On April 16, the Ministry of Environment (MOE) announced to carry out a “military troop relocation & ecosystem restoration project” at Yongneup (Yong Marsh) of Mt. Daeam, which is Korea’s first Ramsar Convention-registered wetland designated as the wetland preservation area, by injecting 3.9 billion won of budget for the next four years.

Located in Swohwa-li, Inje-gun, Gangwon-do, Yongneup of Mt. Daeam is a repository of natural resources where endangered species such as buckbean, Trientalis europaea L., wildcat and Korea’s endemic species such as Gentiana jamesii Hemsley inhabit.

As the soil from adjacent military base is flowing into Yongneup, MOE decided to conduct the project to prevent rapid landization and pollution of the marsh.

At the moment, terrestrial plants such as Spiraea salicifolia already invaded Yongneup and seepage erosion occasionally occurs, which tells rapid landization of the wetland.

Against this backdrop, Wonju Regional Environmental Office (WREO) agreed with the Ministry of National Defense to relocate the military base in the upper Yongneup, and execute the ecosystem restoration project through close consultation with relevant organizations.

MOE will set up a basic plan for military base relocation and ecosystem restoration project this year, remove and relocate the facilities of military camp from 2014 to 2015 and carry out restoration project in 2016.

An official from Wonju Office expects that the project will turn Yongneup into living habitat for wildlife.