Yakushima National Park

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Yakushima National Park

IUCN Category II - National Park

View of the Bōzuiwa in the national park

View of the Bōzuiwa in the national park

location Yakushima Island , Kagoshima Prefecture , Kyushu Region , Japan
surface 325.53 km²
WDPA ID 555575150
Geographical location 30 ° 20 ′  N , 130 ° 31 ′  E Coordinates: 30 ° 20 ′ 0 ″  N , 130 ° 31 ′ 0 ″  E
Yakushima National Park (Kagoshima Prefecture)
Yakushima National Park
Setup date March 16, 2012
administration Ministry of the Environment

The Yakushima National Park ( Japanese 屋 久 島 国立 公園 , Yakushima Kokuritsu Kōen ) is a protected area that is located in the Kagoshima Prefecture of the Kyūshū region . It comprises parts of the island of Yakushima , which belongs to the group of the Inselnsumi islands , the entire island of Kuchinoerabu-jima and some surrounding marine areas.

The sanctuary was established on March 16, 1964 and assigned to the Kirishima National Park, which became the Kirishima Yaku National Park . On March 16, 2012 Yakushima was spun off as an independent national park and the Kirishima Yaku National Park to the Kirishima Kinkōwan National Park .

geography

The national park extends to Yakushima over 20,989 hectares, which corresponds to 42% of the island's land area, as well as 3943.4 hectares of adjacent marine area - mainly on the west coast of the island. Kuchinoerabu-jima, with its 3577 hectares, is completely part of the national park plus its coastal waters of 4043.5 hectares. The national park thus extends over 24,566 hectares of land and 7,986.9 hectares of sea.

The core area of ​​the national park is formed by the Okudake Mountains. The highest point is the Miyanoura-dake with a height of 1936 meters. Some of the mountains are considered sacred places by the population, others can be climbed. Parts of the area are accessible by hiking trails. The island belongs to the humid subtropical climate zone with humid and hot summers and mild winters. Depending on the location, the amount of precipitation is between 4000 and 8000 mm per year.

nature and landscape

Macaca fuscata yakui

There are extensive stocks of sickle firs and rhododendrons in the national park . A 1219 hectare region with the oldest crescent firs, called Yaku-sugi, the age of which is estimated to be over 2000 years in some cases, does not belong to the national park, but was separately named the “Yakushima Original Nature Reserve” ( 屋 久 島 原 生 自然環境 保全 地域 ) placed under special protection.

Parts of the national park, as well as the original nature reserve Yakushima, were declared a World Heritage Site (107.47 km²) by UNESCO in 1993 .

The national park has its own subspecies of the Japanese macaque ( Macaca fuscata yakui ). The beach of Nagata-hama is used by hawksbill turtles to lay their eggs.

At the southwest end of the island is the Kurio Marine Park, which is home to coral reefs with a correspondingly exotic fauna. The landscape of the island of Kuchinoerabujima is characterized by various volcanoes, but also by dense forests. The Ryukyu flying fox is an endangered species here.

A total of 1900 plant species, 16 mammal species and 150 bird species have so far been recorded in the national park.

Web links

Commons : Yakushima National Park  - Collection of Images, Videos, and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b 屋 久 島 立 公園 . In: The Yakushima World Heritage Conservation Center. Retrieved November 2, 2014 (Japanese).
  2. ↑ a b 屋 久 島 国立 公園 と 屋 久 島 世界 自然 遺産 に つ い て . The Yakushima World Heritage Conservation Center, accessed November 3, 2014 (Japanese, National Park Map).
  3. ↑ a b c d Information on the BCT homepage
  4. ↑ 自然環境 保全 地域 各 指定 地域 の 特 徴 . 屋 久 島 原 生 自然環境 保全 地域 . Ministry of Environment, accessed November 3, 2014 (Japanese).
  5. ↑ Information on the UNESCO website about inclusion in the World Natural Heritage List, in English, accessed on November 2, 20144