Yambaru

{{Short description|Subtropical rainforest in Northern Okinawa}}

File:North Region of Okinawa Island.gif and the Kunigami District]]

File:Daisekirinzan at Yanbaru National Park Okinawa 2008.png]]

{{nihongo|Yambaru|山原}} is the Okinawan and Kunigami name given to the forested northern part of Okinawa Island in Japan. Spanning the northern villages of Higashi, Kunigami, and Ōgimi, Yambaru contains some of the last large surviving tracts of subtropical rainforest in Asia, with many endemic species of flora and fauna.{{cite web |url=http://www.ufugi-yambaru.com/annai/images/panfu_e.pdf |title=Ufugi Nature Museum |publisher=Yambaru Wildlife Conservation Centre |access-date=19 February 2012}}{{cite web |url=http://www.marines.mil/unit/logistics/Documents/LFL/LFL-1/NaturalResources/Outreach/USMC%20Natural%20Resources%20Conservation%20Program.pdf |title=United States Marine Corps Installations Natural Resource Program: Camp Smedley D. Butler, MCB |publisher=United States Marine Corps |access-date=19 February 2012}}{{dead link|date=August 2016}} Many southerners fled to the area for refuge during the Battle of Okinawa.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LLUpgYAwtl4C&q=yambaru&pg=PA164 |title=Myth, Protest and Struggle in Okinawa |author=Tanji Miyumi |publisher=Routledge |year=2006 |page=164 |isbn=978-0-415-36500-0}} In 2016, Yambaru National Park was established and the area was included in a submission for inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List.{{cite web |url=http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/09/15/national/wild-forest-area-northern-okinawa-designated-33rd-national-park/#.V_kolDKZNBw |title=Wild forest area in northern Okinawa designated as 33rd national park |work=The Japan Times |date=15 September 2016 |access-date=8 October 2016}}{{cite web |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/6160/ |title=Amami-Oshima Island, Tokunoshima Island, the northern part of Okinawa Island and Iriomote Island |publisher=UNESCO |access-date=8 October 2016}}{{cite news |url=http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120101c7.html |title=Japan prepares to nominate more sites for registration on global list |work=The Japan Times |date=1 January 2012 |access-date=19 February 2012}}{{cite news |url=http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T120217004973.htm |title=Govt to select candidate for World Natural Heritage |work=Yomiuri Shimbun |date=18 February 2012 |access-date=19 February 2012}}

Yambaru currently contains the 7,500 ha US Jungle Warfare Training Centre at Camp Gonsalves. As of 2010 there were twenty-two helipads in the training area with a further seven planned within two of the best preserved areas.{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2010/oct/04/biodiversity-100-actions-asia |title=Biodiversity 100: actions for Asia |author=Chapron, Guillaume (et al.) |work=The Guardian |date=4 October 2010 |access-date=19 February 2012}} Issues relating to the location of helipads delayed the designation as a National Park.{{cite web |url=http://www.wwf.or.jp/activities/lib/yambaru0706e.pdf |title=No Military Helipads in Yambaru Forest |publisher=World Wide Fund for Nature |access-date=19 February 2012}} Threatened by clearcutting and the removal of undergrowth, various endemic species are facing an imminent extinction crisis.{{cite journal |title=Imminent extinction crisis among the endemic species of the forests of Yambaru, Okinawa, Japan |author=Itō Yosiaki (et al.) |journal=Oryx |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2000 |volume=34 |issue=4 |pages=305–316 |doi=10.1046/j.1365-3008.2000.00136.x|doi-access=free }} The US Marine Corps has noted that 'to continue to perform realistic military training activities, these habitats must be maintained.'