Ministry To Set Guidelines For Exotic Animals and Plants

An advisory panel for the Ministry of the Environment has compiled guidelines to combat the problems of plants, originally imported for gardens or as crops, that have spread into the wild, and of native organisms that have been transplanted into areas they did not originally inhabit.

The guideline calls for an introduction of a system for studying the ecological impact of foreign species before import, and for quick seizure in the event of proliferation.

There currently is legislation that prevents the invasion of contagious diseases and harmful insects through plants and animals coming in, but there is no mechanism for regulating the impact of foreign species on the ecosystem. The Ministry is considering developing legislation to address this point as well.



Posted: 2002/08/25 09:56:40 AM
Japanese version