The Water Symbiosis Seminar was held in the middle hall of Ishigaki Civic Hall from 4:10 pm on October 15th.
An audience of about 60 people gathered at the venue to hear an introduction to the Water Symbiosis Project and four speakers give talks on the theme of "Aiming for Ishigaki Island where water, humans, and living creatures coexist." Finally, there was a report on the Water Symbiosis Future Scenario Workshop that was held for high school students that afternoon.
The first seminar, titled "Aquatic Symbiosis Studies on Ishigaki Island," was held in February 2023, and research is being conducted with the aim of realizing a world in which the aquatic environment, people, and the diverse organisms that live on the island can coexist sustainably.
The seminar is sponsored by the Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (A) Academic Transformative Research Program, entitled "Creating a study of water symbiosis through dynamic elucidation of water circulation systems as a place of fluctuations," and is co-hosted and carried out by Ishigaki City and the Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences (commonly known as Zircus), a National Research and Development Agency.
In his opening remarks, Matsukawa Hideki, head of the Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries, and Commerce Department's Agricultural Policy and Economics Division, Ishigaki City, said, "The theme of water symbiosis is water environment, and it regards the 'fluctuations' resulting from the 'struggle' between the geosphere, biosphere, and human sphere as a water circulation system. Its main purpose is to elucidate the historical changes in the balance between the three spheres, the current dynamics, explore ways to resolve social issues related to the water environment that are in line with the actual conditions of the region, and propose a vision for the future." Regarding the actual situation on Ishigaki Island, he said, "I hope that this will be an opportunity to use the framework of water symbiosis to think together about the future of the island, including concerns about droughts, water shortages due to tourism development, deforestation, and damage to birds and animals."
After this, Kunio Aratani (Graduate School of Comparative Social and Cultural Studies, Kyushu University) introduced the project on water symbiosis, explaining that the geosphere, biosphere, and human sphere, which use the water cycle, need to be used in a sustainable balance, but if that balance is lost, it will be a crisis. Okinawa, which accounts for less than 1% of the total area of Japan, has excellent biodiversity, with 25% of the insect species in the Ryukyu Islands compared to the whole of Japan. Although new species are still being discovered, the number of endangered aquatic insects has doubled from 2007 to 2014, and rapid changes are occurring. How can we create a sustainable balance in the water cycle system to overcome this? He explained the importance of water symbiosis in this context.
After this, there were lectures of about 15 minutes each, with Suga Hironobu giving a talk entitled "Coral reef nature and resort development - thinking about Nagura Bay," Shimada Nahoko giving an talk entitled "An attempt to learn from the water environmental knowledge of the Okinawa Islands - the current situation and challenges in East Timor," Osawa Kazutoshi giving a talk entitled "The connection between land and sea," and Anzai Toshihiko giving a talk entitled "Nekuken's efforts for the future - developing a resource circulation system that balances agricultural development and environmental conservation."
Finally, a report was presented on the "Water Symbiosis Future Scenario Workshop" that had been held prior to the seminar, involving 20 experts and high school students, and it was reported that the high school students had had a meaningful time.
<Reporter's personal opinion>
Even if the word "water symbiosis" is written in kanji, is it "mizukyosei" or "suikyosei"? Also, is the sense of symbiosis with water generally understandable? Is it just me who can't get it because the word is too strongly coined?
The high school students' workshop was explained in foreign words, "graphic facility," but it was unclear what it meant. How much of the well-organized content, which was spoken quickly and in a time crunch, could a first-time viewer really understand? It was unfortunate that there was no time for a Q&A session, similar to the much talked-about time-limited press conference. A lecture that allows you to anticipate what questions will come up is proof that it has been well-thought-out.
As a journalist, I was struck by Suga's announcement that the Omodake mountain range is connected to Nagura Bay, creating a dynamic water circulation there and maintaining a rich biota.
We should be able to protect the island's current state by specifically highlighting many more aspects of this natural environment and holding concrete discussions on how the natural environment that needs to be protected can be maintained and how it could become endangered.
If Ishigaki City is serious about addressing the dangers of excessive tourism development on the island, it should first stop the rush to remove land from agricultural zoning and monitor the state of the mountains to maintain their water retention capacity.
I would like to see the Institute of Thermal Science establish an institute that will research and publish information on the unique characteristics of subtropical flora, which differs from temperate flora.
Although the Institute of Thermal Science supports developing countries, it relies on a general perspective that places too much emphasis on production efficiency and economic activity. Sustainability can only be achieved by relying on the unique climate and culture of each developing country.
As you get older, you tend to sense the scent of companies that are driven by profit and efficiency in everything they do.
How can we improve our environmental friendliness and come up with nature-friendly, sustainable development? The next world should be one in which development cannot take place unless the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism has the green light from the Ministry of the Environment, but it is a real shame that we are still so far away from this.
As Homo sapiens advances to the level of venturing into space, will we pursue land interests, or will we find the best environment for humans on land? Unless we wait for a change in our way of thinking, peace will not come.
Is there no choice but to leave it to the next generation?
(Ryusugi group)
