This story sounds familiar to me, reminds me one of my short novels but this is happening now, on these days, in an archipelago perhaps remote for an european. It is a real emblematic drama, played on the usual script: the impact of modern age on a wild environment.
Imagine a bay surrounded by tropical vegetation, dotted by cozy coves, with streams and waterfalls descending the mountains and plunging into the sea.
At the bottom of the bay lays a wide beach. A small, crystal river runs along the whole stretch of white sands. The only human presence is leaked by a semi-abandoned village, inhabited by only eighteen souls. Most of them are retired people. Slightly higher is the count of the souls resting in the cemetery. Its stones overlook the Pacific Ocean. Mass tourism and third millennium seemed to ignore this prehistoric oasis that islander renamed Jurassic Beach. Unfortunately the modern world does not tolerate enclaves of past. Its doctrine is growth, profit and expansion. Beauty and biodiversity would pay the toll. The modern world uses all means, from threats to corruption, from sabotage to forgery. Where this story takes place I'll tell you later. Know that it is happening now on our planet. Those who have read my book Caribbeans will recognize Julian, the Hero of Playa Grande and Alvaro, the beach boss. At the end of the day, the whole world is one country in front of rapacity as it is one in front of global warming.
A concrete wall.
That wall will soon be built on Jurassic Beach, will be tall as six and a half meters and long as almost two hundreds. Someone claimed that beach erosion is threatening the village.
It is not true: the photos presented at the Prefecture of Kagoshima (here is another hint about the place) portray the beach at the time of its maximum erosion after a typhoon in 2014. That typhoon was particularly violent there. The maximum tide level matched the maximum of the low pressure, and the maximum of wind and waves. And, probably, the maximum of exploitation of its sand. A mining company exploited the river bed, a crystalline river that runs parallel to the shore. After the typhoon event the beach started to expand again. Katoku is the only beach in the country where a leatherback turtle, the largest species in the world (obviously in danger), was photographed. It happened in 2002. Katoku, Jurassic Beach, looks like a perfect site for turtele's nesting. Strangely, turtles have not been recorded there since long time.
The country is Japan, a nation able to amaze us with its science fiction's technology and its organization, for the kindness you find down the streets, for its overwhelming art and culture. As for leaving us appalled by certain positions on the environment issues, about the oceans, for istance. On the other hand, even Italy leaves the rest of the world thrilled the way it wastes natural, human and cultural resources.
The island is that of Amami and is part of the Ryūkyū archipelago, a long arch stretching from the major japanese islands to Taiwan, a row of islands nine hundred kilometers long. Okinawa, the most famous, stands in the middle of the arch. That of the Ryūkyū is an ancient and complex history, with a language and a culture that differ from those of Japan. There, too, the indigenous religion is different. There asking for advice on important matters to a Yuta, a shaman, is a common costume. Yet, for many perspectives this story is identical to the one I set in the caribbeans. With a big difference: building a huge resort would have been a far better chance, in this case.
The heroe of Jurassic Beach.
There are, of course, more heroes in this story, fighting to protect a natural beauty and a rare ecosystem, then I was striked by Jean-Marc Takagi personality. Jean-Marc, like Julian in my short story, in order to save that beach, would be ready to chain himself to the bulldozers. Born and raised in Paris, at the age of seven he loved nature and dreamed of the Amazon forest. He wondered why humans built concrete jungles. At eighteen he escapes to Japan, where his family has roots. He ends up in Hawaii, studying engineering. Universities in Hawaii are not, perhaps, the most renowned in the world, but Jean-Marc was a surfing enthusiast. Big waves played a big role. It will take a few years to him finding the place where to settle and fulfill that special need: a daily interaction with wilderness. He finds its paradise many years later, scanning the images of Google Earth.
The beaches of his childhood in Japan had all been eroded, devastated by the construction of piers and concrete walls. He showed the beaches of his childhood to me on Google Maps, describing them as they were before. Looking at those poor stretches of sand I thought of my childhood beaches. My most beloved is lost. I still remember the day I found a concret pier instead of the beach where I saw my first starfish. The sea, also, smelled different. I was twelve. I started to cry.
