The Value of Zoos as Educational Resources for Sharing the Sustainable Development Goals with the Public: A Japanese Perspective

This chapter highlights how to design educational activities and engage the public to promote awareness of the relationship between humans and wildlife. It focuses on ways to attain goals by developing teaching materials that address environmental issues related to animals, especially in terms of the 15th SDG “Protect the richness of the land”. The author worked with undergraduate students of an environmental sociology and education course at a university in Japan to develop educational materials for the public to promote their awareness of biodiversity conservation. One of her works with students is developing “Kamishibai,” a paper theater of a popular literacy form in Japan. In collaboration with Tennoji Zoo in Osaka City, two Kamishibai stories about popular animals in Japan were developed. Their story motifs were Asian elephants and Japanese oriental storks that were listed as endangered species in the IUCN Red List in 2018. As well as how the Kamishibai promoted an effect for the public awareness of a sustainable environment, the characteristics of exhibition design in zoos in terms of the SDGs will be explained based on the author’s own fieldwork in Japan and overseas.