pose a threat to human lives. They also impede the economic and social evolution of developing countries because they push up the cost of countermeasures and can cause the deaths of many experts and professionals. Increased human mobility has meant that these diseases now spread quickly across national borders and may come to affect all of humankind.

As chair of the 2000 G8 Kyushu-Okinawa Summit, Japan actively raised the issue of infectious diseases as one of the main topics of debate and played a pioneering role among G8

### TOPIC 5. BALANCING TOURISM WITH PROTECTION OF CORAL REEFS — COMPLETION OF THE PALAU INTERNATIONAL CORAL REEF CENTER —

The Republic of Palau consists of over 200 islands, the majority of which are formed from some of the most richly diverse coral species in the world. The surrounding coastal waters are also full of coral. Palau is pursuing economic self-sufficiency through the development of tourism, fisheries, and agriculture, and it regards the development of a tourism industry centering on its coral reefs as its biggest priority. However, coastal development and abnormal weather conditions over the past several years have started to affect the coral reefs and some of their biological resources. As a result, it has become necessary to study the ecosystems of coral reefs and raise the awareness of the public about their conservation.

In accordance with the desire of the government of Palau to establish a research center for coral reef conservation, Japan provided grant aid for such a facility—under the terms of the 1995 “International Coral Reef Initiative”—as a focal point for coral reef research in the Pacific region. The Palau International Coral Reef Center project was launched jointly in 1996 by Japan, the United States, and Palau as part of the “Japan-US Common Agenda,” which aimed to facilitate cooperation between Japan and the United States in tackling global issues.

Since its opening in January 2001, the center has been monitoring coral reef ecosystems and studying conservation methods under the guidance of Japanese experts dispatched as part of Japan’s technical cooperation. At the same time, the center’s research staff has been invited to Japan for training.

As the coral monitoring base for Micronesia, the center also conducts information exchange activities and opens its experimental facilities to researchers from around the world. Apart from conducting scientific activities, the center also maintains an aquarium that is open to the general public. The facility is expected to attract a large number of visitors, including local elementary and junior high school students and foreign tourists. Around 70,000 foreign visitors come to Palau each year, and tourism is the nation's biggest industry; the center is expected to become a new tourist attraction.

At the same time it will help to reconcile tourism with conservation through its environmental education activities.

Another focus of activities at the center will be the utilization of coral resources, including the development of new medicines. In the future it is hoped that it will play a role in human resources development in the Pacific region as a regional research base.