Japanese conservation groups will recommend a review of U.S. military base construction in Okinawa with respect to wildlife preservation at a general meeting of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources scheduled for early October, group members said.
Six conservation groups, including the World Wide Fund for Nature Japan and the Nature Conservation Society of Japan, will make the recommendation during the Oct. 4-11 IUCN meeting in a bid to raise international awareness of the situation on Okinawa.
According to the groups, the planned construction of a joint-use airport off the Henoko district of Nago, northern Okinawa, will destroy coral reefs and endanger wildlife in the area. The sea near the coast is the only local habitat of the dugong, a sea mammal rare to Asia.
The groups are asking that the Japanese government carry out research on dugongs and draw up plans to protect them.