We have received many blessings from coral reefs during our lives. However, lifestyles that benefit from these blessings have often led to the deterioration of coral reef environments. In order to realize a society that can truly live in coexistence with coral reefs and return the favor to them, we must revitalize the damaged coral reef environments to a healthy state as well as create and implement specific policies for the recovery of these resources.

The Global Oceanographic DAta Center (GODAC) mainly operates three types of ocean education programs. Having students experience the program multiple times, we seek to “establish” personal knowledge and experience in marine earth science, as well as relating these knowledge and experiences to “work”, especially through our career education program. We also collaborate with other organizations in northern Okinawa Prefecture on human resource development, as we believe that we can promote ocean education by collaborating with various fields of the local community.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) deliberates on various topics ranging from large-scale issues such as the decrease in greenhouse gases causing global warming, to smaller issues such as test procedures for specific devices. Against this backdrop, Japan has led many such deliberations, and has contributed to the development and revision of various regulations and standards. Here I will introduce specifics of the deliberations, in the hopes that it will inspire as many people as possible to contribute to these activities in future.