IUCN World Heritage Programme
c/o Ulrika Åberg
28 Rue Mauverney
CH-1196 GlandSwitzerland
9 October, 2019

Dear Dr. Åberg,
Please find the following opinions of local residents mostly from thewestern area of Iriomote Island. The English text is written with thehelp of Dr. Tadashi Kajita, University of the Ryukyus. If you have any
question on the document, please contact me as well as Dr. Kajita by thefollowing e-mail addresses.
shoyama@kyp.biglobe.ne.jp
kajita@mail.ryudai.jp

Sincerely yours,Mamoru Shoyama
A member representing the Uehara
Public Hall Unionin the Iriomote Island Sub-local Meeting
under the Regional Liaison committee
Uehara, Taketomi, Yaeyama
Okinawa, 907-1541
JAPANe-mail: shoyama@kyp.biglobe.ne.jp

Opinions about nomination of Iriomote Island
to the World Natural Heritage
9 October, 2019
Mamoru Shoyama
A member representing the Uehara Public Hall Union
in the Iriomote Island Sub-local Meeting
under the Regional Liaison committee
e-mail: shoyama@kyp.biglobe.ne.jp

I am not originated from Okinawa Prefecture and immigrated here withthe admiration of the precious nature of Iriomote Island 44 years ago.
Working as a science teacher at local elementary and junior high schools,
I have been teaching children the richness and beauty of nature in
Iriomote Island, especially using the Serpent Eagle as primary teachingmaterial. After retiring, I participated in environmental protection
activities as members of the Rare Animal and Plant Species Protection
Committee of the Ministry of the Environment; Okinawa PrefecturalWildlife Conservation Manager; and National Park Volunteer. I was also
the head of the Uehara Public Hall Union (including public halls ofUehara, Nakano, Urauchi, Sumiyoshi, and Funaura) two years ago, andbecome a present member of the Iriomote Island Sub-local Meeting under
the Regional Liaison Committee as the representative of Public Halls of
the Western area of Iriomote Island. In this Sub-local Meeting, I am
responsible for reflecting the opinion from residents (primarily from theWestern area) to the Action Plan of Iriomote Island.
Regardless of how the nomination of the island to the World Heritage
was impressive to me, as I have been enchanted with its valuable andbeautiful nature of Iriomote, unfortunately, there are undeniable
concerns for the nomination.
First of all, I have to point out the fact that many residents havenegative opinions on the nomination. According to the survey performed
by Taketomi Town two years ago, 41% of residents were against theregistration, far more than 28% in favor. I attended the meeting withIUCN field inspectors two years ago, and I showed this fact with theleading causes that residents anticipated the nomination. They were thelack of information disclosure to the residents, delays in theadministrative response, especially inadequate infrastructure, andconcerns and dissatisfaction with the increasing number of tourists.
After the last nomination and withdrawal last year, I know thatTaketomi Town and Okinawa Prefecture officials have been working onthese issues. However, the concerns that I reported two years ago havenot been solved yet. With this situation, as the residents on this island,
we cannot accept the registration of the isle to World Heritage. Here, I'mreporting the renewed opinions that I collected from many local people
from the Western Area of the island together with my concerns.
Deterioration of the natural environment and anxiety of residents due to anincrease in tourists
1. Experts and the government recognize that it is essential to control
the total amount of tourists to Iriomote Island. However, this issue
remains unresolved, and it seems that the state party doesn't know how
to tackle it. The nature of small islands such as Iriomote Island is fragile
and will only be devastated if it is heavily loaded even in a short period.
Due to the increased number of tourists, a small sacred stream for a local
community, which has never been subject to tourism, became a tourist
spot that has been causing black looks from the local people.
Also, many people worried about the further increase in tourists dueto the World Heritage nomination. The number of accidents such as
injuries on the field activities has also increased, and the burden on local
fire brigade members (who are not full-time employees, but mostly
volunteers and responsible for their jobs) is rising.
The number of traffic accidents due to an increase in rental cars is also
increasing. Last year, seven Iriomote cats died by roadkill.
2. Many tourists use tourist spots that do not have toilets so that theypollute the surrounding environment. It is finally recommended to use a
portable toilet from this year, but it is not a fundamental solution, becausethe use increases the amount of waste and garbage to be treated on theisland.
3. There is no sewerage system on Iriomote Island. Domestic
wastewater flows directly into the ocean, and coastal pollution has been
pointed out. Also, a shortage of water for daily use will become a regularissue due to increasing tourists. We had urgent town broadcasts
repeatedly for saving water due to water shortages during the high tourist
season (at the beginning of May as well as in the Summer vacation season
in 2019).
Regarding residents' discontent with administrative responses related tonatural heritage nomination
4. Emerging tourist guides who have no knowledge or experience about
the nature and history of Iriomote Island are attracting a large numberof customers. Those guides who want only to make money are in trouble
with native nature guides who place importance on environmental
conservation. This is just planned to be regulated by the Natural Guides
Ordinance, but its effectiveness has been questioned because no detailed
enforcement rules have been established.
5. Japan is an earthquake-prone country, and there are no measures todeal with large-scale disasters, such as there is no place for many tourists
to evacuate when a massive tsunami comes.
6. Two years ago, the Taketomi Natural Environment Conservation
Ordinance was amended, and the town advertised it a lot as if precious
organisms were being protected by the law. However, there has been nostaff who are in charge of protecting the selected rare species. Because
there is no actual patrol activity, this is the present situation that precious
wildlife is poached and robbed.
7. We feel it deeply deplorable that the Taketomi Town ignored theresidents for the process of drafting the Nature Guide Regulations
Ordinance. The town has never opened the process to the residents, andthey announced the ordinance after it has passed through the town
assembly.
Once Iriomote Island is registered as a World Heritage Site, the mostimportant thing is to prevent environmental destruction caused byincreased tourists. An organization to be the center for tourismmanagement is inevitable and to perform inspection, investigation, andmonitoring. However, no such organization has not been established yet
and never will be made by next summer, when the decision on the World
Heritage registration will be made. This situation will cause a blankperiod when there is no management organization after registration. Also,
the participation of local communities is indispensable for suchorganizations, but many residents are discontent with the present waysof disclosing information from the local government office. I attached two
articles contributed to a newspaper by residents in the Western Area inthe end of this report. The live voices of the residents are shown in thearticle.
Again, the nature of the small island is built on a fragile and delicatebalance. We anticipate that the registration to the World Heritage
without solving the present and inconvenient issues would break thenature and people's lives on the island.

