Introduction to the Connectivity of Hills, Humans and Oceans (CoHHO*):
Figure out how they interact with each other*We call it “Mori-Sato-Umi Renkan-Gaku” in Japanese.

(1) Introduction
Prof. Yoh Yamashita
Laboratory of Coastal Fisheries Ecology
The Field Science Education and Research Center (FSERC) was founded in April 2003 by
integrating nine facilities of Kyoto University: Three Forests Research Stations, threeExperimental Stations, the Subtropical Plant Institute, the Maizuru Fisheries Research Station,and the Seto Marine Biological Laboratory. The CoHHO is the mainstay of education, research,and collaboration with society in this newly established organization and it is a principal fieldof the FSERC. Since its foundation, the FSERC has been devoted to create the new academic
field, the CoHHO. These days, social activities which focus on the interactions between forests,
rivers, fields, and oceans are widely conducted, and it is getting more and more important toconvey the idea of the CoHHO to the public in a way which they can grasp more easily. TheFSERC has so far published three books which explain the concept of the CoHHO in detail but
has not been successful in conveying what it is in an understandable way. It is because
researchers at the FSERC have not shared it as a whole while they fully understand it
individually.
Therefore, the FSERC has planned to publish a new series of articles, “Introduction to theConnectivity of Hills, Humans and Oceans (CoHHO)”. In this series, first, three researchers atthe FSERC, Prof. Yoh Yamashita, Prof. Takahito Yoshioka, and Prof. Naoko Tokuchi, whohave been involved in the education and research of the CoHHO for many years, will present
their own understanding on the CoHHO. Then, based on that, they will exchange their opinions
and summarize what the CoHHO is at the end. We hope this series will help people tounderstand what the CoHHO is.

1. Idea of the CoHHOOne of the causes of the problems that modern society faces is that until the 20thcentury, scientists only worked for optimization (individual optimization) within their own
narrow fields (systems and societies). They made their utmost efforts in order to solve
problems. However, they only focused on enhancing efficiency and productivity in a shortperiod of time, and for the optimization, they just ignored emerging issues andinconsistencies which arose in the process or put them aside outside their own fields. As aresult, unexpected strains were caused to the surrounding systems and societies. Global
environmental problems such as pollution and global warming are regarded as a1© Field Science Education and Research Center, Kyoto University

consequence of the accumulation of the issues and inconsistencies ignored for theindividual optimization.
In the 21st century, we have to build a harmonious and sustainable global society. For
that purpose, the philosophy of “overall optimization” is indispensable. In this context, the“overall optimization” is to maximize “entire lasting happiness and benefit”, learning fromthe results of the “individual optimization”. To realize it, we should focus not only on
productivity, efficiency, and economic profits, but also on sustainability, coexistence, anddiversity with a long-term perspective, and must pay the cost to preserve the naturalenvironment. The CoHHO is an academic field which tries to develop new relations
between human society and nature from forests through oceans, aiming to build aharmonious and sustainable society.

2. Beginning of the CoHHOProf. Masaru Tanaka, the first director of the FSERC who advocated the ideas of theCoHHO, introduced some of its ideas in his books as follows:“It is a study which not only restores the connectivity between forests, rivers, andoceans, but recovers the significance of the connectivity among nature, between nature andpeople, and among people.”“It aims to restore the “circulatory and immune systems” of life on the earth, which isan increasing problem in the 21st century. It is necessary to restore the linkage between hills,humans, and oceans as a vasculature (the circulatory system) of life on the earth and to sharethe mind, “Let’s live together!” as its immune system.”“It is a new integrated academic field which approaches to the world of “Mori wa Umi
no Koibito (The forest is longing for the sea, the sea is longing for the forest.)” scientifically,and its goal can only be achieved in collaboration with social activities.”
As seen in such ideas, the CoHHO is composed of both aspects of natural science andsocial science: In terms of natural science, the CoHHO aims to restore a rich naturalenvironment by clarifying the mechanism of the linkage between forests, rivers, fields, andoceans and fixing its fragmentation. Meanwhile, from the perspective of social science, theCoHHO intends to study people’s sense of values, environmental awareness, and socialsystems in order to associate the restored natural environment with human happiness. Froma viewpoint of watersheds, for example, all the nature and human activities in thewatersheds should be the subject of research. In other words, the CoHHO is aninterdisciplinary and integrated academic field which deals with complicated systems in an
extremely wide range of fields. In the field of natural science, each research on oceans orforests could be regarded as part of the study of connectivity itself, but in the CoHHO, it isnecessary for researchers to study not only the ecosystems which they are specialized in,2© Field Science Education and Research Center, Kyoto University

but also the interactive relationships with their neighboring systems.

3. The CoHHO from the Viewpoint of Ocean ScienceMy role as a scientist is to scientifically elucidate the connectivity of hills, humans andoceans from the viewpoint of ocean science. That is, I aim to scientifically analyze the worldof “Mori wa Umi no Koibito (The forest is longing for the sea, the sea is longing for theforest.)” initiated by Mr. Shigeatsu Hatakeyama in Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture.
Here is my assumption: “In Japan, the coastal fishery catch has been decreasing since
1980s. There have been huge outbreaks of jellyfish and lean sea urchins, and biodiversity
has been on the decline. Is disruption of the connectivity of hills, humans and oceans one ofthe primary factors of such ecosystem degradation?”
To verify it, I have held symposia at academic meetings to review our findings, and I
have also been conducting studies in the Yura River watershed in Kyoto Prefecture and theKunisaki Peninsula in Oita Prefecture. The key points are 1. Water brought from watersheds
to oceans, 2. nutritious substances, 3. organic substances, 4. inorganic particles, 5. toxic
substance and 6. living creature. I have been investigating the origins of these substances
and their dynamics through to oceans and studying the relationship between environments
and biological production systems in rivers and coastal areas.
Articles will be posted on the website of FSERC from the next issue. The main themeof the next issue is “Do rich nutrients from forests nurture productive coastal seas?”.

Fieldwork for the CoHHO project in Shirahama Town, Wakayama“Got an eel in the net!”
3© Field Science Education and Research Center, Kyoto University