Co-existence between Man and the Ocean

From remote antiquity human beings have enjoyed the benefits of the ocean. We have sought and acquired many of life's essentials, including marine and energy resources, such as petroleum and minerals, in the seas. Moreover, the seas have allowed mankind to migrate to all the continents, expand the circle of interchange among peoples, materials and information, and gratify its dreams and ambitions. All of human history is only a brief moment when compared with the history of the earth. The rate of increase in the population and economic growth has surpassed nature's correcting mechanisms, however, and such excess is now resulting in natural disasters throughout the world. In particular, disorderly development as well as mass consumption of marine resources disrupts the cycles of nature, causing environmental destruction and ecological imbalance. The matter of global warming, for example, has become one of the greatest problems of the 21st century.
It was not until the second half of the 20th century that human beings embarked on programs to maintain maritime order and environmental protection as they became aware of this extraordinary change for the worse. In 1982 "The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea" (UNCLOS) was adopted, entering into force in 1994, and, subsequently, in 1992 at the Global Summit held in Rio de Janeiro the principles of "sustainable development" were declared and the Summit adopted the action program "Agenda 21."
The world has now begun to grapple with conservation of the marine environment on a global scale, and it is about to move toward implementation of specific action programs. On the other hand, maritime countries are intensifying their activities on the seas, as evidenced by increased acquisition of energy and fisheries and marine resources, expansion of territorial seas, and configuration of the EEZ. Our country, as well, though late in directing sufficient attention to the ocean, has embarked on securing national interests while at the same time pursuing international cooperation.
In such circumstances, the Ocean Policy Research Foundation (OPRF), advocating the principle of "Co-existence between Man and the Ocean," is undertaking a wide variety of activities. In order to deal with complicated and wide-ranging ocean problems, comprehensive and global insights are needed. The question is how to achieve a balance between the use of the sea and conservation of the marine environment. In order to help create maritime order, it is necessary for us to acquire cross-disciplinary expertise in social and natural sciences, and send out proposals and information at home and abroad, thereby bringing about concrete action. To that end, collaboration and exchanges of views with other countries, and the formation of networks are important. The earnest hope of OPRF is to not entrust the solution of these ocean-related issues to government alone, but to contribute to society by offering solutions based on ideas and methods we can explore as a nongovernmental institute.