Threat to Unique Terrestrial and Marine Environments and Biota in a Japanese National Park

Abstract

Miyake-jima, one of the Izu Islands of southern Japan and a part of the Fuji–Hakone–Izu National Park, has been designated by the governments of Japan and the United States of America as the site for a proposed military airport. Construction of the proposed facility would destroy lands especially designated, by the Environmental Agency of Japan and the Japan Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries, for special protection. Relocation of farmland and housing from the proposed site would result in destruction of valuable National Park land on other parts of the island.