(For English version scroll below Japanese text)
奄美大島・嘉徳での護岸工事は「工事用道路設置」に取り掛かる前の段階でストップしていますが、工事が見直される様子は今のところ無いようです。現地では、工事の進入ルート前で座り込みをし、鹿児島県に対して抗議をしている人たちがいます。この抗議活動がなかったら、すでに砂浜には鉄板が敷かれ、コンクリートは運び込まれていたでしょう。この計画には多くの問題があり、様々な専門家や研究者、市民団体から見直しの要望が上がっています。見直しを求める住民らはこれまで幾度も見直しと協議の場を求める要望書を鹿児島県と瀬戸内町に提出してきました。しかし、工事の見直しはなく、関係者を含む話し合いの場もありません。
国民に対する行政の説明責任（アカウンタビリティー）を果たしていないことから住民の間に亀裂が生じています。見直しを求める住民に対して世界遺産に反対する護岸推進派の住民から恫喝行為が行われており、工事関係者に対して刑罰が下されている件もあります。このようなことは許されることではありません。
この工事は2016年に計画され、見直しを求める声が上がり2017年には検討委員会が設けられました。護岸の長さが５３０mから１８０mと縮小され2019年に着工となりました。しかし、検討委員会では十分な検討がされておらず見直しの声は上がり続けています。2021年7月には世界自然遺産登録となり、嘉徳海岸と嘉徳川全域は緩衝地帯に含まれました。状況が変わる中、見直しと協議の場を設け再検討する必要性は高くなっています。
また、嘉徳浜調査会でも砂丘は急速に回復していることが明らかになっています。
「新しい知見により、将来見通しが変更されれば、その都度、柔軟に見直すことは海岸行政の当然のあり方である」と示した海岸研究室から意見書が鹿児島県や瀬戸内町、国土交通省などに送付されています。
2022年現在、嘉徳浜は厚みがある広大な砂浜です。2014年に起こった侵食は、嘉徳川河口の浚渫作業や嘉徳湾沖での海砂採取など人為的な原因も考えられることから、根本的な侵食の原因を追求し、解決策を考えていくことが重要であり、世界遺産の条約に基づいた保護管理が必要です。
嘉徳浜は今、非常に重大な岐路に立たされています。
ハッシュタグ「#savekatoku」を使って、SAVE KATOKUキャンペーンの拡散にご協力をお願いします。
_ 科学的な報告書や評価についてはこちらをご覧ください。
https://amamiworldheritage.org/science/save-katoku-beach-jurassic-beach/ja
_ SAVE KATOKUキャンペーンポスター（自由にダウンロード可能）
https://amamiworldheritage.org/posters/save-katoku-beach-jurassic-beach/ja
_ このたび、私たちの活動をご寄付でご支援いただけるようになりました。
寄付金は、嘉徳浜を現在と未来の世代のために保護するための継続的な活動（現地での活動、ロビー活動、情報収集と調査、教材の作成、イベントやシンポジウムの開催など）を支えるために活用されます。
ご寄付ページ 日本語
https://amamiworldheritage.org/donate/ja
For English speakers:
The seawall construction at Katoku beach, Amami Oshima, was temporarily stopped by concerned citizens and residents of Katoku village before a construction road installation begins on the beach and over the estuary. However there is no indication so far that the construction will be reviewed by the authorities responsible for this crisis. Pople are protesting on site against Kagoshima Prefecture by staging a sit-in in front of the construction entry route. If not for this protest, steel plates would have already been laid on the beach and concrete would have been carried in. There are many serious problems with this plan, and various experts, researchers, and citizen groups have requested a review. Residents and stackholders have submitted numerous requests to Kagoshima Prefecture and the town of Setouchi for a review and a place to discuss/debate the project. However, there has been no review of the construction, and requests for setting-up a forum for discussion involving all concerned parties have been denied or ignored by the prefecture and mayor of Setouchi.
A schism has developed among the residents of Katoku village due to the government's failure to fulfill its accountability to the public. In some cases, residents who demand a review have been intimidated and threatened by proponents of the seawall who are also strongly opposed to the World Natural Heritage inscription and objectives. Some of the seawall proponents involved in violent and abusive behavior have been punished by law enforcement, but there are still ongoing crime investigations. This situation in the World Natural Heritage buffer zone is unacceptable. When residents involved in nature conservation in a UNESCO World Natural Heritage site start to receive death threats by people working for the cement industry, and government officials turn a blind eye, one has to ponder how much time and effort by civil society groups will be required to improve the situation.
The seawall construction was planned in 2016, and a review committee was established in 2017 after calls were made for a review. The length of the seawall was reduced from 530m to 180m and construction began in 2019. In July 2021, the site was registered as a World Natural Heritage site, and the whole of the Katoku beach, Katoku river-mouth and lower Katoku river were inscribed in the buffer zone. With the changing situation, the need for a review and a forum for debate/discussion is ever more critical.
The Katoku-Beach-Survey-Group (Citizen science group of Katoku) data analysis has also revealed that the dunes are recovering rapidly. The Coastal Research Lab (Dr. Masumi Serizawa and Furuike) working in collaboration with the Katoku-Beach-Survey-Group sent a letter with experts' opinion to Kagoshima Prefecture, Setouchi Town, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism, indicating that "if the future outlook changes due to new findings, it is a natural course for coastal administration to review the situation flexibly each time".
As of 2022, the beach is a vast sandy beach with a thick volume of sand and offshore sandbars; the one-off erosion that occurred in 2014 was likely caused by human factors such as dredging operations at the mouth of the Katoku River and sea sand extraction off the coast of Katoku Bay; it is important to study the root causes of the 2014 one-off erosion and come up with nature based solutions, while pursuing participatory disaster prevention measures and management based on the World Heritage Convention. The area is extremely precious for its biodiversity and for its unique amenity value.
Katoku beach is now at a very critical juncture.
Please help us spread the SAVE KATOKU campaign using the hashtag #savekatoku on social media platforms.
_ Click here for scientific reports and assessments.
https://amamiworldheritage.org/science/save-katoku-beach-jurassic-beach/ja
_ Save Katoku Campaign Poster (freely downloadable)
https://amamiworldheritage.org/posters/save-katoku-beach-jurassic-beach/en
_ Donations can help us continue our ongoing efforts to preserve Katoku beach for present and future generations (It will sustain our ongoing efforts on the ground, focus on communication, letters and reports, information gathering and surveys, creation of educational material, staging/organising events and symposiums etc.). You can now support our activities directly via our website donation page:
Donation page:
https://amamiworldheritage.org/donate/en