By Bae Ji-sook
Staff Reporter
Prof. Kim Seong-il of the Seoul National University Department of Forest Science was elected as a board member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) ― a first for Korea, the Ministry of Environment said Friday.
Kim will be taking charge of all preservation plans established in the organization's 23 Asian member states as the chairman of the organization's Asian division for the World Commission Protected Area. His term is four years.
Kim is listed on the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's roster of experts on the development of quality economies in Biosphere Reserve and is a chair member of the International Union of Forest Research Organizations.
The Korean government has backed his IUCN board membership for several years through the group's convention and RAMSAR Convention that took place last October.
IUCN is one of the world's largest environment preservation groups and was established in 1948 by governments, non-governmental organizations from 82 state governments, 111 state organizations from 140 countries and 870 NGOs.
More than 11,000 experts are involved in the organization on such issues as UNESCO's World Heritage designation.