Members of the Sustainable Use Parliamentarians Union of Japan (SUPU-Japan), the Japanese chapter of SUPU, exchanged views on sustainable use of natural resources with delegates from African countries at a welcome reception held in a Tokyo hotel on October 1.
 The reception, held on the occasion of the third meeting of the Tokyo International Conference on Africa's Development (TICADIII) held for three days from September 29, was attended by seven members of SUPU-Japan, including its chairman Yutaka Takeyama, member of the House of Councillors, and representatives from 20 African countries.
SUPU-Japan is a supra-partisan parliamentariansEgroup having membership of 94.
In his welcome speech, Takeyama observed that excessive emphasis is now given only to protection of natural resources, under pressures from radical environmental organizations, at the sacrifice of effective utilization of the resources,
| African delegates at the reception |
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| Chairman Takeyama greeting Ambassador Tolo |
as is observed at the meetings of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) and the Convention for the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
He also expressed concern about the ongoing campaign in some Western countries to restrict fishing activities at large. He called on African delegates to join SUPU, stressing the need for parliamentarians throughout the world to unite to promote the concept of sustainable use of the resources.
On behalf of the African delegates present at the reception, Ambassador Thiam Ousman Tolo of Guinea expressed support of SUPUs concept, saying developing countries use marine resources extensively, and protecting those resources without scientific evidence may threaten our wildlife resources.Ebr>
The Sustainable Use Parliamentarians Union, founded in 1997, is headed by U.S. Congressman Richard Pombo (RCalifornia). The Union has been actively taking part in the meetings of international organizations related to natural resources, such as CITES and the IWC. |