Japan produces as much concret as the United States, with a population of just over a third and a country not even comparable in size. Japan produces and uses it all: according to some scales, the Japanese coasts are cemented for over 50% of their lenght. The island of Amami was certainly not exempt from this scourge, many beaches had been "protected" by erosion with concrete walls, many bays had been turned into artificial harbours, but human development encountered some obstacle: mountains and tropical vegetation helped to hide to the invaders the most remoted areas. Down there Jean-Marc turns into a naturalistic guide, taking tourists in real adventures through a wild environment, exploring rare ecosystems. Amami hosts species that are now extinct elsewhere. Katoku beach, Jurassic Beach, was still one of those wild places.
One day, the modern world becomes aware of Katoku and begins to exploit its resources. It does it invisibly.
Sand is fundamental to glass and concret production. At the beginning the mining company began to dredge the riverbed even diverting its course. At sea, taking advantage of the darkness of the night, someone was mining the sand. Illegally. The evidence gathered by Jean-Marc after the typhoon of 2014 shows that human activities were the major player on erosion. Soon after the typhoon event, Jurassic Beach displayed a big shrinkage. Then, two years later, it started to expand again. The author of the miracle was the crystal river that runs parallel to the shore. Once left undisturbed and free to run on its natural course, the river fed the beach again.
The very first thing that comes to mind is an act of great stupidity or ineptitude but, it should be remembered, these two dangerous evils are not common in Japan. Jean-Marc has a suspicion:
A concrete wall.
That wall will soon be built on Jurassic Beach, will be tall as six and a half meters and long as almost two hundreds. Someone claimed that beach erosion is threatening the village.
It is not true: the photos presented at the Prefecture of Kagoshima (here is another hint about the place) portray the beach at the time of its maximum erosion after a typhoon in 2014. That typhoon was particularly violent there. The maximum tide level matched the maximum of the low pressure, and the maximum of wind and waves. And, probably, the maximum of exploitation of its sand. A mining company exploited the river bed, a crystalline river that runs parallel to the shore. After the typhoon event the beach started to expand again. Katoku is the only beach in the country where a leatherback turtle, the largest species in the world (obviously in danger), was photographed. It happened in 2002. Katoku, Jurassic Beach, looks like a perfect site for turtele's nesting. Strangely, turtles have not been recorded there since long time.
The country is Japan, a nation able to amaze us with its science fiction's technology and its organization, for the kindness you find down the streets, for its overwhelming art and culture. As for leaving us appalled by certain positions on the environment issues, about the oceans, for istance. On the other hand, even Italy leaves the rest of the world thrilled the way it wastes natural, human and cultural resources.
The island is that of Amami and is part of the Ryūkyū archipelago, a long arch stretching from the major japanese islands to Taiwan, a row of islands nine hundred kilometers long. Okinawa, the most famous, stands in the middle of the arch. That of the Ryūkyū is an ancient and complex history, with a language and a culture that differ from those of Japan. There, too, the indigenous religion is different. There asking for advice on important matters to a Yuta, a shaman, is a common costume. Yet, for many perspectives this story is identical to the one I set in the caribbeans. With a big difference: building a huge resort would have been a far better chance, in this case.
The heroe of Jurassic Beach.
There are, of course, more heroes in this story, fighting to protect a natural beauty and a rare ecosystem, then I was striked by Jean-Marc Takagi personality. Jean-Marc, like Julian in my short story, in order to save that beach, would be ready to chain himself to the bulldozers. Born and raised in Paris, at the age of seven he loved nature and dreamed of the Amazon forest. He wondered why humans built concrete jungles. At eighteen he escapes to Japan, where his family has roots. He ends up in Hawaii, studying engineering. Universities in Hawaii are not, perhaps, the most renowned in the world, but Jean-Marc was a surfing enthusiast. Big waves played a big role. It will take a few years to him finding the place where to settle and fulfill that special need: a daily interaction with wilderness. He finds its paradise many years later, scanning the images of Google Earth.
"Amami from the satellite was the greenest island of all."
