SDGs Learning Program on Marine Conservation from Microplastics

Kamaishi's Approach to Sustainable Tourism

Kamaishi City, Iwate Prefecture, suffered tremendous damage from the Great East Japan Earthquake that struck on March 11, 2011. Ten years have passed since the earthquake, and the city is still working on its recovery, resolving issues one by one.
Recently, it has become clear that microplastics are present in the oceans, and there is a need to make efforts to promote cleaning oceans for the future.
In this program, with the cooperation of Iwate University Kamaishi Campus, participants will actually go on fishing boats to collect seawater in the Kamaishi Sea and try to identify microplastics using microscopes. The microplastics identified will then be used to unravel the changes in the marine environment and the causes behind them. We need to use this opportunity to change our daily behavior and promote cleaner oceans.

Program Points
１．
You will board a fishing boat and collect seawater in Kamaishi Bay. During this venture you will also be able to enjoy the scenery of the Rias coastline, oyster and sea squirt farms, and the face of Kamaishi Daikannon（the statue of the Buddhist goddess of mercy）, all of which can only be seen from the sea.
2.
Using a microscope, you will check for microplastics in the seawater you have collected yourself. We will consider what factors caused the microplastics to be contained in the seawater, and think about our available options to clean and protect oceans.
3.
You can learn about microplastics in the ocean from Iwate University graduate school students who are currently conducting research on microplastics, based on their actual research.

Our Vision of Building a Sustainable Community

"Through tourism, Kamaishi aims not only to attain recovery from the disaster, but also to create a community that will be able to maintain Kamaishi's unique cultural and environmental beauty in the future.
Sustainable tourism designs the industry in the way that is benefitable both for the guests and the hosting community. In the deeper aspect, sustainable tourism challenges to attain sustainability of the community through the maintenances of economy, environment, infrastructures and culture required for tourism industry.
The city of Kamaishi is committed to sustainable tourism, as it undoubtedly contributes to the vision of our community development, realization of a sustainable community for the future.

Our Actions in Sustainable Tourism

Challenging to realize sustainable tourism, in 2016, Kamaishi decided to adopt the international standards for sustainable tourism (GSTC) , and we have continued to work toward this goal.

[Our Actions]
-Destination management (overall planning, operational management, monitoring, etc.)
-Activities to increase the number of employees in the tourism industry (assisting local members in planning tourism programs, training guiding instructors, etc.)
-Providing tourism education to elementary and junior high schools in Kamaishi
-Producing food products for tourists which increase the local procurement rate of tourism consumption through our regional trading company section (Kamaishi Geo-Lunchbox, Sanriku Gelato)
-Story-telling activities of Tsunami and disaster prevention education
-Purchasing forest credits to offset carbon emissions for visitors
-Producing plastic-free events
-Planning and operation of educational programs in collaboration with the University of Iwate and the Ocean Research Institute of the University of Tokyo
-Use of bio-fueled vehicles as company mobility that utilize waste cooking oil of the local restaurants and residences (bio energy), etc.

In recognition of those efforts, the City of Kamaishi was selected as one of the ""Green Destinations Top 100"" in 2018, becoming the first Japanese destination to be listed. In 2019, we also received the Bronze prize of the “Green Destinations Award,"" as the first one to be awarded in Japan.
Since then, the city has continued its efforts to promote sustainable tourism and has been selected as the ""Green Destination Top 100"" for five consecutive years and was the first Japanese recipient of the silver Award of the ""Green Destinations Award"" (as of December 2022).