Message to BIE 2022

Message to BIE Oct 03,2022　　→French（PDF）

Dear Mr. Dimitri S. Kerkentzes, Secretary General of the BIE,

Subject: Request for Biodiversity Conservation at Yumeshima Expo 2025 Construction Site

Yumeshima, which is scheduled to host the 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo, has developed various ecosystems such as tidal flats, gravel areas, and grasslands during the land reclamation process, and has become a habitat for many birds, including endangered species. (Please find the details and references below).

However, the construction of the Expo facilities is destroying that natural environment.    We request that the International Exposition Secretariat give the following guidance to the Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition.

  ***For the underlying data and papers,please refer to the reference at the bottom .

1. When constructing the Expo facilities, the biodiversity that has been created so far should be protected.

2. Even during the Expo period, nature such as wetlands, gravel areas, and grasslands (reed fields) should be preserved, and human influences should be minimized.

3. If the livelihoods of inhabiting or residing organisms are stressed, viable alternative functional sites should be secured.

4. The site after the Expo should be restored as a legacy of the Expo, restoring the natural environment such as wetlands, and regenerating it into a paradise for various creatures, including wild birds that migrate long distances.

5. We should hold the Expo without losing sight of the direction of "biodiversity, decarbonization, 30 by 30" that the world is aiming for, and make the Expo a guideline for future urban planning.

We also sent a letter to BIE on 15 Sep, 2021 regarding this matter.
https://www.nature.or.jp/action/yumeshimamirai/to-bie.html

Japan is a volcanic country with frequent earthquakes. There is a high possibility of a Nankai Trough earthquake occurring, and once an earthquake occurs, tsunami damage is inevitable. In addition, Japan is hit by huge typhoons every year. Four years ago, a typhoon washed away a tanker in Osaka Bay, destroyed a bridge pier at Kansai Airport, and caused damage to the extent that containers were blown away in Yumeshima. In addition, Yumeshima has soft ground characteristic of reclaimed land, and access to the inland is also fragile. The human risk in a sudden disaster is also great.

We would like the International Expo Secretariat to guide the Japanese side in reconsidering the planned area, including the change of the venue from Yumeshima to another place in Osaka.

Our organization believes that conservation of the natural environment of Yumeshima is not only for the sake of wild creatures (preservation, "protecting nature for the sake of nature"), but also for us humans to build a better future. We are active in the belief that nature should be conserved ("protecting nature for human beings, too").

The basis for our claims and the main papers are presented below for reference. All of this can be found on our official website. If you have any other questions, please contact us.
https://www.nature.or.jp/action/yumeshimamirai/main2022.html

Sincerely yours,
　　　Natsuhara Yoshihiro

　　　Office: Public Interest Incorporated Association,
　　　Nature Conservation Society of Osaka
　　　Heim Tenjinbashi 202, 1-9-13 Tenjinbashi, Kita-ku, Osaka 530-0041 Japan
　　　E-mail：office@nature.or.jp 

Reference

All of this can be found on our official website.
https://www.nature.or.jp/action/yumeshimamirai/main2022.html

１．       Biodiversity of Yumeshima, the planned site for the Expo

・"World Exposition 2025: Draft Environmental Impact Statement from Citizen's Perspective (Biodiversity)[Summary]

https://www.nature.or.jp/assets/files/ACTION/yumeshima/Summary_of_draft_EIS_14Sep2021.pdf

・PR flyer with photos of living creatures

https://www.nature.or.jp/assets/files/ACTION/yumeshima/YumeshimaPhotoE.pdf

 ・Yumeshima's high ability to regenerate nature

https://www.nature.or.jp/assets/files/ACTION/yumeshima/20220928Yum_Transition.pdf

 

２．       Approaches to the administration so far
https://www.nature.or.jp/action/yumeshimamirai/e_administration.html

・Requests regarding conservation of the natural environment of Yumeshima　Dec 28,2021

https://www.nature.or.jp/assets/files/ACTION/yumeshima/20211228_yume_E.pdf

 ・Request regarding the implementation of the mayor's opinion on the environmental impact assessment draft for the 2025 Japan World Exposition （Mar 11,2022）

https://www.nature.or.jp/assets/files/ACTION/yumeshima/20220311Mayor_E.pdf

 

３．       Cooperation with other organizations and citizens.

 ・Joint name of WWF Japan, Nature Conservation Society of Japan and Wild Bird Society of Japan「Conservation and Restoration of Yumeshima's Biodiversity Called for the Construction of the 2025 Japan World Exposition」（Mar 16, 2022）

https://www.nature.or.jp/assets/files/ACTION/yumeshima/20220316_NGO3_E.pdf

 ・Proposal by citizen workshop (August 2019)

https://www.nature.or.jp/assets/files/ACTION/yumeshima/20190831Suggestion_EIA_EXPO.pdf

 ・　Signature activity to stop construction to protect little terns

https://www.change.org/koajisashiHELP　　（This site is only Japanese）

 ・Collecting signatures for the request to "Leave the reed fields and wetlands of Yumeshima, which has become a paradise for living things, for the SDGs Expo."

https://www.nature.or.jp/action/yumeshimamirai/2021changeorg_2kue.html

 
４．       Our opinion

・Roadmap to natural restoration that our organization considers

https://www.nature.or.jp/assets/files/ACTION/yumeshima/20220628RoadmapYUMESHIMA.pdf

・Report by the chairman of the association, “Towards the restoration of the natural environment of Yumeshima”

https://www.nature.or.jp/assets/files/ACTION/yumeshima/20220405natsuhara_report.pdf