Episode 15: A Conversation with Environmental Consultant Teppei Sagawa: The Shape of Travel Five Years from Now

The New Buds of Tourism, Exploring the Shape and Future of Tourism Five Years Ahead

With every edition of this column, we set out on an expedition — venturing beyond the world of travel to seek out fresh perspectives from pioneers across a wide range of fields. Our goal: to spot the early signs of change, the “new buds” that hint at where tourism is headed.
This time, our expedition took us to Teppei Sagawa, an environmental consultant based in Okinawa. We spoke with him about the current state of the marine environment and the conservation work being done to protect it. Guided by his vision of harmony between nature and human society, we reflect on what the future of tourism might hold.

Teppei Sagawa

　
Born in 1979 in Suginami, Tokyo. Section Chief at the General Foundation of Okinawa Environmental Science Center. Registered Professional Engineer (Environmental, Civil Engineering, and Integrated Technology Management). Withdrew from the doctoral program in Marine Ecology at the Graduate School of Science and Engineering, University of the Ryukyus. After conducting coral reef monitoring at the WWF Japan Coral Reef Conservation Research Center and working as an underwater survey diver for coral reef biodiversity across Okinawa, he now works as an environmental consultant with coral reefs as his primary field.

How He Became an Environmental Consultant

　
Explorer Squad: Let’s start at the beginning — what first drew you to the marine environment?
　
Mr. Sagawa: It really comes down to summers I spent with my uncle as a kid. He’d take me — a city boy through and through — on overnight trips to the ocean in Chiba and Sado Island. We’d go snorkeling, splash around, and I just remember feeling so alive in the water. That’s when the sea got under my skin.
As my love of the ocean grew alongside a curiosity about living creatures, I started thinking about university and discovered that the University of the Ryukyus offered a marine biology program. I also had this urge to go somewhere far from home, so studying in Okinawa felt like the perfect adventure.
　
Explorer Squad: So those experiences and that education led directly to the work you do today.
　
Mr. Sagawa: Yes, absolutely. I came to Okinawa at 18 when I started university, and I’ve been here ever since — so I’ve actually lived in Okinawa longer than anywhere else. At university, I studied coral reef organisms and their ecology. After graduating, I joined a nature conservation organization and became involved in coral reef conservation activities on Ishigaki Island. That period was an invaluable time for seriously thinking about what I could do to protect local nature. Later, at the invitation of a senior colleague, I moved to an environmental survey company, where I worked as a diver conducting biological surveys of coral reefs. It was a wonderful experience — I got to dive in coral reef waters constantly, which I loved. After spending about ten years on Ishigaki Island, I returned to Okinawa’s main island and began my current work as an environmental consultant.
　
Explorer Squad: Could you walk us through what your day-to-day work actually looks like?
　
Mr. Sagawa: Most of our work comes through commissions from government ministries and local authorities. We conduct natural environment surveys across Okinawa, develop environmental conservation plans, and help put countermeasures into practice. Through projects commissioned by the Ministry of the Environment and Okinawa Prefecture’s Nature Conservation Division, for example, our role is to propose and carry out concrete measures to protect the local natural environment. Some of the specific projects I’ve been involved in include drafting Okinawa Prefecture’s biodiversity conservation and utilization guidelines, coral reef conservation and restoration in the Sekisei Lagoon, and natural environment surveys on Miyako Island.
　
Explorer Squad: Do you ever work outside of Okinawa Prefecture?
　
Mr. Sagawa: The vast majority of our work is within Okinawa, but as a team we do take on overseas surveys as well — including in Palau.
　
Explorer Squad: Palau! Now that’s something to be envious of!

　

The State of the Marine Environment Today

　
Explorer Squad: With all the surveys you conduct, what’s your read on the state of the marine environment right now?
　
Mr. Sagawa: Honestly, it’s in a very difficult place. In Okinawa especially, coral bleaching events are becoming more and more frequent, driven primarily by rising sea temperatures due to climate change. Coral reefs are home to an enormous number of marine species, and as they disappear, the fish that depend on them decline too — which ultimately hits fishery resources and has a real impact on local economies.
　
Explorer Squad: The bleaching really is hard to ignore. I dive myself, and I’ve seen reefs that have turned completely white. At the same time, I’ve heard that rising sea temperatures are actually allowing corals to survive further north than before. What does the picture look like on a global scale?
　
Mr. Sagawa: It’s true that warming waters are thought to be opening up more northerly habitats for corals. But for other marine life — fish, for instance — to thrive in an area, corals need to have formed an actual reef structure. Even where corals are present, they don’t automatically create a “reef” as a geographic feature; building a reef takes a very long time. And each region has its own human communities — with their own livelihoods, fishing traditions, and ways of life shaped by the local environment. Even if corals migrate northward, it’s quite a stretch to expect local communities to adapt quickly to such a dramatic shift.
　
Explorer Squad: So the pace of environmental change is outrunning people’s ability to adapt their way of life?
　
Mr. Sagawa: That’s exactly how I see it.
　

