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Local Conservation Groups at Miyake Island IBA, Tokyo, Japan

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Local Conservation Groups at Miyake Island IBA, Tokyo, Japan Co-Existing in Harmony with Nature: Local Conservation Groups at Miyake Island IBA, Tokyo, Japan By Mithi Laya S. Gonzales, BirdLife Asia Intern and Hidenori Shinoke, WBSJ Forest Ranger The forest of Miyake Island (Photo courtesy of WBSJ) Contents Page 1. Introduction 1 2. The Wild Bird Society of Japan (WBSJ) – the BirdLife International 1 Partner 3. Miyake Island and it’s biodiversity 2 4. WBSJ’s presence on Miyake Island: the Miyake Island Nature Center or Akakokko-kan 5. Working with LCGs & other local stakeholders on Miyake island 3 5.1 Miyake Mura 5 5.2 Tomonokai & Kyururu 6 5.3 Fisherman 8 5.4 Miyakejima Tourist Association 9 6. Current Governance of Miyake Island vs. Principles of Good 9 Governance References 13 1. Introduction The BirdLife International partner in Japan is the Wild Bird Society of Japan (WBSJ). A three-day visit from August 17 to 19, 2011 was conducted to gather information about the experience of WBSJ in working with their Local Conservation Groups (LCGs) and other local stakeholders in Miyake Island - an Important Biodiversity Area (IBA) rich not only in biodiversity, volcanic formations, and scenic spots but also culturally diverse. All the key representatives from WBSJ, local government, LCGs, tourist associations and fishermen were interviewed. These people, native and non- natives of the island, showed their concern and love for Miyake by being actively involved either in their individual capacities or within the scope of the organizations they belong to. ‘Co-existing in harmony with nature’ best describes how local people aim to work together for the conservation of Miyake Island Bird Sanctuary. This report describes how these organisations and individuals work together to achieve this shared objective. 2. The Wild Bird Society of Japan (WBSJ) – the BirdLife International Partner In 1934, a group consisting of poets, writers, novelists and ornithologists headed by a priest and poet, Godo Nakanishi, organized a bird watching activity and named their group the Wild Bird Society of Japan (WBSJ). Bird watching at that time was popular as a cultural event. After World War II, local groups, known as “Yacho ” meaning wild bird, became active in bird watching and decided to use the name WBSJ. These local groups decided to gather all their activities and form as one organization in 1947. Now, WBSJ has over 45,000 members and 90 chapters throughout Japan. Its purpose is to protect birds and their habitat, to encourage more people to enjoy bird watching, and to carry out research concerning the status and habitat of birds (WBSJ, 2010). The organization has four divisions: 1) Conservation; 2) Sanctuaries; 3) Publication, Education, Bird watching and Membership; and 4) Management/Administration. WBSJ’s Conservation and Sanctuaries Divisions are in charge of IBA and sanctuary management. The programs and projects of the Conservation Division include Habitat Conservation and Preventing Species Extinction. The Sanctuary Division, on the other hand, manages 10 sanctuaries in Japan. Eight of these sanctuaries are independently managed by WBSJ while two sanctuaries, Tsurui Village and Utonai Lake, are funded by local governments. These sanctuaries are between 7.5 to 511 hectares in size. Mr. Tomioka Tatsuyuki, Sanctuary Management Division In these sanctuaries, WBSJ established Chief (left) and Mr. Seiji Hayama, Conservation Division Manager (right) nature centers and assigned rangers to promote conservation and conduct 1 | P a g e environmental education activities. The division has a total of 44 rangers with 3 to 4 rangers assigned per sanctuary. The selection of the 10 sanctuaries was based on the IBA characterization, presence of bird species and migratory birds. Sanctuaries were established in the 1980s. WBSJ pioneered sanctuary establishment as an approach to conservation in Japan. The Ministry of Environment and local governments adopted this approach. Today, Japan has around 600 sanctuaries and similar facilities being managed by the local governments and other non-government organizations. WBSJ has both international and local partners in doing their conservation work. At the international level, WBSJ works with BirdLife International Asia Division for the marine IBAs and IBA projects and with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) for bird species related research. Local governments, private corporations and Local Conservation Groups are WBSJ’s partners at the local level. The Local Conservation Groups are composed of volunteers in the sanctuaries that are mostly individual researchers. Of the total 167 IBAs of Japan, 147 IBAs or 88 percent have LCGs. These LCGs or volunteers work independently within the IBAs and sanctuaries and are not networked locally. They receive information from WBSJ through the website on trainings and seminars on conservation. 