 Julia Marton-Lefevre, director general of the International Union for Conservation of Nature |
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 endangered animals and she said in order to achieve her group's goals, promoting the necessity is essential.
``It is very delicate to make a balance between the right amount of development and preservation. Sometimes the mobility of animals and wild lives could be restricted due to human development. But at the same time humans could have trouble dealing with the wild life around them,'' she said when asked about wild bears being released at Mt. Jiri and being criticized by local farmers because of bear attacks on bee farms.
In fact, some radical environmentalists say that designating conservation lots and endangered species as natural treasures gives the wrong impression to ignorant civilians ― you can destroy everything else.
``Let's not put it too pessimistically. We will take preservation step by step. There is no excuse about developing the wetland and there are things we need to preserve. When public awareness toward the necessity arises, then people will understand that all life is worth preserving,'' she said.
She, therefore, stressed communication as a tool to share understanding. She used a river in Tanzania as an example.
``There are two towns at opposite ends of the river. What we must understand is if either of the towns decides to pollute the water, then the other will be severely affected. That will actually put everything into chaos. In this case, what should you do?'' she said.
Since IUCN is deeply involved in the selection of world heritage for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, all eyes are on another issue involving Korea at the moment ― listing the southern coastline containing thousands of dinosaur footprints on the natural heritage list.
Marton-Lefevre kept quite calm. ``I cannot tell about the outcome. But all of our experts are neutral and I hope the best for them,'' she said.
Also concerning the issues of the Korean government's bid to allocate the congress for 2012, she said the time is still to soon to talk about anything. ``The Korean government has yet to file an invitation to the organization. It would be no sooner than February next year when members start thinking about the next allocation,'' she said.
bjs@koreatimes.co.kr
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