The Environment Agency will draft a two-year plan to help protect biological diversity in Okinawa Prefecture's unique subtropical ecosystem, agency officials said Monday.

The plan will include guidelines for designating protected areas and for considering environmental concerns alongside development projects, according to the officials.

The agency will incorporate the plan in its budget requests for the next fiscal year.

The officials said that although there are guidelines for the conservation of nature on the prefectural level, Okinawa, as an important subtropical part of the country, "needs to be protected by a national conservation plan."

The plan will cover the island prefecture's ecosystems, including forests and coral reefs on Ishigaki and Iriomote islands, and the Yambaru region of northern Okinawa Island, with the aim of making it a national park.

In Okinawa, the destruction of coral reefs is of particular concern. Some coral reefs there have perished after development on roads, farmland and other areas resulted in red clay pouring into the sea.

The officials said that since it is difficult to apply the same construction methods as in other parts of the country, the agency plans to draft measures that will take into account both development and environmental considerations.

Environmental considerations will include protecting wildlife such as small turtles that do not live on Japan's main islands, they said.