A bleak patch of mud in Tokyo Bay is about to become the latest symbolof Japan’s willingness to follow the rest of the developed world’s standardsin protecting the natural environment. The tidal flat, of around 7 hectares, represents a quarter of Tokyo’sremaining natural shoreline. It was once famous for its shellfish and edibleseaweed; today it is a vital spot for migrating waterfowl. But the localauthority is planning to fill it in, part of a process that has ringed morethan half the Japanese archipelago in concrete. In the world league of environmental disasters, the fate of the Uchikawawetland is not particularly dramatic. But in two months, Japan will hostthe world’s main forum for protecting wetlands, the conference of contractingparties to the 1971 Ramsar Convention. Local conservation groups say that Japan has been particularly slowto protect its marshes and tidal flats, and hope to use the conference toshame the government into action. Japan joined the Ramsar convention in1980. Since then it has listed only four wetlands for protection – the fewestof any major industrial nation. The Japanese archipelago is an important migration route for birds. But in the economic boom since the Second World War, nearly half its tidalflats have been reclaimed. Less than half of the coastline of the four mainislands is natural; concrete walls and sea defences line the rest. Tokyo Bay’s four remaining stretches of natural shoreline have becomethe cause of a classic confrontation between tiny local protest groups andan alliance of government and business interests. Shinsuke Kimura, a local businessman who has organised the protest campaignfor three years, says that Tokyo Bay was once one of the world’s largestwetlands: ‘Birds would darken the sky at midday.’ Now, he says, the remnantsare ‘a small oasis in the concrete jungle. If we lose any, its natural valueThe local city council plans to fill in the site to provide a placefor local people to flee in the event of an earthquake. Kimura points outthat the giant Tokyo Gas company has an open sports ground along the waterfront,which could act as a refuge. He believes that the real force for developingthe wetland is an alliance of local politicians and construction companiesstruggling in the economic downturn. Kimura’s group consists of 55 people, mainly middle-aged, who rememberthe old shoreline. It is one of a wider group, known as the Japan WetlandsAction Network, which is trying to call international attention to threatenedBut even designation under Ramsar may not be the answer. Randy Helten,who works for Friends of the Earth Japan, cites the story of one of Japan’sfour designated sites, Kushiro Marsh on Hokkaido, home of the symbolic Japanesecrane. ‘As soon as the site was designated, there was a rush of resort developmentin the area. There’s a garbage dump near the site, agricultural activityand forestry in the area which is causing changes in the local water table. So without comprehensive planning and management of the area, it’s goingto destroy the very area that’s been designated as a nature reserve.