Help protect Kitagawa Wetland in Japan.

Dear friends from around the world,

Beautiful nature across Japan has been destroyed by overexploitation from an extreme economic expansion period up to now. Innumerable instances of deforestation has taken place, and so many coasts and wetland have been infilled. Thus, the existence of  animals in the forests, coasts and wetlands has decreased greatly. We need to protect them, and realize that our society is nurtured in a magnificent ecosystem, by a magnificent ecosystem.

In such a circumstance, a privately-owned company, Keihin Electric Express Railway Co., Ltd. (Keikyu) is about to infill one of the largest low-laying wetlands in Kanagawa Prefecture, called Kigatawa Wetland. Now Kitagawa Wetland is owned by Keikyu. They want to infill this precious wetland with soil because they can make profits by receiving soil from a soil disposal contractor.

Kitagawa Wetland, a miraculously untouched last bit of nature in the capital region, is only one of two places in Kanagawa Prefecture that has the indigenous area of a freshwater fish, Medaka (Oryzias latipes latipes). And the wetland is a habitat for endangered species registered in red list of Kanagawa Prefecture or Ministry of the Environment of Japan, such as an aeschnid dragonfly, Sarasayanma (Sarasaeschna pryeri), a dytiscid beetle, Shimagengorou (Hydaticus bowringii), a ranid frog, Nihonakagaeru (Rana rana japonica), and a freshwater rhodophycean alga, Chairokawamozuku (Batrachospermum arcuatum). Also, large-scale communities of Hangesho (Saururus chinensis), vascular plants, are truly precious. In summer, you can see the dancing of Japanese fireflies, Heikebotaru and Gengebotaru (Luciola lateralis and Luciola cruciata) and precious orchids like Kinran (Cephalanthera falcate), Ebine (Calanthe discolor), Mayaran (Cymbidium macrorhizon), Nagiran (Cymbidium lancifolium) and Kuromuyouran (Lecanorchis nigricans) on the groves of the slopes.

We have been suggesting an alternative solution to Keikyu, called Kitagawa Eco-Wetland. The suggestion is to place a nature trail in Kitagawa Wetland and not only residents but also people all over the world can visit there and experience the rich and varied nature of the wetland.

In October of next year, COP(Conference of the Parties) of the Biodiversity Treaty will be held in Nagoya city of Japan. In line with the trend, destruction of Kitagawa Wetland has become a big issue in respects to conserving biodiversity. Now, it is the case that the company is being questioned about their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in regards to the worldwide requirements of conserving biodiversity. We require Keikyu to consider their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and act with the respect of the CSR principle. We think that Keikyu will make long term and sustainable profit if they take quality of resident's life and their environment into consideration. We believe that Keikyu will stop this anachronistic project once they realize the implications in the face of people of all over the world.

We would like to ask you to extend a helping hand to us. We can protect the miraculous Kitagawa Wetland with your support. And please send a message to Keikyu to stop the construction.