3. Miyake Island and it’s biodiversity Japan has 167 IBAs with a total area of 40,257 square kilometers, which is 11% of the total land area of Japan. Sixty-one of these IBAs support globally threatened species, 27 have restricted-range species, 41 have biome-restricted species and 115 qualify as IBAs because they hold large congregations of water birds, seabirds or migratory birds of prey. Seventy-one of the IBAs are protected while 63 are partially protected and 33 are unprotected (BirdLife International, 2004). One of the outstanding forest IBAs in Japan is Miyakejima Island (IBA 79) in the Izu Islands Endemic Birds Area (EBA). It is located 180 kilometers south southwest of Tokyo. It is the third largest island of the Izu Islands covering an area of 5,550 hectares. It is a volcanic island with the Mt. Oyama volcano located in the middle of the island which erupted in 2000. It has both coastline and lowland forest habitats. From the shore to 450 meters above sea level, there are evergreen broadleaf forests which mainly consist of Japanese Chinquapin Castanopsis cuspidata , Machilus Machilus thunbergii and Camellia Camellia japonica , as well as secondary forests which consist of Japanese Alder Alnus japonica and Oshima Cherry Prunus speciosa (WBSJ, 2010). It is the habitat of globally threatened species and restricted-range bird species, which are Japanese Murrelet Synthliboramphus wumizusume , Izu Islands Thrush Turdus celaenops , Pleske’s Grasshopper-warbler Locustella pleskei , and Ijima’s Leaf-warbler Phylloscopus ijimae. The population of Japanese Murrelet Synthliboramphus wumizusume is a globally important congregation of sea birds (BirdLife, 2004). Miyake Island is a protected area being part of the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park. Surrounding areas of Tairo-ike pond in the south of the island are designated as a bird park by the local government. Despite these designations, the island’s biodiversity is being threatened by human activities such as construction of dikes and dams and introduced exotic plant and animal species. The Tokyo government, 2 | P a g e to prevent the occurrence of landslides, constructed dikes and check dams within the forests of Miyake. These engineering works according to the study conducted by Takashi Kamijo and Keiko Hashiba in 2003, will likely have an impact on the indigenous flora and fauna in Miyake island. 4. WBSJ’s presence on Miyake Island: the Miyake Island Nature Center or Akakokko-kan Akakokko-kan is a nature center built by Miyake Island Village, the local government, in 1993. The purpose of the Akakokko-kan, according to the center’s chief ranger from WBSJ Mr. Hidenori Shinoki, is to conduct environmental education to residents, nature conservation and wise use of conservation for the promotion of ecotourism. This was largely influenced by Dr. Jack Moyer. Dr. Moyer, an American marine biologist, was instrumental in raising the awareness of the local people of Miyake to conserve the island. He first came to the island as a U.S. serviceman in 1952 Akakkoko -kan Sign Board because he heard about the US practice bombings in Onoharajima where the rare seabird, the Japanese Murrelet Synthliboramphus wumizusume breeds. The bombing was stopped when he wrote a letter to an associate of President Truman to stop the bombing to save the Japanese Murrelet. With the local government as partner, WBSJ through the Akakokko-kan continued what Dr. Moyer started. The local government entrusted the operation of Akakokko-kan to WBSJ with environmental education and ecotourism promotion as the main activities handled by two rangers. The center takes the lead in conserving Miyake Island. It serves as the coordinator of the local government, LCGs and local people in sharing information about biodiversity and addressing matters that affect the nature of the island e.g. striking a balance between development and Akakokko -kan's awareness raising materials and staff conservation. Aside from Akakokko-kan, WBSJ has a separate office in Miyake Island to handle conservation research on bird species such as the Japanese Murrelet. A memorandum of agreement is signed every year between WBSJ and local government for the management of the Akakkoko-kan. This is done after a presentation by WBSJ on the accomplishments of the center. 3 | P a g e The objectives of Akakokko-kan are the conservation of the natural environment and development of ecotourism in the island. To attain these objectives, the nature center has 4 major activities: 1. Nature Conservation Projects – Akakokko-kan implements three major projects which are discussed in detail below: a. Izu Thrush or Akakokko Project – The bird was declared as a natural monument by the national government in 1975. The purpose of the project is to determine the population of the bird and to conduct training of researchers from Tomonokai, one of WBSJ’s LCGs in Miyake. The research is conducted once a year for 2 days during the breeding season. WBSJ trains the researchers in early spring as needed. The research started in 2008. Results of the research in 2009 suggested that the estimated total population of Akakokko was 4,400 individuals.
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