AR-News: (JP) HELP SAVE UNIQUE SPECIES AND CORAL REEF ECOSYSTEM

[Masako Miyaji]

Please go to below site and you can send an
already-prepared letter to:

Ambassador Howard Baker  
President George W. Bush  
Secretary Colin Powell  
Secretary Donald Rumsfeld  
Vice President Richard Cheney  

http://actionnetwork.org/campaign/dugong_aa?rk=6dq3_wp1jafjW

Take Action!

What's At Stake!

HELP SAVE UNIQUE SPECIES AND CORAL REEF ECOSYSTEM

Okinawa has been called the "Galapagos of the East"
and is home to ecologically significant coral reefs
that support more than 1,000 species of reef fish,
marine mammals and sea turtles, a diversity of marine
life second only to the Great Barrier Reef in
Australia. Creatures like the highly imperiled dugong,
a critically endangered and culturally treasured
animal, rely on these reefs for their very survival.
Three types of endangered sea turtles, protected under
international as well as American and Japanese
domestic law, also depend on these ecosystems. 
The United States and Japanese governments have plans
to build a new American military base atop a healthy
coral reef that supports at least nine species
threatened with extinction and myriad other types of
animal life. Because of global warming and pollution,
Okinawa痴 coral reefs are already threatened.
More than half have disappeared over the past decade.
This makes preserving healthy reefs all the more
important. 

American, Japanese, and international organizations
all recognize the potential harm the new base would
cause. Japan痴 Mammalogical Society placed the
dugong on its 迭ed List of Mammals,・in
1997, estimating the population in Okinawa to be
critically endangered. The U.S. Government痴
Marine Mammals Commission fears the project would be a
serious threat to the animals・survival. The
World Conservation Union痴 dugong specialists
have expressed similar concerns.

Additionally, the Endangered Species Act of the United
States, lists the dugong and three sea turtles
affected by the project as endangered.

Construction of the offshore facility will devastate
the marine environment and have dramatic consequences
for avian and terrestrial species as well. In addition
to complete destruction of the coral reef off the
coast of Henoko village, this plan will deplete
essential fresh water supplies, increase the human
population in sensitive areas, and encourage more
environmentally harmful development. 

Each of these changes will have a dramatic impact.
Construction of the new airbase would cause
irreversible ecological damage to one of the most
diverse ecosystems on earth. The United States and
Japanese governments must reconsider this plan.

More information: 

Environmental groups from both sides of the Pacific
Ocean -- the Center for Biological Diversity and the
Turtle Island Restoration Network in the U.S., Dugong
Network Okinawa, Save the Dugong Foundation, Committee
Against Heliport Construction/Save Life Society, and
the Japan Environmental Lawyers Federation in Japan --
have filed a lawsuit in Federal District Court in San
Francisco against the U.S. Department of Defense
aiming to stop the base. Environmental law firm
Earthjustice represents all the plaintiffs. The
coalition of conservation groups argue that the
proposed 1.5-mile-long airbase would not only destroy
the coral reef, but also the prime remaining habitat
of the endangered Okinawa dugong.

Okinawa Dugong
The dugong is a saltwater manatee that has extreme
cultural significance to Okinawan people. Only about
50 ・the last dugong in Japanese waters
・are thought to remain alive. Coral reefs are
essential habitat for the dugong. 

In Japan, the dugongs primary remaining habitat exists
off the northeastern coast of Okinawa
・precisely where base construction will take
place. Surviving dugong use seagrass beds (jungusa, or
literally, 電ugong-grass・ in the area to
feed, mate, and rear their young. 

Construction will crush this critical habitat for
dugong. The Nature Conservation Society of Japan has
called the proposed base the 堵reatest
threat・to local seagrass beds. Even if the
seagrass doesn稚 die off completely,
construction will eliminate feeding trails that are
essential for dugong. A study by the Japan Scientists
Association found that destruction of the coral reef
and seagrass beds 妬s inescapable at the planned
site of the base.・
Both Japan痴 Environment Ministry and the U.S.
Defense Facilities Administration Agency conducted
surveys that found dugong off the coast of Nago,
directly in the project area. The Japan Times
published photographs of dugong in the sea, swimming
exactly where the base is set to be built. 

Sea Turtles
Three imperiled species of sea turtles ・the
hawksbill, loggerhead, and green turtle ・rely
on habitat in the Henoko area. All three types of
turtles are listed under the United States' Endangered
Species Act and the global Convention on International
Trade in Endangered Species.

Turtles use nearby beaches to feed and to lay their
eggs. The new base will cause pollution, create
harmful artificial lighting in the area, and increase
human activity ・all of which are harmful to sea
turtle reproduction.

Forests and Birds 
The new base will require a constant supply of fresh
water from the Yanbaru forest ecosystem ・and
not just for drinking. Because military aircraft will
be exposed to salt water, they must be washed with
fresh water every day to avoid corrosion. 

Already, the ecologically significant Yanbaru forest
suffers from numerous dam projects. Drawing more water
from this sensitive area will imperil endangered bird
species that rely on the forest for habitat, such as
the Okinawa woodpecker and the Okinawa rail. The
Okinawa woodpecker is the official bird of the
prefecture, and under grave threat. 

Threatened mangrove trees will be at risk, too. Twelve
stands of mangrove may come under direct threat from
pollution created by the new base, including some
classified as 菟rotected areas・by the
Japanese government. 

Mollusks
Researchers from Japan痴 Natural History Museum
and Institute discovered seven types of mollusks never
before found in Japan on the project site. Numerous
endangered mollusks only found in Okinawa are known to
reside there. More than 1,000 distinct types of
mollusk, researchers say, may be found in the area.

Quality Of Life For Local People
Even before construction begins, a planned
environmental 都urvey・by the Japanese
government would use an intrusive drilling method. The
planned boring survey would itself cause environmental
damage and severe noise pollution, which may cause
dugongs and other wildlife to flee the area, thus
creating a serious bias to any survey results. 

Water pollution and soil erosion induced by from the
airbase construction could foul Nago city and Henoko
village residents・drinking water and threaten
the nearby Yanbaru forest痴 bountiful wildlife.
Plus, noise pollution from incredibly loud military
aircraft will undermine animal habitat and the quality
of life for local people.

Thousands more military personnel will be stationed in
the area when the base is completed. This will further
strain already taxed water resources as well as
increasing waste and pollution problems.

Oil and chemical spills have repeatedly occurred at
two other military airfields in Okinawa. If such
accidents occur here ・and there is no reason to
think they won稚 ・the impacts on coral
and sea life would be catastrophic. Construction
itself would bury most of the area痴 coral
underneath the new base.
 






	
		
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