Launched in November 2016, the Okinawa Environmental Justice Project strives to protect the environment and the lives of people in Okinawa, Japan through the means of "connecting the green dots." That is, we reach out to, connect, and make best use of available resources in local communities, environment NGOs, domestic institutions and laws, and international institutions and conventions in bringing environmental justice to Okinawa. We believe that, by protecting the environment, we can also improve the quality of life and promote peace/genuine security in Okinawa and beyond.
As our first action, we, along with 38 other Okinawan and Japanese organizations, are sending a letter of concern and request to the U.S. government and the U.S. military regarding the future of the Yanbaru forest in northern Okinawa Island.
Can the Yanbaru forest become a World Natural Heritage site? Or would the presence of the U.S. military's Northern Training Area in the Yanbaru forest, low altitude flight training, and the construction of new landing zones hinder the forest's chance of becoming a World Heritage Site? Would the U.S. military and the U.S. government make sure that the Yanbaru forest become a World Heritage site? These are some of the concerns and reqeusts expressed in the letter.
Please read our letter and help spread the word.
*PDF versions of the letter (without photos) and the map are also available for download at the very bottom of this blog page.
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| map enclosed with the letter |
Can the Yanbaru forest become a World Natural Heritage site? Or would the presence of the U.S. military's Northern Training Area in the Yanbaru forest, low altitude flight training, and the construction of new landing zones hinder the forest's chance of becoming a World Heritage Site? Would the U.S. military and the U.S. government make sure that the Yanbaru forest become a World Heritage site? These are some of the concerns and reqeusts expressed in the letter.
Please read our letter and help spread the word.
*PDF versions of the letter (without photos) and the map are also available for download at the very bottom of this blog page.
December 01, 2016
The
Honorable Caroline Bouvier Kennedy
Ambassador,
Embassy of the United States of America
Tokyo,
Japan
Lt.
Gen. Jerry P. Martinez
Commander,
United State Forces Japan
Yokota
Air Base, Japan
Lt. Gen. Lawrence D. Nicholson
Commander, United State Marines Japan
Camp Foster, Okinawa, Japan
Mr. Joel Ehrendreich
Consul General, Consulate General of the United
States of America in Naha
Okinawa, Japan
Letter
of Concern and Request
Inscription of Yanbaru Forest as a World
Natural Heritage Site
Dear
Ambassador Kennedy, Lt. Gen. Martinez, Lt. Gen. Nicholson, and Consul General
Ehrendreich:
We write to express our concern and to make requests to you
regarding the construction of six “landing zones” for U.S. military aircraft in
the U.S. military’s Northern Training Area (NTA) in the Yanbaru forest in
northern Okinawa Island, especially in light of the fact that the Yanbaru
forest is now on the Tentative List submitted by the Japanese government for
UNESCO World Natural Heritage Sites.
As
the U.S. Forces in Japan is well aware, the Okinawa Defense Bureau is now
rushing to construct all the proposed landing zones by the end of the year 2016
amidst strong opposition from local communities and global environmental and
peace organizations. To do so, the Bureau adheres to its 10-year-old
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) (2007) for the construction, despite the
fact that that EIA has been widely criticized for its scientific and procedural
flaws. The Bureau is also making drastic changes in construction procedures
while failing to implement mitigation measures set forth in the EIA. This was
most apparent in the revelation in October 2016 that the Bureau plans to clear-cut
over 24,000 trees for construction of landing zones and entrance roads. Not
only is the Bureau destroying the environment, but also it is subverting the
integrity of EIA.
Intense
and violent confrontation between protesters against the construction of
landing zones and the riot police force dispatched by the Japanese government
takes place daily at the construction sites. It often leads to various human
rights violations, including unwarranted arrest and detention of protesters, in
some cases causing injuries, and the use by police of derogatory terms such as
“Dojin” (a discriminatory term referring to indigenous people). The situation
is chaotic and dangerous, escalating further the already antagonistic
relationship between Okinawa and the Japanese government.
The
opposition to the construction comes from various quarters. The residents of
Takae in Higashi village have been opposing it since late 1990s because these
landing zones are built extremely close to their community. The aircraft
training, using the two completed landing zones, is already causing intolerable
levels of noise, disrupting and threatening their daily life.
Others
oppose it because they see the new landing zones as another form of military
burden imposed upon Okinawa by the Japanese government. Okinawa, only 0.6% of
the landmass of Japan, already bears the “hosting” of 74% of the U.S. military
bases and facilities in Japan.
Still
others (including the authors of this letter) oppose it because the landing
zones are being constructed within a sensitive area of the Yanbaru forest, which
is one of the most important ecological areas in Japan as discussed below.
We
are concerned that, despite all of this, the U.S. military and the U.S.
government have remained silent, allowing construction, destruction, and
confrontation to take place as if you had nothing to do with these matters.