<Attached document #1>
An article “Voice” published 8th October (Tuesday) 2019 on Yaeyama
Mainichi Newspaer.
Author: Miki Sugiyama (Working staff at the Iriomote Station, Tropical
Biosphere Research Center, University of the Ryukyus)
Title: What will the World Natural Heritage bring to us?
Two years ago, the nomination of Iriomote Island, together withYanbaru, Amami, and Tokunoshima were withdrawn by the Japanese
government just before the final decision. How relieved it was foreveryone! Many residents of Iriomote Island never wanted thenomination from the first. There were concerns for the increasing numberof tourists, that would raise issues with insufficient infrastructure,
deterioration of the environment, and security. However, Okinawa
prefecture is now on the final straight track to the registration of theWorld Heritage. What has changed over the last two years? Over 700,000
visitors annually may come to the island of about 2,000 residents. Were
the residents' anxieties raised in the previous nomination solved? Even
today, there is too much garbage already reached the maximum capacityof disposal, people make long queues in front of the bathroom at the port
every morning, lots of cars run much faster than the legal speed limit ...
Nothing has changed from the last nomination; on the contrary, anincreased number of tour agencies caused the flood of people at any rivers
and waterfalls.
So what has changed since the last nomination? Taketomi town
amended the Natural Environment Protection Ordinance and enacted theTourist Guide Ordinance, but how do they work? They have increased thelisted number of animal and plant species, and expect to protect them bylaw. However, what they did is just listed the species names in the law
text. They do not care for the conservation of the habitats, and many ofthe habitats are under critical situations.
The Taketomi Town Tourist Guide Ordinance passed through the town

