the sea and people are richly connected. We express our mission simply with the phrase: "Bringing 'Knowing the Sea' to Everyone."

It is no coincidence that the establishment of our non-profit organization overlaps with the year ocean literacy was promulgated. The year before, our representative worked as an intern at the Lawrence Hall of Science at the University of California, Berkeley, which was deeply involved in building ocean literacy. Learning about the movements in the U.S., they believed it was desirable for Japan to synchronize with this and created the organizational base of Umiken, which is why it happened in the same year.

The Lawrence Hall of Science is a science museum and one of the preeminent institutions in the U.S. for science education research and curriculum development. One of the materials developed there is MARE (Marine Activities, Resources & Education), a packaged ocean science curriculum tailored for K-12 (from kindergarten through middle school in Japan). It is widely used in school education within the U.S., and many children learn about the ocean through classes using MARE. To promote MARE in Japan, Umiken signed a license agreement with the University of California and has implemented it at elementary schools, museums, and aquariums nationwide to this day. In recent years, we have had many opportunities to implement it at visitor centers within Sanriku Fukko National Park, which our organization manages under contract from the Ministry of the Environment. As the Chief Educator of Umiken, I have been involved in providing ocean learning programs to approximately 12,000 people, which includes many classes and learning events using MARE. MARE is also deeply compatible with "Active Learning," which the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology announced it would promote in 2017, and it has been well-received by school groups.

Now, the reason I, a graduate of the Keio University Faculty of Business and Commerce—a faculty somewhat distant from the sea and science—entered this field was scuba diving, and the fact that a massive coral bleaching event occurred in 1998 in Okinawa, which was my field. That year, sea temperatures remained 1 to 2 degrees Celsius higher than average for over 30 days, causing damage and mass mortality to corals not only in Okinawa but worldwide. Those involved said global warming was likely the cause, but at the time, such events were not yet numerous and did not have a major impact on society at large. However, in the waters of Okinawa, the underwater world that had been colorful and beautiful due to coral became desolate, and the creatures that lived there decreased. I felt that something truly bad for the planet was beginning to happen.

This bleaching phenomenon has occurred frequently since then, albeit on a smaller scale, but even now, when climate change is recognized as a critical environmental issue, it cannot be said to have gained significant attention from society at large. This may be because coral is an unfamiliar creature, but I also speculate it is because it is a phenomenon occurring in the "sea," which is not usually consciously considered by the general public.

As stated in the essential principles of ocean literacy mentioned earlier, the ocean is important for the Earth and humans as they influence each other. However, for the general public, the sea is a distant existence; they find it difficult to care about what is happening there, and in the first place, it is hard to know. This leads to a failure of society to perceive things happening in the sea that affect both the Earth and humans.

I recognized that this situation must be improved, which led to a change in my career path toward cultivating ocean literacy and engaging in ocean and environmental education activities.

As a precursor to Umiken's activities, I obtained a diving instructor license and, while working in diving and snorkeling after moving to Okinawa in 1999, I used that know-how to start a nature observation program called "Reef Trail" for walking on coral reefs. Whether they were toddlers or seniors, anyone who could walk could become familiar with the coral reef sea. In the process, I performed interpretation to convey information about coral and the changes occurring in the sea. Around this time, junior high and high school field trips to Okinawa from outside the prefecture increased, and furthermore, there was a demand for nature experience learning in addition to traditional peace studies. This gave me the opportunity to talk to many students about the sea and coral reefs. I expected that if I could do this for all junior high and high school students coming to Okinawa, and further expand it to general tourists—since 5 million tourists were visiting Okinawa at the time—it would calculate to reaching a cumulative 100 million people (over 80% of Japan's population) in 20 years, allowing us to change society into one that is interested in the sea and considerate of the environment.

Of course, it ended as a pipe dream.

First, the Reef Trail did not become a program like snorkeling, where people can imagine what they will do and how fun it will be just by hearing the word, making everyone want to experience it. I also think another cause was that within the leisure mindset of wanting to have fun in the Okinawan sea, listening to complicated things doesn't stick. This was the same not only for tourists but also for field trips visiting as part of school education; I recognized that it is difficult to convey things effectively through experience-based learning in Okinawa alone. I felt that unless we implemented initiatives that teachers would perceive as having educational significance in the children's home ground—the school—it would not permeate.

It was at that timing that I encountered MARE and researchers who shared similar concerns about the state of the sea and recognized the importance of scientific education.

Starting in 2005, Umiken implemented MARE in various locations across the country. I felt that MARE, which was developed through a partnership between ocean researchers and educators at the Lawrence Hall of Science and was thoroughly refined, was of extremely high quality as a teaching material. True to that feeling, the reaction from children was exceptionally good. The evaluation from teachers was also high.

Therefore, Umiken began developing materials that could be used for ocean learning more in line with Japanese regional characteristics, using the scientific education material development methods and educational theories embedded in MARE. The first project we tackled was a teaching material for learning about coral reefs. Following the example of the Lawrence Hall of Science, researchers and educators teamed up to develop the "Coral Reef Learning Program," consisting of six teaching materials.

