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CEO & Publisher: Oh Young-jinDigital News Email: webmaster@koreatimes.co.krTel: 02-724-2114Online newspaper registration No: 서울,아52844Date of registration: 2020.02.05Masthead: The Korea TimesCopyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.

Reckless Development Threatens Wetlands on Korea’s West Coast

By Park Si-soo Staff Reporter CHANGWON ㅡ Experts on costal wetlands warned wetlands on the west coast of Korea ― a major habitat for biodiversity and migratory birds in the entire East Asian-Australasian flyway ― are in jeopardy from reckless economic development. In a symposium on East Asian costal wetlands Wednesday at the Changwon Exhibition Convention Center, the main venue for the Ramsar Convention, Zhang Xuelei from the First Institute of Oceanography in China said, ``Coastal wetlands in the west coast of Korea have largely disappeared in recent decades as a result of heavy pressure from exploration activities and environment changes.'' Noting that rapid economic development has been encouraging people to change their lives and increase their pressures on the marine ecosystem including the sea grass bed, Zhang said, ``A direct threat is the increased intensity of local fishery activities, which can damage the sea grass bed, and depletes the hosted resources and biodiversity.'' According to Prof. Park Gyung-soo of the department of marine biotechnology of Anyang Uni

Oct 29, 2008

IUCN Chief Says Green Growth Sounds Clever

By Bae Ji-sook Staff Reporter CHANGWON ― Harmonious existence among humans, wildlife and nature is very difficult, but through ``wise use'' and ``green growth,'' ideal coexistence will be possible some day, said Julia Marton ― Lefevre, director general of the International Union for Conservation of Nature. In an interview with The Korea Times during her visit to the Ramsar Convention, she said the current government's slogan of green growth and the Ramsar Convention is quite ``clever.'' She said it could reduce people's resistance toward both bulldozer development and stillness in economic development caused by excessive focus on preservation. ``It will tell people that we can make a move forward in terms of economy while still acknowledging the importance of the environment,'' she said. ``Now everyone will be aware of the concept of sustainable development.'' The head of one of the largest environmental organizations in the world stressed the cooperation between the government and civilians in terms of preserving nature. The organization is deeply involved in protecting

Oct 29, 2008

Environment Key to Continued Prosperity

By Kim Tae-ho Governor of South Gyeongsang Province As Governor of South Gyeongsang Province, I am very privileged to host the 10th Conference of the Contracting Parties to the Convention on Wetlands in our province and welcome every one of you together with the 3.2 million people here. For the last three years our province, along with the Ministry of Environment, has done its best for the preparation of the best physical and logistical conditions so that you can fully engage in your deliberation. In the process, we developed and implemented many policies for wetland conservation, set up the ``Ramsar Environment Foundation,'' and offered a variety of outreach programs aiming at residents' awareness on environment. I am confident that all these efforts will lead the province into the very center of environment in Korea. Of those, with the President's support, the restoration project of the Crested Ibis, which is believed to be extinct in the nation, is successfully underway in Upo Wetland. In preparation for the post-Ramsar, we have drawn up a blueprint so that all

Oct 29, 2008

Changwon Declaration to Shed Light on Importance of Wetlands

The following article is a speech Lee Maan-ee, minister of environment of the Republic of Korea, delivered to take presidency at Ramsar COP10 Wednesday. ― ED. First of all, I would like to extend my gratitude to Uganda for contributing to the development of the Ramsar Convention as the chair country of COP9. Now 158 countries have joined the Ramsar Convention, and the number of Ramsar sites amounts to more than 1,800. Such a huge growth of the Convention reflects the strong commitment of the contracting parties to the goal of the Convention and a worldwide consensus on the values of wetlands. I believe this year's COP10 will usher us into a new stage of the development of the Convention. First of all, this year's meeting will elaborate and adopt the strategic plan, which will be the guideline for us to implement the convention over the next two triennia. The parties will also discuss how to improve the CEPA program, which is essential to the improvement of awareness on wetland conservation. The change of frequency and timing of COPs is also on the agenda of COP10, whi

Oct 29, 2008

Ramsar Has Never Been More Important

By Ban Ki-moon UN Secretary General Let me warmly congratulate the Republic of Korea on hosting this 10th meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. Your theme ― ``Healthy Wetlands, Healthy People'' ― rightly emphasizes the vital link between wetlands, and the livelihoods and well-being of people around the world. We need healthy wetlands for food, water, fiber, and medicines. We need them to reach the Millennium Development Goals. We need them as carbon reservoirs to help us to manage greenhouse gas emissions. We need them to help us build resilience in the face of climate change. Three years ago, the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment sounded a stark warning. Our inland and coastal wetlands continue to be degraded at a rate faster than any other ecosystem. Our unsustainable use of water coupled with growth is making it worse. This is despite nearly four decades of global efforts to halt and reserve the damage. That is why the Ramsar Convention has never been more important. It enjoys global consensus. It pr

