4. Shiretoko Peninsula: Dynamic Interaction Between Geology, Geomorphology, and Ecology at The Interface of Terrestrial and Marine Systems

This chapter describes and analyzes the Shiretoko Peninsula World Heritage area as a complex and dynamic system comprising of geological, geomorphological, and ecological characteristics. Declared a national park in 1964, Shiretoko became a World Heritage Site in 2005. The area is noted as an exceptional example of the interaction between marine and terrestrial environments, as the most southerly location of drift sea ice in the Northern Hemisphere, and as an environmental system that links tiny diatoms to whales and brown bears. Several endangered and iconic species such as the Blakiston’s Fish Owl and the Steller’s Sea Eagle can be seen here, and the surrounding waters support many fish species and large marine mammals such as the Steller’s Sea Lion, the Orca, and the Sperm Whale. However, the area has witnessed landscape fragmentation and change in ecosystem dynamics in the past due to anthropogenic impact and is also currently threatened by Global Environmental Change. This narrative evaluates Shiretoko as a combined and complex geo-ecological system, emphasizing the complexity, uncertainty, and plurality of the interaction between its different components as fundamental properties that have implications for its management as well.