Dear Friends,
We are sending you a translation of our request to the Okinawa PrefecturalGovernor Hirokazu Nakaima to deny an approval for the application to landfill thewaters off Henoko. The Henoko coastal waters, rich in wildlife, contain a large seagrasscolony and remain an important feeding place for the surviving Okinawa dugongs, theNorthernmost population of the species and on the verge of extinction. On March 22,
2013, Minister of Defense Itsunori Onodera filed with the Governor application forapproval to landfill waters off Henoko in order to build a new US Marine base. It isreported that the Governor will make his decision on the project sometime during thecoming December.
The Okinawa Defense Bureau, a division of the Defense Ministry and the contractor
for the project, claims that “According to the EIA study, dugongs will stay one kilometeror farther away from the construction site throughout the execution of the project”.
The Governor Nakaima issued his opinion concerning the EIA stating that theexecution of the project would cause serious environmental harm. Accordingly, theDefense Bureau reviewed the EIA and submitted a revised version which maintained
the claim that the waters off Henoko, once regularly visited by dugongs, are no moreused by the animals, and repeated the claim that the dugongs will stay far away fromthe construction site.
Recently a number of newspapers including September 22 issue of the Tokyo
Shimbun reported that dugong feeding traces were found in the waters off Henoko
through April to June last year and that a dugong was sighted in Oura Bay, adjacent tothe Henoko beach. These reports were based on findings by Kyodo News reporters,
disclosing, under the Freedom of Information Act, information concealed by the Defense
Bureau, making it clear that the Defense Bureau had known that dugongs returned toHenoko waters during the period that the Bureau was reviewing the EIA.
We hope you will read the following request to the Governor and help us in our effort
to save the Okinawa dugong from extinction.
Kenichi Iyanaga
The Association To Protect The Northernmost Dugong (International Section)
bjcxf254@ybb.ne.jp

October 1, 2013
Honorable Okinawa Prefectural Governor Hirokazu Nakaima,
Masako Suzuki
The Association To Protect The Northernmost Dugong
http://sea-dugong.org/
info@sea-dugong.orgPlease Keep Standing With The Okinawa People In An
Effort To Protect The Waters Off Henoko
As reported by recent newspapers feeding traces of dugongs were observed in thewaters off Henoko through April to June last year. Those traces were reported to be firstfound since 2009. It was also reported that a dugong was observed swimming in Oura
Bay in May last year. These facts, so welcome for us, had been hidden away by theOkinawa Defense Bureau until reporters disclosed them using the ‘right to know’system. For the Defense Bureau those findings constitute ‘inconvenient truths’, since
the EIA submitted by the Bureau claims that the dugongs will stay one kilometer or
farther away from the new Henoko base construction site during the execution of theconstruction work.
A member of our group called up the Defense Bureau and pointed out the discrepancy
between the EIA claim and the recent media disclosure. The person on the phone
replied, “Our EIA states that the dugongs will stay far away from the construction site
during the work period. Dugongs visited the waters off Henoko last year but theconstruction work has not been started yet. During the work period, as stated by theEIA, dugongs will stay far away.”
The Bureau’s claim is based on the observation of dugongs’ behavior during the EIAstudy. The EIA was submitted on December 28, 2011. The Defense Bureau tries topersuade us that the findings after the EIA study ended are not to be taken into account.
However, it was December 18, 2012 that the revised version of the EIA was submitted.
It was during the period when the revised version was being worked upon that theBureau came upon the ‘inconvenient truths’. It is no longer possible to deny that thewaters off Henoko and Oura Bay are parts of the Okinawa dugong’s habitat.
Members of our group, especially those belonging to Team Zan, the field study groupin Nago City, are striving to protect the dugong and to ensure that coming generations
may enjoy the beautiful Henoko sea, rich in wildlife. Reclaiming the waters off Henoko
and a part of Oura Bay will destroy an important part of dugong habitat. It violates ourrights to protect the endangered Okinawa dugongs and their sea.
The Article 14 (1) and the Article 15 (1) of the Basic Act on Biodiversity state that theGovernment shall conserve the biodiversity of endemic organisms and endangered
species. The Okinawa Defense Bureau, a division of the Ministry of Defense, is goingagainst the very purport of the Act by planning to landfill the waters off Henoko. TheBureau is deceiving the nation by trying to hide important facts concerning theendangered dugong and is going ahead to destroy its habitat.
The Bureau also claims that the loss of the seagrass colony in the waters off Henoko
will be mitigated by transplanting it.
We believe that the habitat, and waters suitable for the habitat of the Okinawa
dugong, with only so few members left, must be conserved. So far, every trial fortransplanting seagrass in Okinawa waters has failed. It may be possible to transplant it
in waters far from Okinawa. However, the kind of seagrass transplanted in regions
remote from Okinawa may not be edible to dugong. Such regions may not be suitable asdugong habitat. Relocating dugong to a remote place may not be possible. According to a
researcher belonging to The Nature Conservation Society of Japan, knowledgeable onseagrass, the document concerning the seagrass transplanting referred to by theDefense Bureau in the EIA is, scientifically speaking, far from valuable.
Honorable Governor, we are proud of your proclamation concerning the EIA : “Thisproject poses a grave problem as regards the conservation of the environment. The
measures proposed in the EIA are inadequate to ensure the welfare of the local
residents and conserve natural environment adjacent to the construction site.”
Environmental impact associated with obtaining the landfill materials and dumping
them into the sea must be strictly assessed. This, however, is neglected by the Defense
Bureau. In order to judge whether or not to approve the landfill application it isnecessary to know if the landfill materials contain hazardous materials. This
information, however, has not been provided by the Defense Bureau.
The Article 27 of the Basic Act on Biodiversity imposes an obligation on a local
authority to conserve biodiversity.
We sincerely beg you to continue to stand with the Okinawa people opposing a newbase in their prefecture and, in order to ensure welfare of the prefectural people and toconserve the natural environment, to deny the landfill application.