|
|
|
|
|
Report
No.241103 |
|
|
|
|
- Domestic - |
|
|
Blue Ribbon Panel on Environmental Issues Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries set up a blue ribbon panel for the comprehensive discussion on global environmental issues at agricultural, forestry and fishery industries, and held a first session of the panel on July 20. The ministry aims to get wide range of opinions from not only producers and researchers in the industries but also external intellectuals including experts in economics and sociology in order to incorporate the input into its policies and measures. The panel is chaired by Dr. Yoshihiro Hayashi, a professor at Graduate School of the University of Tokyo. At the first session, one of the members pointed out that Koshihikari rice, of which northern limit had been the southern Miyagi prefecture, was now grown also in Iwate prefecture, due to the global warming. Another member told that the government should serve as a bridge between researchers and producers. The panel plans to hold about three sessions a year. As an immediate problem, it will discuss measures against global warming toward the achievement of goals in the Kyoto Protocol that contained the global commitment to the reduction of greenhouse gas. The ministry had opportunities to get external opinions on an individual department basis. Its wide range of responsibilities covering overall agriculture, forestry and fishery brought about the decision that "it is important to establish a direction of policies and measures based on the common awareness of issues (according to Vice-Minister Yoshio Kobayashi)" on the grounds that (1) environmental issues relate to extensive range of areas, instead of relating to a specific area, and (2) measures and policies for an area may have an adverse effect on the other area(s). |
||
|
|
||
 |
 |