Yi Whan-woo is a Korea Times journalist primarily covering finance. He writes in-depth articles on macroeconomy and financial markets and previously covered sports, politics, diplomacy and inter-Korean affairs, among others. Feel free to contact him at yistory@koreatimes.co.kr.
Conservation congress to attract 10,000 participants
By Yi Whan-woo
The 2012 World Conservation Congress (WCC) to be held on Jeju Island from Sept. 6 to 15 is expected to attract as many as 10,000 participants, the organizing committee said Tuesday.
The committee said that this would be the largest in the history of the WCC.
The participants will hold talks on 176 initiatives, including nature conservation and climate change, during the 10-day conference.
A total of 8,651 people have registered for the quadrennial conference run by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.
The number of attendees reached 6,698 at the 2008 congress in Barcelona, Spain.
“We still have a week to go before the congress, and we expect the number will easily reach 10,000 before the opening,” said Lee Hong-koo, chairman of the organizing committee.
Korea proposed 20 of the 176 initiatives such as green growth, one of the country’s key environment policies; preservation of the marine environment in the West Sea; and measures to reduce dust storms.
The committee also said that the participants should not miss the World Leaders’ Dialogue, a newly-introduced program that will involve 30 delegates from the United Nations, governments, environmental groups and private firms across the world.