Mikura Island, the southernmost of the Izu Islands south of Tokyo, which are administered by the metropolitan government, is a natural-history treasure house of global value.
Though it is best-known for its community of 200-odd bottlenose dolphins, the island's terrestrial flora and fauna is also outstanding -- yet it, too, receives only minimal attention from either the Tokyo or national governments.
As I mentioned last week, especially noteworthy and valuable are Mikura Island's large breeding population of the pelagic streaked shearwater (omizunagidori); its three designated natural national monument bird species (the Izu Island thrush, Ijima's willow warbler and the Japanese wood pigeon); two varieties of indigenous sasa bamboo; Japan's largest live oak, with a circumference of 13.79 meters; and many other plants and birds with unique adaptations.
With the growing trend toward eco-tourism -- and especially the lure of being able to swim with dolphins -- for the past 6-7 years Mikura Island has been under immense environmental pressures brought on by the thousands of tourists going there.
Despite the dolphins' acclimation to human swimmers, "overuse" is a major problem. Prior to the volcanic eruption in 2000 on its northern neighbor, Miyake Island (which continues even now), between 7,000-10,000 dolphin-swim enthusiasts were visiting Mikura Island annually on Miyake Island fishing boats. In addition, numerous tourists swam with the dolphins while utilizing the island's own lodgings and boats. Since the evacuation of Miyake Island, the daily invasions of tourists from there has ceased, but Mikura Island's lodging facilities have increased and the problem of overuse has still not been adequately addressed.
"Eco-tourism" is a term still not well understood in Japan, often being confused with a specific type of "mass tourism." However, true eco-tourism is much more than simply the business of tourists checking out an area's natural attractions. In fact, profit-motivated tourism based on interactions with wildlife invariably leads to overuse and damage to the wildlife that forms the foundation of the tourism.
Hence there is a need to place limits on the number of tourists permitted to take part in eco-tour programs at one time. In addition, there is also a need for enforceable rules, backed by legal penalties. So far, this has not happened at Mikura Island, although most islanders would welcome it.
In fact the Mikura Island Dolphin Society, backed by the island's Fisherman's Cooperative Association, has established a good set of rules to protect the dolphins (from being touched, for example) and prevent human injury. However, since the rules are not legally enforceable, offenders cannot be punished. With the growth of eco-tourism, it is high time for them to be enshrined in law -- and surely the metropolitan government is the appropriate body to enact such ordinances.
However, to be truly successful, eco-tourism must be managed and operated by local people. In this case the exclusive responsibility lies with the island's government -- backed by Tokyo-enacted ordinances providing for appropriate punishment for offenders.
At present, even where ordinances exist (such as those related to fishing rights), the penalties are clearly too lenient. For example, boats from distant ports currently visit Mikura Island's waters every weekend, carrying sports fishers who use illegal methods to attract and hopefully catch giant amberjack and yellowtail from the deep waters offshore. Not infrequently, the license numbers of such boats are recognized and reported -- but if the offenders are reprimanded at all, the fines are so minimal that they can still make considerable profit.
Clearly, we are long overdue eco-tourism rules with teeth, and I would propose the establishment of an "exclusive Mikura Island eco-tour zone," taking in 3 km of ocean surrounding the island, within which only Mikura Island-registered boats are permitted to engage in eco-tour activities, including sport fishing and dolphin watching.
Meanwhile, it's important to remember that eco-tour problems are not limited to the marine environment. A recent boom in construction on Mikura Island has, for example, resulted in an excess of mountain roads, followed by a noticeable decline in valuable vegetation, including taniwatari ferns and ebine orchids, as tourists and a few greedy islanders act in their own self-interest with no thought for sustainability.
To overcome such problems, tourists wishing to observe the island's flora and fauna, and dolphin-watchers and sports fishermen should be required to be accompanied by a registered Mikura Island-resident guide. If and when such locally managed and operated eco-tourism is realized, residents should be adequately trained to both understand the value and vulnerability of their environment and to accurately inform and/or guide eco-tourists.
In the meantime, I urge all visitors to Mikura Island to recognize it as the vulnerable natural treasure it is, and to act accordingly.