As the 21st century is being called the "Water Century," due to increasingly serious global water shortages, there are high expectations for desalination technologies to deliver valuable water resources. Among these, the rapid spread in desalination technologies using reverse osmosis membranes, with their low energy costs, are causing them to be viewed as a potential solution for future water problems.

In order to solve the "barren ground" problem occurring in the coastal areas of Japan and around the world and to revive the "forests of the sea", a research and application project employing restoration technologies for seaweed beds that use steel slag and humus materials is now underway. This paper gives a summary of this "sea forest" restoration project that focuses on the links between the ocean, rivers, and forests, and also reports on the progress made and discusses future developments.

The Moken or "sea people" of the Koh Surin islands earn money by collecting trash thrown into the ocean by fishing boats and selling it to national parks. Although at first glance this looks like a fortunate arrangement for the Moken, spreading pollution due to waste disposal at sea could ultimately result in decreasing marine resources, a serious blow to a people so intimately connected to the sea. Dangers such as this can be found beneath earth-friendly eco-approaches.