Aquariums should fill the roles of education, conservation, research and entertainment. This fact is unfamiliar in Japan. Especially, education and conservation are important. Moreover, aquariums may take charge of the new roles positively hereafter.
* Zoos and aquariums are considered to fill the similar roles. Hence, aquariums can be replaced into zoos in this article.
the elements of aquariums
“Why research or education are related with aquariums?” or “What are purposes to take our children to aquariums?” I was asked these questions from people who are not in aquarium industry, when I had introduced them about my activity.
Originally, aquariums are institutions which people choose the species to keep and control them apart from their wild environments. That is, aquariums are making compensation for nature with only existing of themselves. This point is the biggest difference from museums whose exhibitions are what only people have picked up or made.
Thus, aquariums can exist if and only if they made value more than negative effects of displaying animals. The argument “We should not keep animals in aquariums.” has been actively contributed in some regions of the world.
4 roles of aquariums
Most people regard aquariums as entertainment facilities in Japan. However, aquarium operators cannot object the opinion : “Can we use living animals for pleasure of human?”
On the other hand, especially education is one of the most reasonable purpose of use of living animals. Even virtual reality technology has been risen, everyone desire to watch real things. Living things are the source of various messages which are not understandable from pictorial books or specimens for us. Extremely, they tell us the dignity of life force : “All living things must die.” Aquariums are one of the most precious classrooms which children can easily touch living animals. I will consider more deeply about education movements in further articles.
Aquarium experts say in general : “4 roles of aquariums are entertainment, research, conservation and education.” Our volunteer group tells our members 3 roles other from education have not logical necessity to do them in aquariums. Exactly, we do not need to display animals for public for research and conservation. Keeping animals to display people places higher load on nature than that not for displaying.
However, aquariums can play a great role in the conservation in natural populations of plant or animal species (in-situ conservation) thanks to their ability to deliver a message to the regional society. Because, it is difficult to succeed in-situ conservation by a single institution. Then, other organization and local people need to help that activity in most cases. In-situ conservation requires sustainable efforts to research the regional ecology and the environment around that area under the situation which has been related a lot of external factors. It is quite difficult to do them for one facility by only itself. For this issue, aquariums can contribute greatly to mobilize cooperators for conservation movements by displaying real animals and broadcasting messages over the world.
new roles
Aquariums shall present the new roles to people in modern society whose values are not standardized. We need to look forward the potential of them positively henceforth. For instance, to hand down traditional connections between fish or livestock and human may be the role of organizations which handle spirit of life.
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