Alarmed by recent environmental deterioration, the government will make a draft proposal to revitalize tidelands and wetlands along with steps to control or exterminate harmful foreign species of animals and plants in Japan, government sources said.

The national strategy, which sets the direction of nature conservation policy, was first compiled in 1995 in accordance with the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity and is reviewed about every five years. , according to the Environment Ministry.

The draft is expected to be presented to a committee of the Central Environment Council, an advisory panel to the environment minister, today. The government will officially decide on the new strategy in late March, the sources said.

The draft also emphasizes cooperation with nonprofit organizations.

The draft says the government will strengthen measures to revive or reconstruct wetlands, tidelands, rivers, forests, and landscapes featuring hills and fields, which have suffered environmental deterioration in recent years across the nation.

It emphasized cooperation between the central and local governments, NPOs and individual volunteers.

Concerning the problem of foreign species or species transported from different regions in Japan, the draft said the government will compile lists of such species and make an initial evaluation of the impact of new species on local regions before taking action.

The government will also tighten controls on pets and take measures to prevent the unintentional introduction of foreign species, specifying the routes by which such species enter the country, it said.

The draft said funds should be secured to set up a system for controlling or eradicating foreign or transported species that have a negative impact on indigenous species.

The draft also stated for the first time that the government will aim to soon ratify the 2000 Cartagena Protocol on biosafety, which regulates international trade in products created by biotechnology, such as gene-modified foods.