South Korean and Japanese lawmakers are meeting in Tokyo Sunday to discuss launching an inter-parliamentary cooperation group for environmental protection.

The conference dubbed "Environmental Campaign 2001" will continue through Saturday.

Chinese parliamentarians from the National People's Congress will join the discussion in Beijing next month.

The lawmakers plan to hold a launch ceremony for the organization in Seoul on May 4. The secretariat will be situated in Seoul.

The organization's first campaigns will be to plant grass and trees in the Gobi Desert and the Yangtze River basin to halt the spread of desertization there and serve as wind breaks. The afforestation program is also aimed at mitigating the 'yellow dust' phenomenon.

Each spring, seasonal westerly winds carry an enormous amount of sand and harmful aerosols from China and Mongolia to Korea, Manchuria and Japan.