著者

関根 孝道

出版者

関西学院大学

雑誌

総合政策研究 (ISSN:1341996X)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.16, pp.11-52, 2004-05-25

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The IUCN Second World Conservation Congress in Amman, Jordan, adopted a Recommendation for the conservation of Okinawa dugongs in October 2000. This is because their critical habitat areas in Henoko offshore Okinawa are to be landfilled for the construction of U. S. seabase facilities in return for the U. S. military airport at Futenma. Since Okinawa dugongs are not only designated as one of Japan's natural monuments but also seriously endangered with the remaining number estimated at the most less than 50, the proposed seabase facilities are determinatively detrimental to the continued existence of Okinawa dugongs. Given the ineffectiveness of Japan's nature conservation laws, the last resort for their protection is to initiate a lawsuit under the U. S. environmental law in their court. This article examines the possibility of extraterritorial application of U. S. environmental laws for the protection of Okinawa dugongs with the conclusion that the National Historic Preservation Act ("NHPA") is most applicable due to the section 402's declaration of its extraterritorial application. In addition, since Okinawa dugongs are listed as an endangered species under the U. S. Endangered Species Act ("ESA"), an ESA lawsuit under its citizen suits provision is prospective and significant as a test case challenging ESA's overseas application.