Photo/Illutration An Ogasawara greenfinch, a species nearing extinction in the Ogasawara island chain off Tokyo (Provided by the workshop steering committee to develop the conservation plan for the Ogasawara greenfinch)

With the number of Ogasawara greenfinches fast dwindling on a remote island chain off Tokyo, islanders and experts are racing against time before the small bird vanishes for good.

Through a series of workshops last year, they developed a comprehensive plan to improve the wild bird’s habitat in the Ogasawara island chain, a UNESCO World Natural Heritage site, and increase its population.

“We are more determined to pass down the Ogasawara greenfinch to the next generation at any cost,” said Dairo Kawaguchi, 44, of the Islands Care group, chairman of the workshop steering committee.

In the conservation plan, the steering committee has given top priority to measures to deal with brown rats, which inhibit the bird’s proliferation, and feral cats, which cause damage in areas the bird flies to.

The committee also plans to raise the bird on a trial basis in the island chain so that the species will be kept for breeding and the specimens raised in captivity returned to nature in phases.

The Ogasawara greenfinch, which measures around 15 centimeters long and weighs 18 grams or so, is designated in the “Endangered Class IA” category at the highest risk of dying out in the Environment Ministry’s Red List.

The bird was previously deemed as the same species as the greenfinch found on Japan’s mainland and elsewhere, but an academic paper released last year said it is a different species.

According to Kazuto Kawakami, 47, chief researcher at the Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, only 100 Ogasawara greenfinches inhabit an area around Hahajima and Minami-Iwoto, both in the Ogasawara island chain.

Their number has sharply declined around Hahajima since 2000, dropping by half from an estimated 200 birds over a decade from 2010.

“The situation is that the Ogasawara greenfinch is on the verge of extinction,” Kawakami said.

To consider countermeasures, the workshop framework, a method recommended by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) for developing plans to preserve endangered species, was adopted.

The dialogue-based approach has been used to preserve such creatures as Tsushima cats in Nagasaki Prefecture and Okinawa rails in Okinawa Prefecture.

Under the framework, participants develop a conservation plan through discussions while spending several days together in a camp.

“Both foremost researchers and local residents concerned are brought together, making it difficult for the government to ignore proposals compiled through the workshop,” said Shinichi Hayama, a wild animal studies professor at Nippon Veterinary and Life Science University.

He added that while the conventional fragmented approach failed to address such issues as infectious diseases, predators and car accidents in an integrated manner, the workshop framework enables different parties to cooperate closely and produce improved results.

Since September, four working groups held meetings via video conferencing amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.

A general workshop involving 100 people took place in December. The conservation plan was finalized through a vote by participants.

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