vol.22 (2026)
SHIGESADA Nako Global Environmental Studies,Graduate Institute for Advanced Studies, SOKENDAI Key words: Global environmental issues, Knowledge–action gap, Second-Phase Global Perspective, Second-Phase Global Perspective Protocol (SPGP), immersive virtual reality (VR), structured dialogue, overview effect, contact hypothesis, indigenous knowledge (IK), personalization of global issues Although awareness of the global environmental crisis is widely shared, it rarely translates into concrete behavioral change. To address this “knowledge-action gap,” this study theoretically formulates the Second-Phase Global Perspective, which alternates between an orbital view of Earth and local lifeworlds, and designs the Second-Phase Global Perspective Protocol (SPGP)—an intervention protocol integrating immersive VR and structured dialogue—along with its evaluation plan. Previous overview effect research has shown that viewing Earth from space can enhance awe, small self, and identification with all humanity; however, these effects tend to remain at the level of abstract understanding or transient emotions, with weak connections to the lifeworlds and indigenous knowledge (IK) of marginalized communities. This study proposes a Second-Phase Global Perspective that alternates between overview and terrestrial perspectives while treating IK as equivalent knowledge, and concretizes its cultivation process as SPGP. To ground this framework in lived experience rather than abstraction, three field sites with distinct ecological and cultural conditions were selected: Kikai Island (Japan) with its uplifted coral reef, the tropical rainforest of southeastern Cameroon, and the Atacama high desert (Chile). All three share histories of marginalization under external pressures such as development and conservation zoning, yet possess an underlying structure in which resources, water, livelihoods, rituals, and communality circulate together. On Kikai Island, a sense of the “island as living organism” and prayer rituals at water sources were observed; in Cameroon, sharing norms for forest resources and polyphonic singing resonating between humans and forest were documented. In Atacama, research preparation is underway focusing on stargazing culture and water resources. In SPGP, rather than researchers recording unilaterally, local residents collaborate to transform their lifeworlds into VR modules using 3D capture, high-resolution 360-degree video, and spatial audio, embedding their own narratives as short films to visualize their stories in an embodied, re-experienceable form. SPGP is designed to bridge such mutual local VR experiences and Earth overview through structured dialogue based on the contact hypothesis from social psychology (equal status, common goals, role exchange). For impact evaluation, a two-group quasi-experiment comparing SPGP and VR-only conditions is proposed, with longitudinal measurement of psychological indicators and behavioral change. This paper, as a design and methods article for SPGP toward verifying the Second-Phase Global Perspective that promotes “personalization” of global environmental issues, presents a framework integrating Overview Effect research and contact hypothesis, a falsifiable intervention design, and an approach that embeds marginalized IK into the intervention process. |
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