One of these is "Coral Territory Wars." This is a program where participants experience through a card game how corals grow or decline in relation to environmental stress, and what state the coral reef ultimately ends up in. We reached out to schools to have them implement this before coming to Okinawa on field trips. While it was impossible for all schools, there are private high schools that continue to implement it even now.

Umiken also set about developing original teaching materials to learn about the characteristics of the Japanese sea, which is influenced by the warm Kuroshio Current and the cold Oyashio Current. One of these is "Protect the Burning Rocky Shore!" themed on rocky shore denudation (isoyake). It is a simulation program where participants learn that the ecological balance between seaweed and sea urchins on the rocky shore is collapsing due to changes in the sea, and they consider how to conduct healthy fishing within that context. We even had actual fishermen experience it, and it was very exciting because it felt realistic to them. There are 14 programs in total covering coral reef seas, warm current seas, and cold current seas, and we collectively named them Poseidon (Program of study encouragement, inquiry, diversity and ocean).

Minamisanriku Town in Miyagi Prefecture, which I had visited many times for MARE practice, suffered great damage from the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. To participate in its recovery activities, I moved my base of operations there in 2013. Because Umiken became involved in a national park project undertaken by the Ministry of the Environment as part of the reconstruction work, we came to take on the management of the Minamisanriku Sea Visitor Center and the Ishinomaki River Visitor Center. Currently, using these as bases, we are implementing projects to become familiar with various aspects of nature, not just the sea (Field Museum Project).

The Ministry of the Environment's visitor centers are facilities intended to provide nature information to visitors of national parks and to raise awareness about valuing nature. However, they also aim to encourage many people to visit, so the activities are largely similar to tourism. Recently, this has been referred to as "wise use," and an increase in the sustainable use of national parks is expected. However, indiscriminate attraction of visitors conversely damages nature and the region. Furthermore, if the perspective of gaining rest and fulfillment by feeling the inherent power of the region—the essence of tourism—is weakened, it could lead to overtourism, a problem that has been recognized recently. It is important to balance this and aim for the sustainable maintenance and development of the region, and the mechanism of ecotourism is useful for that. It is an initiative to learn the laws of nature while enjoying the environment and the region, cultivating an awareness of valuing them to lead to the creation of society. Leveraging my experience serving as the secretariat for a non-profit promoting ecotourism in Okinawa Prefecture, I have integrated this into the recovery from the earthquake.

However, if one approaches from a stiff stance of "learning" or "understanding," the people who come will be limited. If it isn't interesting, they won't participate, and it won't stay with them. A sense of excitement and laughter is required, but if it ends as superficial leisure, it won't ultimately lead to fulfillment. Taking this into account, we describe the area where we operate as "A place where play turns into learning—Togura Kitakami Nature Park." Based on that concept, we organize projects that utilize various elements of the forest, sea, river, and village, proceeding with business that brings nature, the region, and people closer together.

Among these activities is the cleaning of waterfronts, which I have continued since my time in Okinawa. We call it "Beach Clean" for the sea and "Sandbar Clean" for the river, and we conduct them once a month. Over the past 25 years, I feel that the trash has only increased rather than decreased. In the last few years, the problem of marine plastic waste has finally been focused on as a social issue, but seeing the ever-increasing trash, I cannot deny a feeling that it is too little, too late.

As is well known, Goal 14 of the SDGs is "Life Below Water," but few people probably pay attention to the specific targets for achieving it. Target 1 of SDG Goal 14 is "By 2025, prevent and significantly reduce marine pollution of all kinds, in particular from land-based activities, including marine debris and nutrient pollution." Looking at the field, I don't think this can be achieved in two more years, nor do I think society is seriously aiming for this goal.

Marine trash is the easiest to understand, but the sea is an environment that ultimately receives and swallows all human activities. Therefore, the sea becomes a barometer of whether humans are able to act in harmony with nature. The current situation of marine trash can hardly be called harmonious. It is also a place where the effects of global warming and the depletion of fishery resources appear clearly. Grasping the state of the sea is a very important initiative that leads to the evaluation of human activities.

It is difficult to think that the current evaluation from nature and the Earth toward humans is good, and leaving this to the next generation could be called a negative legacy. To make this even slightly healthier, and to know whether we are succeeding, I recognize it is necessary to create a society where more people can see the changes in the sea and feel the sea as something close to them.

Finally, at the UN General Assembly in December 2017, UNESCO declared and adopted the "UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development" to implement intensive efforts during the ten years from 2021 to 2030 to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (such as SDG 14 "Life Below Water") through the promotion of ocean science. The social outcomes aimed for are: 1) A clean ocean, 2) A healthy and resilient ocean, 3) A productive ocean that can be harvested sustainably, 4) A predicted ocean, 5) A safe ocean, 6) An accessible ocean for all, and 7) An inspiring and engaging ocean.

It is hoped that this international initiative focused on the ocean will become known to everyone, and I and Umiken will likely continue our awareness-raising activities for it.

* Sachiko Oguma (2016) "Toward the Spread of Ocean Literacy in Japan" OPRI Perspectives No.16