WWF Japan Urges Restoration of Isahaya Bay
P.Å | 09.08.2002 11:27
WWF Japan Urges Restoration of Isahaya Bay
TOKYO, Japan, August 6, 2002 (ENS) - The Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) is poised to start construction on a crucial part of the Isahaya Bay Reclamation Project. Known as the front dike, it will contain reclaimed land located inside the sea dike.
WWF Japan is calling for a halt to the land reclamation project that has changed the nature of the Isahaya Bay tidal flat ecosystem.
Located in Kyushu Island in western Japan, the Ariake Sea was once the country's richest marine area in terms of biological productivity, says Tamotsu Sugenami of WWF Japan.
Before April 1997, the muddy tidal flat of Isahaya Bay was one of the most important ecosystems, rich in biodiversity.
But then the government closed off one third of Isahaya Bay from the sea with a huge sea dike. The Isahaya Bay Reclamation Project aimed to reclaim 3,550 hectares of tidal flat and shallow sea for agriculture.
Sugenami says the project has resulted in the extinction of numerous organisms including many endangered and endemic species. When the Sea Dike was closed, the former muddy tidal flats of Isahaya Bay "dried up and turned into a wasteland," he said.
WWF Japan has appealed for a fundamental reconsideration of the Isahaya Bay Reclamation Project and has called for restoration of the Isahaya Bay tidal flat ecosystem to save the Ariake Sea.
WWF Japan is working with two major environmental NGOs in Japan to stop the front dike construction. Together with many individuals and organizations, the group has published a paper, "An Urgent Appeal for Restoration of the Ariake Sea."
WWF believes that it is possible at this point to restore Isahaya Bay's tidal flats. Researchers have pointed out that former tidal flats can be restored by introducing seawater from the ocean. This can only be accomplished by operating the gates in the sea dike to appropriately open and close to simulate the tides.
But the front dike that is about to be constructed would close off the western part of what is now a reservoir. If it is completed, WWF Japan says, the dike will make it difficult to introduce sea water into what was once a tidal flat.
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TOKYO, Japan, August 6, 2002 (ENS) - The Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) is poised to start construction on a crucial part of the Isahaya Bay Reclamation Project. Known as the front dike, it will contain reclaimed land located inside the sea dike.
WWF Japan is calling for a halt to the land reclamation project that has changed the nature of the Isahaya Bay tidal flat ecosystem.
Located in Kyushu Island in western Japan, the Ariake Sea was once the country's richest marine area in terms of biological productivity, says Tamotsu Sugenami of WWF Japan.
Before April 1997, the muddy tidal flat of Isahaya Bay was one of the most important ecosystems, rich in biodiversity.
But then the government closed off one third of Isahaya Bay from the sea with a huge sea dike. The Isahaya Bay Reclamation Project aimed to reclaim 3,550 hectares of tidal flat and shallow sea for agriculture.
Sugenami says the project has resulted in the extinction of numerous organisms including many endangered and endemic species. When the Sea Dike was closed, the former muddy tidal flats of Isahaya Bay "dried up and turned into a wasteland," he said.
WWF Japan has appealed for a fundamental reconsideration of the Isahaya Bay Reclamation Project and has called for restoration of the Isahaya Bay tidal flat ecosystem to save the Ariake Sea.
WWF Japan is working with two major environmental NGOs in Japan to stop the front dike construction. Together with many individuals and organizations, the group has published a paper, "An Urgent Appeal for Restoration of the Ariake Sea."
WWF believes that it is possible at this point to restore Isahaya Bay's tidal flats. Researchers have pointed out that former tidal flats can be restored by introducing seawater from the ocean. This can only be accomplished by operating the gates in the sea dike to appropriately open and close to simulate the tides.
But the front dike that is about to be constructed would close off the western part of what is now a reservoir. If it is completed, WWF Japan says, the dike will make it difficult to introduce sea water into what was once a tidal flat.
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P.Å