FAR EAST RAINBOW WARRIOR TOUR - Saving the YANBARU FOREST

Click here to follow the Rainbow Warrior tour to document and take action against the destructive practice of driftnetting in the Russian fisheries.

MAY 27 -28 OPEN BOAT NAHA - SHINKO, OKINAWA For the past two days the Rainbow Warrior has been open to members of the local public. The media in Okinawa have given extensive coverage of our visits to Yanbaru and the meeting with the local prefecture government. Local scientists, university students, media and around 300 members of local residents have toured the Rainbow Warrior this week-end. We have also held a number of meetings with local activists who feel our presence in Okinawa has given further hope to their campaign efforts. Greenpeace Japan will continue to work with and learn from local activists to protect Yanbaru as a symbol of remaining natural forest in Japan. Tonight we sail for Hokaido in northern Japan to re-supply the ship before heading to the Russian Far East.
MAY 26 - GREENPEACE MEETS WITH LOCAL PREFECTURE GOVERNMENT Greenpeace Japan Executive Director, Sanae Shida, Greenpeace Japan forest campaign Mikiko Fukuda and Rainbow Warrior crew members captain Joel Stewart and Greenpeace International representative Michelle Sheather met with four members of the Okinawa Prefecture Government, including the Director General of the Department of Cultural and Environmental Affairs, Mr Mitsuo Miyagi. Greenpeace crew members stood on the steps of the Prefecture with a banner saying "Save Yanbaru". Following the meeting we held a press conference in the local parliament building where Greenpeace urged for efforts by government and local non- government organisations to examine Yanbaru to be made a World Heritage area under UNESCO. We also encouraged other protection measures for the forest and surrounding marine eco- systems to be implemented in the short term as well as longer term.
MAY 25 - RAINBOW WARRIOR SAILS TO YANBARU Okinawa media and representatives from local organisations joined the Rainbow Warrior on an investigation of the Yanbaru forest by sea. We sailed from Nakagusuku Port to the Ukagawa area where we launched an inflatable with media to view the natural beaches and expanse of the forest. This part of the forest is a proposed site for the construction of US military helipads. The Yanbaru forest area is under threat from road construction which has been on-going since 1975; dam construction and proposed developments by the US military into the forest. The forest is also a source of tourism for Okinawa. Tourists from other parts of Japan visit this area to enjoy the sea, coral reef, and sub-tropical forests. If the Yanbaru area is continued to be destroyed, the prefecture will lose one of their main attractions.
MAY 24 - YANBARU FOREST Okinawa is a sub-tropical climate containing natural forest, many of the islands in the Ryukyu Island group (of which there are over 70) are surrounded by coral. The mountainous region in the northern part of the main island of Okinawa is known as Yanbaru. Over 192 plant and animal species are unique to this area, such as the bird species Okinawa Rail and Okinawa Woodpecker; Itajii (Evergreen Oak);Ibo-Imori (alligator newt); the Habu snake, and the Jambar long armed scarab beetle (the largest beetle species in Japan). The sea life includes Taimai (Hawksbill turtles), dugongs, corals and tropical fish. Today crew members of the Rainbow Warrior and Greenpeace Japan representatives travelled to the Yanbaru forest and were given a guided hiking tour by local ecologist Mr. Chosei Tamaki who first discovered the Okinawa Rail species. We were all impressed by the expanse of the forest that meets the coastline, and the biodiversity of the forest areas. Some of the crew then went by local fishing boat to Henoko Bay which is an endangered dugong habitat bordering the Yanbaru forest. The bay is under threat due to the planning of an airstrip extending into the bay for US military use.
MAY 23 - OKINAWA. The Rainbow Warrior arrived in Okinawa, the southern most prefecture of Japan, on May 23. This is the first visit by a Greenpeace ship to Okinawa. We arrived here in the lead up to the G-8 Summit which is to be held here on July 22-23. The purpose of our visit was to address the destruction of the world's remaining ancient forests. The G-8 have made a commitment to halt illegal logging practises under the G-8 Forest Action Program, at their 1998 Birmingham Summit in the UK. In the year 2000 this program is meant to be under review, to date illegal logging practices continue unabated. Japan is also one of the world's largest importers of timber and forest products. Greenpeace has been working with local businesses to move toward importing forest products from sustainable sources following ecological and social principles.