Okinawa

Fully 78% of all American military bases in Japan are located in Okinawa and account for 30% of the Island chain's land area. All of America's military bases remain active, but that will change in the near future

The Futenma Marine Corps Air Base in Naga City is scheduled be closed and consolidated in Camp Schwab in the northern part of Okinawa.

The consolidation of Schwab and Futenma activities call for two alternative air field developments - one is a floating helicopter pad built atop a coral reef, or alternately dug out of a swath of the remnants of Okinawa's last pristine rain forest. The reef option will destroy the habitat of the Okinawan Dugong, perhaps the only marine mammal revered in Japan, and the rainforest option will destroy a substantial portion of the canopy overlaying Northern Okinawa's watershed.

In the meantime, the closed Futenma facility is also a probable Superfund level facility built over what was formerly some of the most productive bottom-lands along the central eastern coast of the island. Both Okinawa and Japan are committed to reusing the property as swiftly as possible. There is a movement among the farmers displaced by the construction of the base, but who retain leases for the property, to return the land to its former agricultural use.

Although this option is unlikely considering the property values, probable vinyl chloride soil gas from decaying solvents and petroleum distillates and other toxic and hazardous materials contaminating the facility make any future use dubious without cleanup...

For the past five years, Arc Ecology has been very involved in base cleanup efforts in Okinawa...

In 1997, upon their visit to the Bay Area, Arc Ecology briefed the Okinawan Prefectural Legislative Committee on Military Bases (equivalent to a State Legislature) on the possible contamination of bases there, and provided a tour of closing bases in the San Francisco Bay Area. During this visit, Arc also hosted a meeting with California base cleanup officials in Sacramento. In 1998, Arc Ecology briefed a delegation of Okinawan grassroots activists, provided fact sheets on probable base contamination in Okinawa as well as comparative documents for US bases domestically, and hosted a tour of San Francisco Bay Area closing bases.

In 1999, Arc Ecology conducted the Freedom of Information document search for information on base pollution in Okinawa. In 2000, we conducted an independent external site investigation of several bases in Okinawa with local environmental experts. In 2001, we hosted an 8-month issues training for the Bases Cleanup coordinator for the grassroots Okinawan Environmental Network in our offices in San Francisco.

In 2002, we conducted another half-day workshop in Okinawa City on the impacts of military activities on the environment and its implications for Okinawa, and met with representatives of the Prefectural Base Conversion Agency.



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Related Facts/Links	Arc Ecology in Okinawa
Arc Ecology in Okinawa Arc is in negotiations with the Okinawa Prefecture Government, some large funding sources, and the University of Okinawa to develop an overall Okinawa Island-wide Environmental Impact Study of the Okinawa Bases. This is a very large project that has never been previously undertaken. Because Okinawa is, from an environmental standpoint, a discrete ecological unit, and because American military presence there is so large, it is possible under a rigorous analysis to determine the actual consequences of that form of land and water usage. This is a completely unique and novel approach in attempting to place an environmental and economic cost on the burden of the bases on that community. The outcome of the analysis would be useful in many other contexts as well. The study would assess wildlife, marine-life impacts, water usage, land usage and impacts, the affects of bombing and new construction on the forests and dugong habitat, as well as traffic, air space and other impacts. Base Cleanup in the Phillipines Arc's Intenational Program	Fully 78% of all American military bases in Japan are located in Okinawa and account for 30% of the Island chain's land area. All of America's military bases remain active, but that will change in the near future The Futenma Marine Corps Air Base in Naga City is scheduled be closed and consolidated in Camp Schwab in the northern part of Okinawa. The consolidation of Schwab and Futenma activities call for two alternative air field developments - one is a floating helicopter pad built atop a coral reef, or alternately dug out of a swath of the remnants of Okinawa's last pristine rain forest. The reef option will destroy the habitat of the Okinawan Dugong, perhaps the only marine mammal revered in Japan, and the rainforest option will destroy a substantial portion of the canopy overlaying Northern Okinawa's watershed. In the meantime, the closed Futenma facility is also a probable Superfund level facility built over what was formerly some of the most productive bottom-lands along the central eastern coast of the island. Both Okinawa and Japan are committed to reusing the property as swiftly as possible. There is a movement among the farmers displaced by the construction of the base, but who retain leases for the property, to return the land to its former agricultural use. Although this option is unlikely considering the property values, probable vinyl chloride soil gas from decaying solvents and petroleum distillates and other toxic and hazardous materials contaminating the facility make any future use dubious without cleanup... *For the past five years, Arc Ecology has been very involved in base cleanup efforts in Okinawa...* In 1997, upon their visit to the Bay Area, Arc Ecology briefed the Okinawan Prefectural Legislative Committee on Military Bases (equivalent to a State Legislature) on the possible contamination of bases there, and provided a tour of closing bases in the San Francisco Bay Area. During this visit, Arc also hosted a meeting with California base cleanup officials in Sacramento. In 1998, Arc Ecology briefed a delegation of Okinawan grassroots activists, provided fact sheets on probable base contamination in Okinawa as well as comparative documents for US bases domestically, and hosted a tour of San Francisco Bay Area closing bases. In 1999, Arc Ecology conducted the Freedom of Information document search for information on base pollution in Okinawa. In 2000, we conducted an independent external site investigation of several bases in Okinawa with local environmental experts. In 2001, we hosted an 8-month issues training for the Bases Cleanup coordinator for the grassroots Okinawan Environmental Network in our offices in San Francisco. In 2002, we conducted another half-day workshop in Okinawa City on the impacts of military activities on the environment and its implications for Okinawa, and met with representatives of the Prefectural Base Conversion Agency.