In many parts of the world there are bodies of sea water that are almost entirely enclosed by land. These bodies of water are called enclosed coastal seas. Examples include the Mediterranean Sea, the Baltic Sea, Chesapeake Bay, the Gulf of Thailand, the Bo Hai in northern China and, in Japan, the Seto Inland Sea, Tokyo Bay and Ise Bay. Since ancient times, enclosed coastal seas have been known for their great scenic beauty. In 1990, the world's first International Conference on the Environmental Management of Enclosed Coastal Seas (EMECS '90) was held in the city of Kobe, Japan. Due to the success of the initial conference and subsequent activities, the word "EMECS" in the conference title is now recognized internationally, and activities in which scholars, government officials, industry representatives and private organizations work together to solve problems in enclosed coastal seas are now referred to as EMECS activities. Another key concept for EMECS activities in both international and academic circles is "governance," meaning comprehensive and joint management of enclosed coastal sea environments.

The World's Major Enclosed Coastal Seas

1. Chesapeake Bay
2. San Francisco Bay
3. Gulf of Mexico
4. Mediterranean Sea
5. North Sea
6. Baltic Sea
7. Persian Gulf
8. Arabian Sea
9. Gulf of Thailand
10. Bo Hai (Gulf of Chihli)
11. Seto Inland Sea
12. Black Sea

Problems in Managing Enclosed Coastal Sea Environments

In addition to measures to prevent oil pollution and a deterioration of the water quality in enclosed coastal seas (such as anti-eutrophication measures needed to prevent "red tides" and "blue tides"), current objectives also include the following:

(1) Preserving the natural environment

• Protecting the unparalleled beauty of the natural environment in enclosed coastal seas from the wave of development (maintaining natural coasts, opposing large-scale sea floor dredging operations, etc.)

(2) Creating and repairing the environment and scenery

• Restoring the natural environment and traditional scenic beauty of enclosed coastal seas and improving the environment
• Striving for a balance between the use of coastal areas and a scenery that fuses natural beauty, historical importance and current lifestyles

(3) Ensuring the orderly use of ocean regions

• Making sure that the environment is preserved when landfills are used in ocean regions - Striving for a balance between modern ocean uses (leisure, industry, etc.) and traditional uses (transport, bathing, etc.)
• Ensuring order in the new uses of ocean regions (undersea and floating structures, etc.)

(4) Protecting coastal areas

• Making sure coastal areas can be used freely by people as a place for rest and recreation 

Richthofen's Perspective

In the Meiji era more than a century ago, Ferdinand von Richthofen (1833-1905), one of the world's most noted geographers, traveled through the Seto Inland Sea.
He published a book entitled "A Journey Through China" in which he sings high praise of the Inland Sea:
...You travel through the narrow channels left between the countless islands both large and small, so on both sides you can see perfect mountains of various shapes and sizes for a distance of about eighty kilometers ....
About its beauty, he says:
The Seto Inland Sea is one of the most exquisitely beautiful places on earth and will undoubtedly attract many with its charms.
Yet already his book contained this warning:
I pray that this place that has been preserved for so long will long remain as it is today. Its greatest enemy is civilization and the desires of man, which it has not heretofore known.
The beauty and natural splendor of the Seto Inland Sea that so captivated von Richthofen 130 years ago is a priceless gift that we have inherited. In maintaining and developing the Seto Inland Sea, we must be strongly on guard against environmental destruction and work to restore the mechanism of the life cycle in the region.