Construction of Landing
Zones: SACO, SOFA and Jurisdiction
We
understand that the construction of the landing zones is one of the conditions
agreed between the U.S. and Japanese governments for the return of a half of
the NTA to Okinawa in the Special Action Committee on Okinawa (SACO) agreement
in 1996. We also understand that, under the Japanese and U.S. Mutual Security
Treaty and the U.S. and Japan Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), the Japanese
government is responsible for providing facilities and areas to the U.S.
military, and thus the Japanese government is accountable for the construction
of those landing zones.
We
know, however, that it was the U.S. military that demanded construction of
those new landing zones since it stood to lose seven landing zones in the land
return deal. In our opinion, the U.S. military should have returned the land
without any conditions rather than demanding additional landing zones. We also
know that under SOFA, the U.S. government (and the U.S. Forces in Japan) are
given the power to take “all the measures necessary for their (U.S. bases and
facilities’) establishment, operation, safeguarding, and control.”
In
other words, the U.S. government and the U.S. military have the power to make
decisions over whether or not to allow the construction of landing zones in the
NTA.
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| landing zones under construction Nov. 2016 | ||
| photo provided by S. Kirishima |
The Yanbaru Forest on
the Tentative List for UNESCO World Heritage Sites
We
now direct your attention to the fact that the Yanbaru forest is on the
Tentative List submitted by the Japanese government for UNESCO World Natural
Heritage Sites.
As
the U.S. Forces in Japan is well aware, the 27,800 ha (68,695 acres) Yanbaru
forest is the oldest subtropical rain forest on
Okinawa Island and it is one of the richest biodiversity areas in Japan. It
is home to
some 5,400 species of fauna and over 1,000 species of vascular plants. They
include over 170 endangered species listed on the Red List of the Japanese
Ministry of the Environment. Endemic and endangered species such as the Okinawa
woodpecker (Sapheopipo Noguchii) and
the Okinawa rail (Rallus
okinawae)
are the best known of the well-known habitants of the Yanbaru forest. They are
also Japan’s “Natural Monuments.” It is most appropriate that the Yanbaru
forest, along with Iriomote Island also in Okinawa prefecture, and Amami-Oshima
and Tokunoshima Islands of Kagoshima prefecture will be officially considered
for inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
The
Japanese Ministry of the Environment, the Okinawa prefectural government, other
governmental agencies, and local communities worked hard to get the precious
environment of the Yanbaru forest on the Tentative List in February 2016. The
Environment Ministry also designated in September 2016 a central part of the
Yanbaru forest as Japan’s 33rd National Park as part of the World
Natural Heritage inscription process. It is expected that precise boundaries
including “buffer zones” for the Yanbaru forest for World Natural Heritage will
be established soon and that the International Union for Conservation of Nature
(IUCN), the expert advisory body for UNESCO, will visit Okinawa to evaluate
these sites sometime during 2017.
Meanwhile,
since 1957, when 7,800 ha (19,274 acres) of the Yanbaru forest was taken over
by the U.S. military and converted into the U.S. military’s Northern Training
Area, the U.S. military has been conducting jungle warfare training and low
flying training of aircraft there. There are 22 (plus 2 newly constructed) landing
zones for military aircraft and other training facilities in the NTA. Loud
noise emitted from aircraft, land contamination from disposed materials and
crashed aircraft, combined with logging and construction of logging roads by
local forest industry, have presented and continue to present significant
environmental challenges to the Yanbaru forest. The current construction of
landing zones now adds to those challenges.
We
are concerned that those challenges present a significant obstacle for the
World Natural Heritage inscription process as World Heritage requires
“integrity” which is defined by the UNESCO as “a measure of the wholeness and
intactness of the natural and/or cultural heritage and its attributes.“
Regrettably,
there is no evidence that the U.S. military has given proper consideration to
this World Natural Heritage inscription process of the Yanbaru forest. None of
the U.S. military’s documents available to the Okinawa public acknowledges the
inscription process. One example is the U.S. military’s “Final Environmental Review for Basing MV-22 at MCAS Futenma and
Operating in Japan” (the so-called “Environmental Review”) prepared by the
U.S. Navy for the deployment and training of MV-22 Osprey to Okinawa. The
Environmental Review discussed the natural and cultural resources of the
Yanbaru forest and laws and regulations to protect them. However, it completely
failed to address the fact that the Japanese Ministry of the Environment and
the Okinawa prefectural government were engaging in preparation for the
inscription process despite the fact that their preparation was in 2012 (when
the Environmental Review was published) already well underway.
Given
that the U.S. military closely follows developments in Okinawa in general,
especially ones associated with the U.S. bases, facilities and areas, we have
difficulty understanding why this is so. We do not know whether the U.S.
military ignores information on the inscription process or the Japanese
government has not properly informed the U.S. military of it.
We
are concerned that, the U.S. military and the U.S. government’s failure to
acknowledge the World Natural Heritage inscription process, along with the
construction of the landing zones, the violent confrontation and human rights
violations and the training of U.S. military aircraft, all hinder the
inscription process.
