Hi Tweets,

>From UKbirdnet, a request for assistance:

M

>Folks:
>
>I've received a request from the Tokyo Office of Japan Wetlands Action
>Network seeking URGENT help in their continuing strugggle to rescue the
>Fujimae Tidal Flat from destruction. The value of these mudflats to
>migratory birds is self-evident but anyone who feels they want to check out
>the exact nature of this area could drop a line to:
>
>KASHIWAGI Minoru
>Tokyo Office,Japan Wetlands Action Network
>Address: 3-18-1 #105, Higashi-Toyoda, Hino-shi, Tokyo 191, JAPAN
>Tel/Fax: 042-583-6365
>E-mail: TAE04312 at niftyserve.or.jp
>
>However, time is running out. The Deliberative Committee, which will decide
>the final future of the mudflats, meets on 28 January (that's two days hence
>as I type this). It is feared that the decision is already a forgone
>conclusion - not good news for the mudflats or the shorebirds that use the
>area. A last hope is immediate action of all who support the Japan Wetlands
>Action Network by innudating :
>
>Mayor Takehisa Matsubara,
>Mayor of Nagoya City
>
>with faxes (Fax: +81-52-972-4105) and/or
>
>The Honorable Hiroshi Ohki,
>Director General of the Environment Agency of Japan
>
>with either faxes or emails (Fax: +81-3-3508-9573; E-mail: web at eanet.go.jp).
>
>Below I've attached a copy of the last communication I received from Japan:
>
>FUJIMAE TIDAL FLAT'S FUTURE TO BE DECIDED JAN. 28TH
> Committee About to Give "Go" Sign - Isahaya Project Still Continues
>
>Another breeding season for shorebirds approaches, but the prospect is not
>very bright for birds using the East Asia/Australasia Flyway.
>
>We are very grateful for the support and action you have taken in the past
>to save tidal flats in Japan, especially with respect to the closing off of
>Isahaya Bay from the sea in April last year. All your letters and faxes
>moved our government: Though it still insists on continuing the destructive
>Isahaya Bay Land Reclamation project, change has been initiated in public
>works project policy. The government decided to study a system of review for
>public works projects in order to reduce the budget.
>
>At this time, Fujimae Tidal Flat is at stake. As many of you know, Fujimae
>Tidal Flat in Ise Bay is one of the largest shorebird staging sites in Japan
>with more than 12,000 birds counted in spring. Almost all tidal flats in Ise
>Bay were reclaimed, so the bird have nowhere else to go. The project in
>question, first planned in 1984, will use Fujimae Tidal flat as a final
>dumping ground for 1,100 tons of garbage a day from Nagoya City. The site
>will only last for ten years before it is full. As with other projects in
>Japan, Nagoya City was ready to start construction after an environmental
>impact assessment which only satisfies legal requirements to collect
>documents and functions as a mere formality. Scientific rigor is low,
>assessments are carried out at the last stage of the planning process, and
>none has ever resulted in a significant change to a project.
>
>The letters and appeal that many of you kindly sent to the Mayor of Nagoya
>were exceedingly effective. The city government carried out an additional
>survey in autumn 1997. Apparently, Nagoya City came to this decision taking
>into account many of your opinions and letters from all over the world, some
>of which addressed scientific issues.
>
>However, the process is again being forced as follows. The official
>Deliberative Committee convened to review the environmental impact
>assessment held a meeting on 8 January 1998 and attempted to finish its work
>with a decision of "generally appropriate," that is, to go ahead with the
>project based on the insufficient and twisted EIA. However, bird specialist
>members on the committee insisted strongly that surveys should be continued
>through the coming spring migration season. It was said that the member
>expressed his/her strong insistence by saying he will quit the committee if
>the survey will be stopped. A disastrous decision was avoided that day.
>
>The next committee meeting is on January 28th. The prospects are very dark.
>It is very likely that the committee will release a "go" decision on the
>28th, with pressure being brought to bear to the effect that the present
>dumping site is full.
>
>Please send an emergency fax or e-mail before 28th January (Japan time) to
>the Mayor of Nagoya City asking to delay the decision until the results of
>an additional survey of shorebirds during the coming spring migration season
>have been published. We would also appreciate it if you would encourage the
>Director-General of the Environment Agency to take action to protect one of
>the important shorebird sites in Japan, as identified in the "Inventory of
>Shorebird Sites in Japan" released by the Agency in September 1997.
>
>All help would be gratefully received. Damage to these mudflats could
>rebound on our own birds.
>
>Julian Bielewicz
>Past President, QOSI
>
>
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