最後の "ジュラシック・ビーチ"奄美大島・嘉徳海岸を 巨大な護岸建設工事から救おう!

最後の "ジュラシック・ビーチ"奄美大島・嘉徳海岸を 巨大な護岸建設工事から救おう!

開始日
2017年8月10日
署名の宛先
塩田康一 (鹿児島県知事)1人の別の宛先
現在の賛同数:36,473次の目標:50,000
声を届けよう

この署名で変えたいこと

署名の発信者 JM Takaki

(English version below Japanese)

奄美で唯一の集落のある自然海岸

奄美大島の嘉徳(かとく)浜は人工物のない自然のままの海岸です。奄美大島、琉球列島でも珍しく、ここが奄美大島で最後に残る集落のある自然海岸です。この場所ではは手つかずの秘境と呼ばれ、国立公園に指定されており、奄美・琉球世界自然遺産候補地の至近距離に位置しています。

この地を訪れた人はみな、美しい清流が流れる川と広い河口、深い緑の谷、広い砂浜がある海の姿に感動することでしょう。 

迫る護岸計画による豊かな自然と生活環境の危機

嘉徳海岸にはいま、護岸計画が持ち上がっています。コンクリートの護岸が、砂浜に全長180m、高さ6.5m(3階建てビルの高さ)にわたって建てられ、美しいアダンの砂丘を壊して横断し、嘉徳浜中央の最も重要な箇所を覆う計画です。

この計画が浮上し、進んでいく段階で、そこで暮らしている家族は子ども達に与える悪影響など、この先を懸念しました。「豊かな自然環境の中での子育てを望んでいた、自然破壊を見ながら生活するのは辛すぎる」と、嘉徳集落を後にしたのです。 

アダンの砂丘で侵食対策

2014年に砂浜侵食が起こった後、私たちは昔から防風・防潮・砂防林として植えられている植物アダンを植える活動をしてきました。アダンの根はとても安定した強い根であり、この植物を増やすことが美しい嘉徳の自然海岸を守り残す、大切なことだと考えています。

※2019.3.27 住民訴訟を提起し、同日、クラウドファンディングを開始いたしました。(訴訟の為のご支援を呼びかけています)

(終了)

https://readyfor.jp/projects/save-amami-katoku-beach

(NEW)

2022 CrowdFunding Campaign (2022年12月25日まで)

LINK: Save Katoku 2022 Crowdfunding Campaign

嘉徳は特別な場所

「奄美のジュラシック・ビーチ」と人々が呼び親しむ嘉徳は、生物多様性が高いことで知られています。アオウミガメとアカウミガメが産卵のために上陸し、また2002年にはオサガメが産卵したのです。これは日本で唯一この浜でのみの記録となりました。

オサガメは2億年前、恐竜の時代からその形を変えていない、極めて古代的なウミガメで、世界的に生息数が少なくなってきたため、厳重な保護が求められています。またここには天然記念物であるオカヤドカリをはじめとするヤドカリ類も海と砂浜を行き来しており、絶滅が危惧される希少な貝類も6種確認され、また嘉徳川にはリュウキュウアユが棲んでいます。

嘉徳には深い森、広い砂浜と海、そこに流れ込む川と、全てが揃い、絶滅の危機に瀕している固有種の生き物が棲む、奇跡のような自然が残されているのです。

自然との触れ合い、サーフィンや海水浴などのレジャーの場としても、嘉徳に勝る場はないでしょう。

永遠に失われるもの

この奇跡的な、素晴らしい場所があることを、沢山の人が気づかない限り、巨額の無駄な予算を使う護岸工事が進んでしまいます。もしも護岸建設が始まってしまうと、奄美で唯一の集落を有する自然海岸とリュウキュウアユが生息する川にも多大な影響が出てしまいます。

そして嘉徳を訪れたことのある観光客や自然愛好家にも、この場所が嘉徳だったと分からなくなってしまいます。訪れる人も少なくなり、海洋民族の心のふるさともなくなってしまいます。

最後の "ジュラシック・ビーチ"嘉徳海岸を救おう

私達は日本中で行われてきた護岸建設から、これまで免れてきた最後の天然海岸と自由に流れる川の生態系を守りたい!巨額の予算を使う無益な護岸工事を止めたい!と、強く願っています。