What He Values as an Environmental Consultant

　
Explorer Squad: It sounds like respecting local ways of life and culture is at the heart of your conservation work. Do you have a concrete example that illustrates this?
　
Mr. Sagawa: One that stands out is an interpretation plan (※1) we developed for Ishigaki Island. Working alongside local residents, we created a plan designed to bridge the natural environment and people’s everyday lives. Ishigaki Island is a national park, but unlike many overseas protected areas — where the boundaries of a protected zone are clearly defined — in Japan, the boundaries between conservation areas and the spaces where people live aren’t always so clear-cut. Within that reality, we worked on a plan that addressed both “conservation” and “daily life” — and “daily life,” in this context, includes visitors as well.
*1 Educational activities that introduce the appeal and value of a region’s nature, history, and culture to help visitors develop a deeper understanding.
　
Explorer Squad: And I imagine the interpreter (*2) plays a central role in bringing that plan to life. Who takes on that role?
*2 A person who carries out educational activities introducing the appeal and value of a region’s nature, history, and culture to help visitors develop a deeper understanding.
　
Mr. Sagawa: The vision is for local residents themselves to each step into the role of interpreter. The plan goes beyond simply conveying information to tourists — it’s about fostering a shared appreciation for the natural environment among community members and within families.
Picture a grandparent sharing the history and natural wonders of their region with their grandchildren. That kind of storytelling can instill a sense of pride in younger generations and inspire them to want to stay connected to their hometown in the future. And for visitors, the aim isn’t just to have them pass through — it’s to help them develop a genuine understanding of the region’s nature and culture.
At its core, the plan is about crafting stories — “here’s something wonderful about this place” — and sharing them with both residents and visitors alike. Through that process, I believe we can build a real foundation for rediscovering and protecting what makes a region special.
　
Explorer Squad: Truly understanding and communicating a region’s natural resources, culture, and history seems like it would naturally cultivate a deep sense of local pride.
　
Mr. Sagawa: Absolutely. My hope is that people living in harmony with nature will feel confident welcoming visitors and sharing what makes their home unique.
　
Explorer Squad: Thinking about visitors — conservation and tourism can sometimes seem like they’re pulling in opposite directions. How do you approach that tension?
　
Mr. Sagawa: On the surface, they can look like they’re in conflict — but I genuinely believe they can work together. Tourism is a vital part of Okinawa’s economy, and the real goal is to build a relationship where tourism and conservation make each other stronger.
　
Explorer Squad: What does that look like in practice?
　
Mr. Sagawa: One initiative we’ve been working on with local diving shops is a program called “Okinawa Coral Guardian,” which aims to nurture a new generation of environmentally conscious divers. It started when I was involved in a Cabinet Office project exploring new forms of tourism. I was thinking about what a conservation-focused initiative might look like, and I kept coming back to the idea of connecting people to Okinawa’s nature through diving. Around that time, I happened to be working with a diving shop in the prefecture, and they introduced me to a PADI program called “Dive Against Debris” — a specialty course where divers learn about marine debris and safely collect litter underwater. The moment I heard about it, something clicked.
We built a program that draws on scientific knowledge to help participants learn about coral reefs and their ecosystems in an engaging, hands-on way — while actually contributing to conservation at the same time. The passion that participants brought to protecting the ocean went far beyond what we expected. It was genuinely moving.

　

Where Nature Conservation and Tourism Come Together

　
Explorer Squad: Do you see this kind of travel — where conservation and tourism are woven together — continuing to grow?
　
Mr. Sagawa: I do. And honestly, the concept I keep coming back to is “nature positive.” Throughout our lives, we’ve been surrounded by news about the loss of nature and biodiversity. But nature positive flips that script — it’s about working toward a world where biodiversity actually becomes richer over time.
If that vision becomes reality, growing older starts to feel exciting. You’d be able to look around and see nature flourishing more with each passing year. There are plenty of challenges on the road to getting there, of course — but I think holding onto that vision is what matters.
　
Explorer Squad: Imagine diving around a coral reef and seeing even more fish than the year before. That would be something special.
　
Mr. Sagawa: It really would. And I think tourism has an enormous role to play in making nature positive a reality. What drives it, at its core, is the feeling of “I love this place and I want to do something to protect it” — that sense of wanting to be part of something. Travel is one of the most powerful ways to spark that feeling in people.
　
Explorer Squad: And we need tourism destinations and operators who can help people turn that feeling into real action.
　
Mr. Sagawa: That’s exactly right. I hope — and believe — we’re moving toward an era where sustainable tourism becomes the standard, and where travelers actively seek out destinations and operators who are committed to conservation. I’d love to see systems develop where tourism genuinely contributes to improving the natural environment, and where travelers understand and embrace that value. A future where tourism is a force for good — for local communities and the natural environment alike. That’s what I’m working toward.

　

The “Bud” We Found in this Exploration

Our conversation with Mr. Sagawa — whose work spans the full breadth of environmental consulting — reminded us how important it is to truly understand and share the culture and history of a place when thinking about protecting nature. The concept of “nature positive” offers a compelling vision of a future where nature grows richer with time, and where tourism becomes an active part of making that happen. Out of that vision, a new style of travel is taking shape — one that is good for local communities, good for the environment, and, we’d argue, good for the soul. Why not be among the first to set out on that journey?