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| MV-22 Osprey terrain flight training in the Yanbaru forest | |
| photo provided by T. Kitaueda |
U.S. National Historical
Preservation Act, World Heritage Convention, and Our Requests
We
understand that, under the current U.S. National Historical Preservation Act
(NHPA)(Section 402), the law that addresses matters related to the World
Heritage Convention, while the U.S. military is required to take into account
the effects of its undertakings, whether training or construction of
facilities, on World Heritage sites and properties in foreign countries, it is
not required to do so in relation to Word Heritage inscription processes
including one for the Yanbaru forest. We believe, however, that the spirit and
intention of the NHPA is for the U.S. military to take into account the effects
of allowing construction of landing zones and training on the Yanbaru forest,
given that the Yanbaru forest is a World Natural Heritage candidate site and is
now undergoing inscription process
In
fact, Section 135 of the Operational Guideline for the World Heritage
Convention, to which the U.S. is a signatory state, stipulates:
Wherever possible,
transboundary nominations should be prepared and submitted by States Parties
jointly in conformity with Article 11.3 of the Convention. It is highly recommended that the States Parties concerned
establish a joint management committee or similar body to oversee the
management of the whole of a transboundary property.
And
the UNESCO World Heritage Convention Article 11-3 stipulates:
The inclusion of a property in the World
Heritage List requires the consent of the state concerned. The inclusion of a
property situated in a territory, sovereignty or jurisdiction over which is
claimed by more than one State, shall in no way prejudice the rights of the
parties to the dispute.
Please
be reminded that the U.S. military’s NTA, over which the U.S. has jurisdiction,
is located in a sensitive part of the Yanbaru forest and
that the coordinates of the “northern part of Okinawa Island” or the Yanbaru
forest for World Natural Heritage inscription provided on the Tentative List is
just 1 km (0.6 miles) away from the NTA.
We
do not believe that the U.S. military and the U.S. government would like to be
seen as an obstacle in the way of the World Heritage inscription process in an
ally country.
Therefore,
we request the following:
In
accordance with Article 11-3 of the UNESCO World Heritage Convention, Section
135 of the Operational Guideline for the World Heritage Convention, and the
spirit and intent of 402 of the National Historical Preservation Act,
That
the U.S. military, in consultation with local communities, prefectural and
national (Japanese) government, and relevant NGOs, conduct an assessment
regarding the impact of allowing the construction of landing zones and the
conduct of aircraft and other types of training in the Yanbaru forest on the
inscription process of the Yanbaru forest for World Natural Heritage;
That
the U.S. military, while conducting this assessment, cease the issue of
entrance permits to the Okinawa Defense Bureau for purposes of landing zone
construction and suspend its aircraft and other types of training;
That
relevant U.S. government agencies, including the Advisory Council on Historical
Preservation and the Office
of the Assistant Secretary of Fish and Wildlife and Parks, should be
involved in the assessment process.
Sincerely,
Okinawa Environmental Justice Project
Association to Promote Ryukyu Islands as World Natural
Heritage
Okumagawa Basin Protection Fund
Yanbaru
DONguries
Naha
Broccoli
Okinawa Environmental Network
Japan Environmental Lawyers’ Federation (JELF)
The
Conservation Network for Forest Ecosystem in Japan
The Nature Conservation Society of Japan
Greenpeace Japan
Friends of the Earth Japan
The
Japan-U.S. Citizens for Okinawa Network
No
Helipad Resident Society
Association
for On-Site-Action Against Helipad Construction in Takae
Association for Protection of Marine Communities (AMCo)
Okinawa Reefcheck and Research Group
Association to Protect the Northernmost Dugong
Save the Dugong Campaign Center
Dugong Protection Fund
The Save-Awase-Higata Association
Iruka & Kujira ( Dolphin & Whale )
Action Network
Biodiversity Information Box
Diving Team
Rainbow-The Conference Opposing Heliport Construction
Project Disagree
All Okinawa Council for Human Rights
International Movement Against All Forms of
Discrimination and Racism
Alternative People's Linkage in Asia
“No Heliport Base” Association of
10 Districts North of Futamai
The Conference Opposing Heliport
Construction
Minshuku Yaponesia
Dugong no sato
“No Heliport Base” Association of
10 Districts North of Futamai
Committee on Okinawa, Northern Branch, Tokyo District, The United
Church of Christ in Japan
Committee on International Mission・Northern Branch,
Tokyo District, The United Church of Christ in Japan
Shinshu Otaniha・Kyugjonokai Ogaki
The Voice of
Gifu Citizens for saving Peace, Human rights and Environment
Kyujonokai Ogaki
Zainichi chosenjin sakkao yomukai
The
following organizations support this letter.
Dugong Network Okinawa
Team Zan
Contact:
Hideki
Yoshikawa
Director
Okinawa
Environmental Justice Project
Email:
yhidekiy@gmail.com
Enclosure:
YANBARU, OKINAWA: Future World Natural Heritage and U.S.
Military’s Northern Training Area (map)
CC:
Advisory Council on Historical Preservation
CC: The
Office of the Assistant Secretary of Fish and Wildlife and Parks