奄美大島はエコツーリズムで経済発展していく可能性が高い島です。なぜなら嘉徳のような奇跡的に自然が残っている場所があるからです。美しい、唯一の場所である自然の価値を下げると、奄美の未来は失われます。

「私達は琉球諸島の中でも、奇跡的に残された美しい自然海岸を破壊する護岸建設に強く反対し、防風・防潮・砂防林として重要なアダンの砂丘を復旧させることを望みます!」

"奄美のジュラシック・ビーチ"と呼ばれる嘉徳を守る為に、署名をよろしくお願いします。

 

 

 

--------------------------------------------------------

ホームページはこちら↓

 http://katoku.org/

フェイスブックページはこちら↓

https://www.facebook.com/katokuhama/

奄美の森と川と海岸を守る会

Instagram: @katokujurassicbeach

ドキュメンタリームービー "A Line in The Sand": http://film.katoku.org

 

ENGLISH VERSION OF THE PETITION (updated August 5th 2021)

On the sub-tropical island of Amami-Oshima in southern Japan (Kagoshima prefecture), far from prying eyes, lays one of the most beautiful, remote and natural beaches left in all of Japan. This beautiful place named Katoku is so breath-taking visitors who experience its pristine river mouth, its lush tropical valley and soft sandy beach are left with a lasting impression.  

Nicknamed the "Jurassic Beach of Amami'', Katoku beach is the only place in Japan where a giant Leatherback sea turtle was sighted on a beach and photographed laying eggs (2002, IUCN red index, Western Pacific Subpopulation of Leatherbacks classified as Critically Endangered). Pristine fresh water from the lush tropical valley flows into the ocean forming the most sandy beach in all of the Ryukyu islands, enabling near extinct species of crabs, fish (Ryukyu Ayu) and shrimps to thrive. Katoku could be said to be the only place where the integrity and unity of forests, rivers, beach and ocean can be experienced and felt in Amami-Oshima. According to visitors, such places no longer exist in Japan. Indeed, Katoku is the last beach hamlet free of concrete seawalls and river-mouth embankments in all of Amami-Oshima, and probably the last of its kind in Japan.

Since Oct 2015, Katoku has been threatened by a humongous seawall project (180m long, 6.5m tall) that would see its beautiful natural dune disappear under massive amounts of concrete and quarry material, and its beach destroyed. This project would decimate/kill the thousands of hermit crabs and crabs living on the dune, remove the Pandanus trees residents and volunteers have planted from 2015 to 2021, and cover in concrete the sea turtles preferred nesting area.  Coastal engineering experts have predicted that the beach could disappear once this seawall is built. Many other pocket beaches in Amami-Oshima have already suffered this fate.

Thanks to the absence of man-made structures such as seawalls and river-mouth embankments, Katoku beach is blessed with a smooth and gentle slope all the way from its water's edge to the top of the dune. These are ideal conditions for families and kids, nature lovers and beginner surfers looking for a hazard free, safe and beautiful scenic spot.  The construction of this seawall would transform the beach into a dangerous construction site for several years. If completed, the safest sand-only beach in Amami-Oshima would lose this unique attribute, as the beach would shrink considerably and cause wave surges to hit the wall violently and make its usage unsafe for everybody.  This wouldn't be the first time a once beautiful beach loved by everyone in Amami-Oshima is transformed into a horrendous concrete enclave that no one can enjoy let alone recognise.

Today, despite

  • A pending lawsuit, 
  • 31K petition signatories, 
  • Multiple reports and requests by scholars demanding the conservation of Katoku beach and its unique biodiversity, 
  • Independent assessments by leading coastal engineering experts warning that a seawall is unnecessary and would cause massive beach erosion and put the village at risk, 
  • Half of Katoku village residents requesting that the seawall project be stopped,

  • The inscription of Katoku beach and lower Katoku river into the World Natural Heritage buffer zone 

Kagoshima prefecture has ignored the voices and concerns of the residents, people and experts alike. As of March 19th 2019, it has forged ahead with its plan to bury in concrete the last natural beach hamlet in Amami-Oshima. Construction of the seawall building blocks has started on multiple construction sites along the Katoku river, levelling rich habitats for endangered amphibians and reptiles, right in the preferred area for the Amami Black Rabbit, a national treasure and living fossil extinct outside Amami.

