ジュゴンが勝った

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20080126a4.html
U.S. JUDGE EXTENDS ACT'S PROTECTIONS
New base must consider effects on dugong
Compiled from AP, Kyodo
SAN FRANCISCO — A U.S. federal judge ordered the Defense Department to consider the impact of a proposed base in Okinawa on the dugong, an endangered marine mammal.

A dugong is seen in Okinawa waters in this file photo. The endangered marine mammal is similar to the docile manatee. CHURAUMI AQUARIUM PHOTO / KYODO

U.S. District Judge Marilyn Hall Patel ruled Thursday that the U.S. military violated federal law when it failed to evaluate the air station's potential effects on the Okinawa dugong, a 455-kg mammal related to the manatee and the extinct Steller's sea cow.

The judge sided with American and Japanese environmentalists who argued plans to relocate the Futenma Air Station to a site off the northeast coast of Okinawa would threaten the dwindling number of dugong that live in the seaweed beds around the island.

"It's good news for the people in Japan who are looking to protect the dugong," said Sarah Burt, an attorney with Earthjustice who represented the plaintiffs. "It won't stop the project completely, but it will hopefully make the project less harmful to the dugong."

The U.S. Department of Justice, which represented the Defense Department, was reviewing the decision and had not decided whether to appeal, DOJ spokesman Andrew Ames said.

The plaintiffs had sued in federal court in San Francisco, claiming the Pentagon approved construction plans without considering the impact on the dugong in violation of the National Historic Preservation Act. That law requires federal agencies to consider how their actions impact culturally protected properties, including those in other countries.

Government lawyers had argued, among other things, that the law did not apply in this case and that the dugong is an animal, not a property.

In Tokyo, Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura said the Japan-U.S. agreement to build the airfield aims to minimize the impact on the natural environment, including dugongs, corals and marine forests. He also said Tokyo is about to carry out an environmental impact assessment of the construction plan.

The Okinawa dugong is listed as a "natural monument" on the Japanese Register of Cultural Properties and considered "critically endangered" by the Environment Ministry.

Thursday's decision marks the first time the National Historic Preservation Act has been applied overseas, Patel said.

The judge gave the Defense Department 90 days to submit documents describing its plan to assess the project's effects on the dugong and develop ways to lessen its impact.

The new base, which is scheduled to be completed in 2014, is part of a broader arrangement between Japan and the United States that would lead to a reduced military presence on Okinawa.

Many Okinawa residents and environmentalists oppose the planned relocation, which involves using landfill they say would destroy fragile dugong habitat in Henoko Bay.