INFORMATION FROM

JAWAN

FUJIMAE TIDAL FLAT ACTION ALERT

Dear Friend of Wetlands and Migratory Shorebirds,

Many thanks for your letters to the mayor of Nagoya city which were coveredby major national newspapers. The Save Fujimae Association greatlyappreciates your support towards saving Fujimae, an internationallyimportant stopover site on the Asia-Australasia Flyway. However, to finallycancel the garbage dump project, we need your support once again.

CRUCIAL WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY NOW

On July 24, 1996, Nagoya city finally opened for public inspection its 1,000page draft Environmental Impact Assessment for the garbage dump project.Predictably, it concludes that "the impact of the project on Fujimae tidalflat will be insignificant.' In fact, the best feeding area for shorebirdswill be landfilled with city garbage.We now have a crucial opportunity to@state our opinions in the context of formal Environmental Impact Assessmentprocedures.

FLAWED CONCLUSIONS, MANIPULATED RESEARCH

The planned landfill will be at the shoreline. The EIS concludes that its usage rate by all wild bird species is only 1.3%, and that birds take 2% orless of their food there. Thus, it predicts that the birds can survive in@adjacent areas, meaning an insignificant impact.
However, SFA's 1992 surveys clearly showed that Dunlin and Bar-Tailed Godwit took 70% and 85% respectively of their food in the project area. And, according to the National Shorebird Count in Japan conducted by the Japan Wetlands Action Network in spring 1996, Fujimae supports Japan's largest number of wading birds, especially Dunlin .

The draft EIA says that because aquatic phytoplankton and zooplankton move constantly with the flow of water, habitat reduction will be insignificant. Regarding benthos, fish & their eggs, the draft EIS concludes that impacts of the project will be insignificant because 225 hectares of tidal flat will be left in the vicinity of the project area. However, no adjacent tidal flat matches Fujimae's quality as habitat. Some areas are in the middle of the river, which is periodically dredged, or are occupied by reedbeds. Most importantly, Fujimae and its adjacent area are the last habitat for shorebirds and aquatic creatures within the Ise Bay.
95% OF ISE BAY'S ORIGINAL TIDAL FLATS HAVE ALREADY BEEN CONVERTED INTO PORT AND INDUSTRIAL COMPLEXES.

An added 180m wide strip surrounding the 46.5 hectare project area will be used for construction and transportation, and for a barrier to stop pollutant leakage. The result will be that all of Fujimae Tidal Flat will be rendered virtually useless for the shorebirds and aquatic creatures.

Nagoya city managed to come to these conclusions by manipulating the research. For example, one-day surveys were performed on literally one day in the off season for migratory birds. The particular habits of each species were ignored, tidal levels were ignored, impacts of the project on the ecosystem as a whole were ignored, etc.

FUJIMAE EIS BAD EXAMPLE OF ABOUT-TO-BE DISCARDED SYSTEM

This is a typical Japanese EIA. Present EIA in Japan functions solely to give the developer the go-ahead, having merely fulfilled formal procedural requirements. These EIA procedures have been heavily criticized, and are being re-examined by the national government. A new EIA law which will incorporate international standards is in the process of being drawn up.

Nagoya City chose to go ahead with the old rules, which would predictably allow the development despite obvious impacts on the wetland. A full translation of the 1,000 page report is impossible, but a detailed outline of the relevant problems is available - please let us know if you'd like to see a copy. If you don't have time to study the outline to form your opinion, please send a simple letter. You can write anything you like, but we recommend that you mention:

  1. the inadequacy of present EIA has been recognized by the Japanese government, so Nagoya City should wait and do the EIA under the new law,
  2. the remnant nature of the area in question merits special consideration
  3. shorebirds in the Asia-Australasia Flyway are suffering acute loss of stopover sites, and every possible habitat should be scrupulously protected.
Please send your comments to:
Department of Environmental Assessment
Nagoya City Hall
3-1-1 Sannomaru Naka Nagoya, 460-08 Japan
Fax: 81-52-972-4105

And please send a copy of your comments to:
Atsuo Tsuji
Save Fujimae Association
Address: Dept. of Math. Meijo University
1-501 Shiogamaguchi Tenpaku Nagoya, 468 JAPAN
Fax: 81-52-832-1169 A.Tsuji
E-mail: atuo@meijo-u.ac.jp

If you feel it's too inconvenience to send two copies, please send your opinion to SFA by easiest way for you, via Mail, Fax, or E-mail.
Save Fujimae Association will present your opinion paper to the authorities together with others collected from around Japan and the world.

OFFICIAL DEADLINE SEPTEMBER 9TH!
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!!

Atsuo Tsuji
Representative

p.s. Please open attached files if you interest on national shore bird count data in Sprin 1996 and further information.

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