As of Jul 26th, 2021, the island of Amami-Oshima has been officially registered as a World Natural Heritage site by the IUCN and UNESCO World Heritage committee.  It was recognised for its exceptional biodiversity, however, only rainforest properties were nominated and registered as World Natural Heritage sites. The coastline, estuaries and the world class coral reefs were excluded from the World Natural Heritage nominated areas.

Despite the exclusion of the coastline from the World Natural Heritage site, the IUCN recognised the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the lower Katoku river and Katoku beach by inscribing them in the World Natural Heritage buffer zone. The IUCN also recognised Katoku river as the last free-flowing river in Amami-Oshima.

If there's one coastal area in Amami-Oshima that deserves to be inscribed as a World Natural Heritage site, and protected for generations to come, Katoku beach, its lush tropical valley and pristine river-mouth are first class candidates!  Katoku could also qualify as a World Heritage cultural site due to being one of the very last beach hamlet with no seawall, and the first village in Amami-Oshima where Jōmon era artefacts dating back 3000 to 6000 years ago were accidentally discovered buried in the dunes during an illegal sand dredging/extraction operation in 1973. Only one scientific excavation project was conducted since 1973, when "Katoku style pottery" became a reference for archeological research in the Ryukyu. The significance of Katoku as a Jomon era archeological site has been buried and ignored by the prefecture and the local government, and the official sign-post informing the public about the Katoku archeological sites has conveniently disappeared around 2014 and never been replaced.  While the unauthorised and wild extraction of natural resources like sand were rampant in the 60s and 70s, and archaeological sites were destroyed with no supervision, today, 50 years later in 2021, Kagoshima prefecture is allowing the same careless mistakes to be repeated again, with the full knowledge that the Katoku dune is an archeological site, right at this junction in time when Katoku beach and its dune have been inscribed in the World Natural Heritage buffer zone.

Your signature can make a difference between the obliteration of Katoku and saving this magical place. In view of the World Natural Heritage registration, international pressure is as important as ever.  The more eyes are on the Jurassic Beach of Amami and the greater the international awareness about Katoku grows, the more chance we have to preserve this unique natural treasure. Please share this petition with all your nature loving friends so we may keep Kagoshima prefecture and the Japanese government accountable to its pledge to protect Amami-Oshima's exceptional natural environment and biodiversity.

 

For more information, pictures and videos of Katoku visit:

Homepage:  https://amamiworldheritage.org

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/katokuhama

Instagram: @katokujurassicbeach

Documentary "A Line in The Sand": http://film.katoku.org

 

2022 CrowdFunding Campaign (Until Christmas day 2022)

LINK: Save Katoku 2022 Crowdfunding Campaign

 

Additional references: 

Katoku Leatherback turtle survey

Seasonal distribution of Ryukyu-ayu Plecoglossusaltivelis ryukyuensis in the Katoku River, Amami-oshima Island, southern Japan

2019 Katoku sea turtle survey by Dr. Giovanni Diego Masucci

Articles in English:

https://surfsimply.com/nature/a-line-in-the-sand/

https://www.equaltimes.org/the-fight-to-protect-one-of-japan#.X60g6VP7SHo

https://www.earthisland.org/journal/index.php/articles/entry/not-another-brick-in-the-wall-amami-oshima-japan/

Articles in Italian:

https://claudiodimanaoblog.blogspot.com/2019/08/gli-eroi-di-jurassic-beach.html

Swiss-Italian newspaper article

Articles in Japanese:

Green Power publication article

Shukan Kinyobi article

 

 

声を届けよう
現在の賛同数:36,473次の目標:50,000
声を届けよう
このオンライン署名のQRコードです。スマートフォンなどの画面上で表示させるほか、ダウンロードしてチラシやポスターなどの印刷物に使うこともできます。QRコードをダウンロードする

意思決定者(宛先)

  • 塩田康一 鹿児島県知事
  • 鎌田愛人 瀬戸内町長