Oct 28, 2008

Asian Countries Spur Wetland Preservation

By Bae Ji-sook Staff Reporter How are Asian countries faring at the Ramsar Convention? A report on the 30 member states and 14 non-member states of the convention was released Tuesday to show how Asian countries are doing in terms of wetland preservation and its wise use between 2003 and 2008. There are 215 wetlands listed in the Convention for preservation in the region. Among them, 17 were registered over the last two years. However, the policies of those countries are getting less friendly. In 2008, only 54 percent of the member states formed wetland committees, which represents a sharp fall from 73 percent in 2005 and 67 percent in 2002. Especially, Korea and Lebanon reported that the listing is difficult because local residents would oppose in addition to the lack of cooperation or financial hindrance in buying real estate. Also, international cooperation for wetland conservation still lagged behind. Only Japan and Korea managed to finance the preservation of other countries while China, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, Tadzhikistan, Vietnam received small amounts o

Oct 28, 2008

Changwon in Festive Mood for Ramsar

By Park Si-soo Staff Reporter CHANGWON ― The southeastern city of Changwon, the host city of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, is in a festive mood as the ``Environment Olympics'' kicked off Tuesday for an eight-day run here. This is the largest-ever international convention in the city. Numerous green flags and banners featuring the meeting's official logo and welcoming message fluttered in the breeze on the main thoroughfares of the city. Thousands of colorful paper lanterns, made by children, also lined the Changwon Exhibition Convention Center (CECO), the main venue for the Ramsar Convention. Fields around CECO have already become the stage for a variety of events and exhibitions for the triennial meeting. ``People in Changwon have high expectations for the meeting,'' said Kim Won-seok, a member of the Federation of Artistic and Cultural Organizations of South Gyeongsang Province, showing Korean traditional carving skills. ``We believe this will serve as a stepping stone for the government to pay more attention to not only the wetlands but also other environmenta

Oct 28, 2008

Convention Kicks Off for Wise Use of Wetlands

By Bae Ji-sook Staff Reporter CHANGWON ― The 10th Ramsar Convention on wetlands kicked off Tuesday to discuss how wetlands are related to and can contribute to addressing various international issues such as human health, climate change, water shortage, poverty reduction and biodiversity. The grand opening took place in the Changwon Exhibition Convention Center in the southeastern city of the peninsula and featured congratulatory messages from key figures from all around the world, including President Lee Myung-bak, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, and UN Environment Program Executive Director Achim Steiner. While Ban sent a video message encouraging public awareness toward wetlands as well as environmental issues on the whole, President Lee as well as Environment Minister Lee focused on the function of wetlands and their effect on human lives. ``Wetlands are indispensable natural resources on which human beings, animals and plants are heavily dependent for foods and places to live in,'' Lee said emphasizing the role of wetlands in promoting human health a

Oct 28, 2008

Healthy Wetlands, Healthy People Conference to Open in Changwon Ramsar

By Park Si-soo Staff Reporter Experts, government officers and civic environmental leaders from 158 countries around the world will gather Tuesday in the southeastern Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, to discuss the conservation of wetlands. The 10th Meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties to the Convention on Wetlands, widely known as Ramsar COP10, will kickoff in the city from Tuesday to continue till Nov. 4 under the theme of ``Healthy Wetlands, Healthy People.'' Changwon Exhibition Convention Center (CECO) and nearby wetlands, including Upo Wetlands ― the largest inland Ramsar-listed wetland here ― and Junam Reservoir, will be the main venue for the convention. It is the second time for the triennial conference to be held in Asia, following Japan's Kusiro meeting in 1993. The number of participants is expected to reach 2,000 from 158 countries around the world, the largest ever including those from non-contracting parties and environmental NGOs. Ramsar Convention on Wetlands is the world's first treaty to provide a framework for

Oct 27, 2008

What Is Ramsar Convention?

By Park Si-soo Staff Reporter The Ramsar Convention is an international treaty adopted on Feb. 2, 1971, in the Iranian city of Ramsar, for the conservation and sustainable utilization of wetlands. It was the first intergovernmental treaty of its kind in the world and took effect on Dec. 21, 1975. The official name of the treaty, ``the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitats,'' reflects the original emphasis upon the conservation and wise use of wetlands primarily as a habitat for water birds. Once focusing on the specific issue, the convention has widened its scope of implementation to cover all aspects of wetland conservation and wise use, recognizing wetlands as an important part of the ecosystem for biodiversity conservation and the well being of human communities. Its mission has evolved into ``the conservation and wise use of all wetlands through local, regional and national actions and international cooperation, as a contribution toward achieving sustainable development throughout the world.'' The convention now has 1

Oct 27, 2008
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