The beaches of his childhood in Japan had all been eroded, devastated by the construction of piers and concrete walls. He showed the beaches of his childhood to me on Google Maps, describing them as they were before. Looking at those poor stretches of sand I thought of my childhood beaches. My most beloved is lost. I still remember the day I found a concret pier instead of the beach where I saw my first starfish. The sea, also, smelled different. I was twelve. I started to cry.
Japan produces as much concret as the United States, with a population of just over a third and a country not even comparable in size. Japan produces and uses it all: according to some scales, the Japanese coasts are cemented for over 50% of their lenght. The island of Amami was certainly not exempt from this scourge, many beaches had been "protected" by erosion with concrete walls, many bays had been turned into artificial harbours, but human development encountered some obstacle: mountains and tropical vegetation helped to hide to the invaders the most remoted areas. Down there Jean-Marc turns into a naturalistic guide, taking tourists in real adventures through a wild environment, exploring rare ecosystems. Amami hosts species that are now extinct elsewhere. Katoku beach, Jurassic Beach, was still one of those wild places.
One day, the modern world becomes aware of Katoku and begins to exploit its resources. It does it invisibly.
"The first to notice a change were the surfers. The waves didn't break as usual, the sand-bar had disappeared. I can't tell whether it was due to the manipulation of the river bed or to some illegal activities of a mining company collecting the sand offshore, but something had definitely changed in the seabed, it changed long before the typhoon. The underwater sandbar had vanished. This gave green light to the big waves. Nothing could stop them storming the beach. "
Sand is fundamental to glass and concret production. At the beginning the mining company began to dredge the riverbed even diverting its course. At sea, taking advantage of the darkness of the night, someone was mining the sand. Illegally. The evidence gathered by Jean-Marc after the typhoon of 2014 shows that human activities were the major player on erosion. Soon after the typhoon event, Jurassic Beach displayed a big shrinkage. Then, two years later, it started to expand again. The author of the miracle was the crystal river that runs parallel to the shore. Once left undisturbed and free to run on its natural course, the river fed the beach again.
“There have been attempts, all documented, to force the river to go straight to the sea. The company dug a canal perpendicular to the beach. Appealing to the transparency law, together with the Nature Conservation Society of Japan, we requested files about the river works from the Prefecture. After some resistance we got hold of images and files, but all dated 2015, well after the interventions on the river and well before the natural rearrangement of the beach. The works started in 2013, a year and a half before the erosion event, but only sent us documents from 2015. "
The very first thing that comes to mind is an act of great stupidity or ineptitude but, it should be remembered, these two dangerous evils are not common in Japan. Jean-Marc has a suspicion:
"The old Japanese told me that sabotage was widespread in the 1960s and 1970s. The construction companies undermined the mountains shoulders to cause landslides, then they obtained contracts to secure roads and villages from the landslides. "
As early as 2016, after the intense rains fed the river, the beach expanded again. In spite of these facts the project of buding the wall was approved . That of Katoku beach, on the papers submitted by the company, is a ghost expansion: all photos and survey were related to 2015.
Jean-Marc and the Amami World Heritage association, realized they needed the help of lawyers, of professionals able to collect evidence and quality data and launched a crowdfunding. They contacted a researcher from the University of Okinawa, a marine biologist specialized in coastal overbulding. He witnessed the distruction of vast areas of coral reefs in his island. His studies concluded it was due to concrete barriers.
In a country raged by typhoons and Tsunamis, with an overlook to the increasing sea levels, someone may doubt about the opportunity to stop the construction of a wall. Well, I suggest you to fathom your memories or, if you are not familiar to long wild beaches, some image from internet. After reviewing memories or archive pictures, you'll agree that there is never a wall, rocky or artificial one, whatsoever, behind a wide beach. Behind a wide beach there is always a river or dunes. Or both, like in Katoku. Dunes are masterpieces of resilience: they do not oppose to the strenght of the sea, they absorb it. Compacted by vegetation, they take and release water and sand gradually. The data collected after the 2004 Tsunami in Indonesia show that along the coasts fitted with dunes and mangroves a minor damage occurred This is why reeds are planted along lakes shores. Reeds protect beaches and artifacts from erosion. Dunes, mangroves and reeds have the same efficency as concrete walls, with one enormous difference: they offer food and shelter to unaccauntable species. Birds, insects, fish and small amphibians use leaves, stems and roots to lay their eggs, build nests. Natural barriers are perfect nurseries for the wildllife. The dunes, above all, like the rivers regulate the humidity of the shores keeping the sand heavy and compact, ready to withstand the winds.
