The Environment Agency is requesting 70 million yen from the fiscal 2000 state budget to construct a database with information on and images of around 60,000 of the nation's animals, plants and fungi, it was learned Thursday.
The database will be a 10-year project that will be published by the agency in the form of a picture book and be gradually presented on the Internet.
Officials hope to have the list used for various environmental assessment projects. It will also serve as educational material for elementary and junior high schools.
The database is slated to contain a wide variety of information, ranging from the distribution and habitats of the animals and plants to their dietary and reproduction habits. The compilation will also include pictures and literary references.
The Biodiversity Center of Japan will set up a working group of experts and work on the database at a pace covering 6,000 varieties of animals, plants and fungi per year, according to agency officials.
Work has already begun by researchers to create a system through which data on flora and fauna around the world may be accessible via computers.
In this project, the world has been divided into three regions, with Japan in charge of data pertaining to the Asia-Pacific region. An additional 70 million yen will also be requested in fiscal 2000 for this work, agency officials said.