Yambaru

The Yambaru or Kunigami region of Okinawa, including the city of Nago and the Kunigami District
Kongōseki Mountains in Kunigami

Yambaru (山原) is the Okinawan and Kunigami name given to the forested northern part of Okinawa Island in Japan. Spanning the northern villages of Higashi, Kunigami, and Ōgimi, Yambaru contains some of the last large surviving tracts of subtropical rainforest in Asia, with many endemic species of flora and fauna.[1][2] Many southerners fled to the area for refuge during the Battle of Okinawa.[3] In 2016, Yambaru National Park was established and the area was included in a submission for inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List.[4][5][6][7]

Yambaru currently contains the 7,500 ha US Jungle Warfare Training Centre at Camp Gonsalves.[2] As of 2010 there were twenty-two helipads in the training area with a further seven planned within two of the best preserved areas.[8] Issues relating to the location of helipads delayed the designation as a National Park.[6][9] Threatened by clearcutting and the removal of undergrowth, various endemic species are facing an imminent extinction crisis.[8][10] The US Marine Corps has noted that 'to continue to perform realistic military training activities, these habitats must be maintained.'[2]

  1. ^ "Ufugi Nature Museum" (PDF). Yambaru Wildlife Conservation Centre. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
  2. ^ a b c "United States Marine Corps Installations Natural Resource Program: Camp Smedley D. Butler, MCB" (PDF). United States Marine Corps. Retrieved 19 February 2012.[dead link]
  3. ^ Tanji Miyumi (2006). Myth, Protest and Struggle in Okinawa. Routledge. p. 164. ISBN 978-0-415-36500-0.
  4. ^ "Wild forest area in northern Okinawa designated as 33rd national park". The Japan Times. 15 September 2016. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
  5. ^ "Amami-Oshima Island, Tokunoshima Island, the northern part of Okinawa Island and Iriomote Island". UNESCO. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
  6. ^ a b "Japan prepares to nominate more sites for registration on global list". The Japan Times. 1 January 2012. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
  7. ^ "Govt to select candidate for World Natural Heritage". Yomiuri Shimbun. 18 February 2012. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
  8. ^ a b Chapron, Guillaume (et al.) (4 October 2010). "Biodiversity 100: actions for Asia". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
  9. ^ "No Military Helipads in Yambaru Forest" (PDF). World Wide Fund for Nature. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
  10. ^ Itō Yosiaki (et al.) (2000). "Imminent extinction crisis among the endemic species of the forests of Yambaru, Okinawa, Japan". Oryx. 34 (4). Cambridge University Press: 305–316. doi:10.1046/j.1365-3008.2000.00136.x.