Amami Oshima Golf Course Development Issue - October 1996
A 36-hole resort golf course development was planned on approximately 130 hectares of land in Sumiyomura Village in the northern part of Amami Oshima. However, the development site overlapped with the main habitat area of the Amami rabbit, a special natural treasure (estimated population: 500-1,000), which caused strong opposition. Concerned about deforestation and soil erosion that would accompany the golf course development, environmental groups and residents applied to the Kagoshima District Court for a provisional injunction to stop the development.
The plan called for an overall budget of approximately 5 billion yen and aimed to attract approximately 120,000 tourists annually. The developer had promised to create more than 150 jobs, citing the revitalization of the local economy, but since the forest to be cut down covers more than 50 hectares, the impact on the ecosystem was seen as problematic. In particular, it was pointed out that the loss of forests would cause soil runoff during rainfall and risk contaminating water for agriculture downstream.
Opponents of development argued that protection of the natural environment should be prioritized over tourism revenue. On the other hand, some residents of Sumiyoshi Village hoped for economic development through the construction of tourist facilities, leading to a division of opinion within the community.
In the end, the developer proposed reducing the size of the facility and changing it to 18 holes. In addition, a proposal was made to establish a fund to allocate approximately 10 million yen per year to local environmental protection activities. As a result of adjustments based on the prefectural government's environmental protection ordinance, the project has been suspended and an environmental assessment review based on a re-evaluation is underway. This issue highlights an important challenge to the balance between tourism development and nature conservation in Japan.
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