Our researcher from Okinawa, after a 15-hour ferry, lands on Amami Island. He crosses the mountains and finally reaches Katoku, the Jurassic Beach. As he sets foot on that beach he faces the first surprise, something that in the last few years had never been recorded: he finds eight turtle nests. Reports from previous years, conducted by unskilled personnel, had systematically recorded a zero value in front of the turtle box. Zero nests and zero sightings of turtles in the sea. So for years.
"Yet surfers have told me they have often spotted turtles in the water. Many of us were of the idea that Katoku beach was an important reproduction site" reports Jean-Marc.
The second surprise is not as nice as the first one. Here things get a creepy turn. Part of the researcher's job is interviewiing the local community. He starts, of course, with the chief of the village.
"The village chief? He refused to talk to me, he took two photos of me and then shut himself up at home "the researcher told me.
Every italian, as I am, knows what such an attitude means. It's a one word tought: Mafia.
"He is a threatening and violent guy"
A couple of witnesses said it, but they didn't want to expose themselves. Only one villager openly opposes the construction of the wall. Others villagers locked themselves into a strange silence.
"Someone from our committee, outside the village withdrowed. 'Think about your work, the well-being of your family,' he was told. The village head's brother is on the board of directors of that mining company very interested to the beach", says Jean-Marc.
Meanwhile, however, the formworks are already lined up at the doors of Katoku, waiting for a concrect flush. In the previous years, facing the typhoon, pandans have been cut on top of the dunes to host sandbags. Pandans are resistant to saline environments and offer an excellent service to the beaches: their roots compact the dunes.
"The pandans are not a protected species - the Prefecture said - on the other hand they are arguing about another protected species that instead feeds on pandan seeds: the purple hermit crab living on this beach. It's clear how the nature's big picture is off their minds."
Mafia here has little to do. The chronic incapacity of "modern" administrations to deal with the most basic notions about nature, not even science, is a global problem. But there are different ways to react to the same problem. In France or Italy stones and molotovs would have talked immediately, while the Amami activists planted more pandans instead. They did it with the help of a local elementary school. A panel was placed on the spot:
"These pandans were planted by children"
Nothing more than that sign tells us of the planet and the conditions we are delivering it to future generations. The generation of of Greta Thunberg is facing a devastated nature and a political world that is def and blind to the problems. We are delivering to future generations a sick planet with ruthless bullies leading the most powerful countries and corporates.
The shaman
One of the excuses to protect a handful of houses with an expensive wall is the cemetery. A couple of years ago in Yakushima, an island in the same archipelago, I was struck by the wonderful view enjoyed by a tiny cemetery. From the top of a tiny hill several vertical stones seemed to breath the ocean fragrance. I remained silent for who knows how long. What a great respect the dead must have, I said to myself. It was a perfect location for a luxurious eco-lodge. It would be a magnificent place for tourists. Probably, I concluded, this is a culture that preserves animist traces.
I was not wrong. The local religion is based on divinities that reflect natural forces and on the cult of the ancestors. It is no wonder, therefore, that a Yuta, a shaman woman, was called to Katoku. And her verdict too is lapidary.
"Ancestors and nature spirits don't like concrete."
How it will end? We will know it only after August 30th. That day a judge will visit the beach, talk to the people and deal with his conscience.
Anyway, we can all contribute to stop this aggression, simply by signing a petition, which still has its weight in a country like Japan. We can help by promising to visit Jurassic-Beach, Amami's last paradise, under one condition: only if concrete free. We can still hope to find those panels made by the local kids, half submerged by well grown pandans, taller and stronger than ever.
Like the environmental awareness of the new generations.
Sign the petition now.
What happens naturally in Katoku in Holland costs 87 million.
https://www.hakaimagazine.com/news/netherlands-better-way-rebuild-beach/
Jean-Mark Takagi Twitter: @shizentimes
All pictures are courtesy of Jean-Marc Takagi.
