Through their own activities, human beings have created a major problem that they have not previously had to face: global climate change. Global climate change is a life or death issue facing all of humanity. It is also a complex problem with many uncertainties. Until recently, no one even dreamed that the consumption of fossil fuels for energy, as human civilization developed, would have such a major impact as to cause fluctuations in the environment of the entire planet. Climate change has a major impact on a variety of life forms in various locations around the world. The oceans are no exception. The impact of climate change on coastal regions and enclosed coastal seas, which have nurtured civilization and have provided humanity with many natural bounties, is expected to be enormous. Seaweed beds, tidelands and other shallow regions in enclosed coastal seas and coastal areas are the foundation of marine ecosystems. Active biological production in these regions has resulted in rich ecosystems that have provided many benefits to humanity. Rising ocean levels, changes in water temperature, tidal changes and other phenomena resulting from climate change will have an impact on not only ecosystems but also physical events such as shoreline erosion and the submergence of coastal areas. In this way, enclosed coastal seas face not only the continuing problem of environmental pollution but also the problem of climate change, which transcends time and space. Two years before the Earth Summit was held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, the first International Conference on the Environmental Management of Enclosed Coastal Seas (EMECS) was held in Kobe, Japan in 1990. Its purpose was to forge international and academic alliances in order to resolve the serious problem of pollution in enclosed coastal seas. Since that time, subsequent EMECS conferences have been held in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States; Stockholm, Sweden; Antalya, Turkey; Kobe, Japan; Bangkok, Thailand, and Caen, France. The importance of the EMECS' activities such as "Integrated coastal management", "Harmony between watershed and coastal areas", "Cooperation of scientists, policymakers and private citizens from a wide range of fields" and "Education for future generations" was suggested. At the 7th EMECS Conference that was held in May, 2006, the importance of "Our Shared Responsibility" that we bear for the future of the world's enclosed coastal seas, to pass our working landscape to the next generation as an asset, not as a burden, was recognized in broad terms. Beyond the EMECS Conference and its collaborating organizations, the people who live by the world's coastal seas and watersheds must bear this great responsibility and thus should make even greater efforts. Various efforts are currently underway to develop technologies and systems that will lead to solutions to problems facing the global environment such as global climate change, environmental degradation of enclosed coastal seas, and a crisis in biodiversity. However, simply introducing new technologies and systems will not take care of all of these global environmental problems. Ultimately, the resolution of these problems through the efforts of the individual users of such technologies and systems, based on the recognition that they are significant sources of pollution through both their businesses and their daily lives, will be very significant. It is essential that they join hands and help one another to achieve a "coexistence between human beings and nature" in enclosed coastal seas. On behalf of the International EMECS Center, I hope that we can count on your continued understanding and support .