posted by
janrinok
on Thursday September 25 2014, @12:54PM
from the or-the-dugongs-seal-the-fate-of-the-military-base dept.
from the or-the-dugongs-seal-the-fate-of-the-military-base dept.
From Science:
The Okinawa dugong's days could be numbered. At most 10 of the marine mammals remain in Japan's southernmost prefecture, according to the Nature Conservation Society of Japan (NACS-J). Now, land reclamation needed for a new U.S. Marine Corps air base threatens two of the region's few remaining major beds of seagrass, which dugong depend on, says NACS-J, which has petitioned U.S. ambassador to Japan Caroline Kennedy for permission to conduct a survey.
[...] Japan's environment ministry considers the Okinawa dugong, the northernmost population of the species, critically endangered.
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New Military Base Could Seal Fate of Okinawa Dugong
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(Score: 2) by mtrycz on Thursday September 25 2014, @01:05PM
Who's coming up with the titles?
In capitalist America, ads view YOU!
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Zinho on Thursday September 25 2014, @01:55PM
I'm suspicious of the motives of the NACS-J here. If the population is down to 10 prior to the U.S. asking for a military base then the Japanese activities in the area are to blame for the current state of the dugong. If they're serious about protecting the species then there wouldn't be a "survey" to see whether the new construction is acceptable - the answer would just be "no". The issue is important enough to inconvenience the gaijin jarheads, but not important enough to regulate Japanese activities in the area? If so, the solution is going to be "wait for the dugong to die before starting construction". This seems like a way to get concessions from the U.S. over other issues.
I should stop being paranoid, though. The more likely situation is that the NACS-J has little actual power compared to the military, and that the Status of Forces Agreement in place gives the U.S. the right to expand the base as they need w/o permission (hence the appeal to the ambassador). Given the reaction U.S. citizens have to the EPA and its restrictions on use of sensitive habitats it's easy to imagine how the NCAS-J might be a similarly unfunded and unpopular organization in Japan.
"Space Exploration is not endless circles in low earth orbit." -Buzz Aldrin
(Score: 2) by tibman on Thursday September 25 2014, @02:16PM
Also, didn't the Japanese pick this location for the new US Base? The current base occupies some (now) very valuable land that they want to free up for civilian use.
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(Score: 3, Interesting) by WillAdams on Thursday September 25 2014, @02:24PM
That's pretty much it.
Here in the U.S. the military is very careful of protected / endangered species, w/ a fair number of them inhabiting land on military bases --- exercises in such areas are always conducted so as to consider the species which must be accorded protection.
(Score: 2) by frojack on Thursday September 25 2014, @08:10PM
Here in the U.S. the military is very careful of protected / endangered species
Was going to post exactly that.
The military wouldn't even attempt an expansion that would threaten the last extant members of any endangered species.
Its NOT odd that the Japanese regulators would allow this (they have hunted this animal to the edge of extinction everywhere in Japan, and Japan has shown little interest of curtailing the harvest of just about any species that is at risk if it means forgoing some historical culinary dish).
But its pretty odd that the US Military would undertake this project.
This isn't the only place these things live as the first link in the story points out. They endangered everywhere. If you manage to seed the grass it lives on, chances are it can be coaxed to move. But Japan is not likely to give up any traditional use area for a few animals.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by dpp on Thursday September 25 2014, @11:58PM
Not sure if by "here in the U.S." you mean just physically in the U.S. the military is very careful, or "in general" they are.
The U.S. military has a bad rep as far as things going on in the oceans. This includes endangered/protected animals.
Specifically, the use of not just regular high-powered, but new testing they've been doing including weaponized:
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/does-military-sonar-kill/ [scientificamerican.com]
http://www.nature.com/scitable/blog/green-screen/loud_and_clear_marine_mammals [nature.com]
There are a great many endangered and protected critters in the oceans that take a heavy toll due to the U.S. military.
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Thursday September 25 2014, @05:28PM
> The current base occupies some (now) very valuable land that they want to free up for civilian use.
That's quite of an understatement for all the nuisances (jets and unruly inhabitants) and riots that the US base has been causing...
(Score: 2) by tibman on Thursday September 25 2014, @05:35PM
Marines can certainly be a nuisance, friend or foe, lol.
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(Score: 2) by aristarchus on Thursday September 25 2014, @06:35PM
Given the reaction U.S. citizens have to the EPA and its restrictions on use of sensitive habitats it's easy to imagine how the NCAS-J might be a similarly unfunded and unpopular organization in Japan.
What could possibly make you think that the typically boneheaded attitude of some Americans would be replicated anywhere else in the world? Just curious.
(Score: 4, Informative) by Zinho on Thursday September 25 2014, @08:08PM
Given the reaction U.S. citizens have to the EPA and its restrictions on use of sensitive habitats it's easy to imagine how the NCAS-J might be a similarly unfunded and unpopular organization in Japan.
What could possibly make you think that the typically boneheaded attitude of some Americans would be replicated anywhere else in the world? Just curious.
Well, in the case, logic.
Proposition: NCAS-J is a competent, influential, and respected organization, dedicated to conservation of sea life.
Observations:
* There are only ~ 10 cute manatee-like dugongs left.
* The NCAS-J petitioned the U.S. Ambassador rather than authoritatively cancelling the planned construction.
Conclusion: Contradiction, proposition is rejected.
Possible explanations:
* NCAS-J is not competent to perform its function (underfunded, or poorly administered).
* NCAS-J is not influential enough to prevent the habitat disruption on its own authority.
* Japanese attitudes towards wildlife conservation are lacking in general, so the NCAS-J is not respected (plausible cause for previous explanations).
* [conspiracy theory] NCAS-J is actively evil, and is in fact willing to let the dugongs go extinct provided that some concessions are wrung out of the Americans first. It would therefore not truly be a conservation group, just a front for other interests.
Note that while any one of these being true would be sufficient to explain the facts from this article, they are broadly compatible with each other; two or more may be the case, compounding the fail.
Further evidence that the Japanese as a culture have a shallow concern for wildlife conservation include the continued practices of shark finning [wikipedia.org] and whale hunting [wikipedia.org] by Japanese fishermen. Here's a relevant quote on the topic [theguardian.com] from Mayumi Takeda, co-founder of PangeaSeed (a shark conservation group in Tokyo), as reported in the Guardian:
Several countries, including the US, have taken steps to conserve shark populations, but [Takeda] holds out little hope that Japan will follow suit. "Many Japanese turn a blind eye to the problem and ocean conservation seems to be overlooked here," she says.
When it's easy to find sources reporting that Japanese don't care about conserving ocean wildlife, and it's easy to see that the efforts of the NCAS-J have thus far been unsuccessful, I think it's reasonable to speculate that not only is the Japanese attitude as boneheaded as the American one, but that they may actually take it to the next level entirely. It's not that far of a leap.
"Space Exploration is not endless circles in low earth orbit." -Buzz Aldrin
(Score: 2) by aristarchus on Friday September 26 2014, @12:02AM
Wow, actual reasoning and evidence in a response! I am rather stunned. Outside the logic, however, the speculation is less reliable. Japanese are boneheaded about environmental agencies for very different reasons than your typical right-wing American. But your point is taken. Thanks.