Dugongs Score a Temporary Victory

The dugong has won what amounts to a stay of execution from the U.S. Department of Defense. A federal judge in San Francisco ruled that the Department of Defense is in violation of the National Historic Preservation Act for failing to consider the impacts of a new airbase on the dugong in order to avoid or mitigate any harm.

The judge ruled that the Department of Defense must gather information and present it to the court within 90 days. They will have to prove that their airstrip construction will pose no harm against the endangered dugong.

The proposed U.S. military plan is to build an airstrip for U.S. marines over a delicate reef in Okinawa. If built, the airstrip would destroy the underwater ecosystem of Oura bay, Henoko - home and feeding grounds of the last 12 dugongs left in Japan.



Greenpeace activists, supporters and locals have all rallied to help the dugong and it appears their efforts may just save the species. Thousands of activists wrote Japan’s minister of defense and minister of environment. Local activists have occupied the coral reefs in peaceful protests against the proposed habitat destruction. Greenpeace’s ship the Rainbow Warrior arrived in 2005 to halt the beginning stages of construction. And, in 2007, the Greenpeace Esperanza visited the reef to highlight the plight of the dugong.