assembly unanimously on September 20. As many people already know,
the ordinance is vague too much, and it was compiled without enoughdiscussion with residents. Although there is a section titled "Residents'
Responsibilities," the law was enacted while town people even didn't
aware of the presence of the ordinances. I am pretty much wondering how
this can happen.
If Iriomote Island in this present state is registered to World Heritage,then what is the World Heritage at all? Will Iriomote Island be a “WorldHeritage” without solving any concerns of the residents? There are noexplanations about the expected changes in our life. We don't know whaton earth is going on to our life. We are living on this island, and we areholding deep concern. For whom is the World Heritage? If World
Heritage is a good thing for nature conservation, the present state ofIriomote Island is not enough for registration. What happens to thisisland if it is registered as it is?
I hope everyone who knows the precious nature of Iriomote Island thatthe island is under an outrageous process toward the registration to theWorld Heritage. I think what is needed now is a careful explanation to theresidents, proper regulation, and conservation of habitats of rare animals
and plants. World heritage is something that comes up after those.
Everyone knows that once we lost nature, it will never return. We must
keep it in mind. We have to remember how precious nature is. I don't
know this small voice of a residence can reach how far, but I hope my voice
would be transferred out from this island.

<Attached document #2>
An article “Voice” published 7th October (Monday) 2019 on Yaeyama
Mainichi Newspaer.
Author: Yoichi Noda (A farmer living in Iriomote Island)
Title: "What we should think now"

Have you ever seen Iriomote Island on the world map? We, Iriomoteresidents, don't feel it small in our daily life, but it's indeed a tiny island.
And on this little island, a wide variety of organisms have diversified andmaintained the ecosystem on a delicate balance. I think it's a miracle.
However, we are about to destroy this delicate balance by our own
hands. It is a well-known fact that tourists rush would do happen to thenew spots listed to the UNESCO World Heritage List. And, the rise intourists on this small island is an increase in the load to the environment.
Too many tourists are nothing but a threat to the ecosystem. I thoughtthat Taketomi town enacted a new ordinance to protect the island, but I
found that the law looked without effectiveness. I wonder if Taketomi
Town might want to take this opportunity to promote tourism.
I questioned Taketomi Town (* at the meeting to explain the ordinanceto residents) if they can strengthen the regulations more strict. However,their answer was "Impossible," and even brought up the Freedom of Job
Selection stated in the Japanese Constitution as well as the Antimonopoly
Act as the reasons. If so, I'd like to ask a question again. Are there anylaws at all to protect the precious ecosystem of Iriomote Island that isvaluable at the World-Level? Also, are there no laws to protect the life ofresidents who long to live quietly on the island? Nowadays, personal
rights are getting too large, and public welfare looks becoming anobsolete word. Well, even if I put aside our lives, it is clear that there area lot of problems in the nomination, as you see in the article by Mr.
Takayama pointed out (Yaeyama Mainichi Newspaper, September 22nd)and others.

So, I want to protest to UNESCO. Please do not include Iriomote Island
to the World Heritage List by admitting the ordinances that are like
empty promises as evidence of Protection and Management. If yourmission is to protect, conserve, and transmit the outstanding value ofnature to future generations, please inspect the legislative management
plans with special care. Inclusion in the World Heritage List should only
happen AFTER the local government has demonstrated that it hasestablished a reliable environmental conservation system. I believe
UNESCO has accumulated a lot of knowledge and knowhow through theWorld Heritage activity. I appreciate it so much if you would supervise
Taketomi-town and help it to establish an effective management system.
In the end, I'd like to show my idea which may not be necessary for thisarticle. We might be failing to receive something important from thepredecessors who lived on this island. That is a mind of respect,appreciation, and fear that those who live relying on the islands every day
should not forget. That is something we can not express by words or
documents, but we should feel and transfer to the future. By keeping themind, the predecessors took the island's nature as it was, paid attention
to other organisms by accepting them as neighbors living on the sameland, and lived a happy life even if there were no material wealth.
If we lose the mind by only paying attention to the immediate greed,
there may be an empty island left behind that has lost its soul? I think
Iriomote Island is at the crossroads now. I wish I would cooperate withpeople, and make it sure to transfer the rich nature and culture, as wellas the "something important" but invisible on this island, to the next
generation. Thank you.