The Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries co-hosted the celebration for the two international days, the International Day for Biological Diversity and the World Wetlands Day, on this Thursday at Dongbaekdongsan Wetland, one of 19 Ramsar Sites in Korea.
The combined celebration brought together an estimated 500 participants from the general public, state and local governments, the National Assembly, environmental experts and NGOs.
The intention of the combination was to create synergy between the two important international days, increasing understanding and awareness of wetlands and its role in supporting a wide range of biodiversity.
The theme of this year’s marking, “Wetland for Our Future and Biodiversity for Sustainable Development”, stresses that wetlands and biodiversity are two particularly important providers of ecosystem services that are indispensible for all species on the planet, including human beings, to sustain life.
On this momentous occasion, environmental merit awards were given to 26 winners, in recognition of years of their efforts in conservation of biodiversity and wetlands. Among them is Professor Hong-Sik Cho who contributed to organizing the 12th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD COP12) held in October 2014 in Peyongchang County, Gangwon Province, and national implementation of this Convention.
As part of the celebration, the Ministry of Environment held a certificate-award ceremony for two wetlands, Sumeunmulbangdui Wetland (Jeju) and Hanbando Wetland (Yeongwol County, Gangwon Province), newly designated as the 20th and 21st Wetlands of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention. The designations were given in recognition of their ecological importance in supporting high levels of biodiversity.
Dr. Seongkyu Yoon, the Minster of Environment, said in his remarks at the ceremony, “to contribute to a successful implementation of CBD at the international level, Korea joins the global action to strengthen and support the implementation of the Pyeongchang Roadmap adopted at the CBD COP12. As the hosting country, Korea is also taking important steps to boost the national implementation of the Convention. These include: efforts to develop a roadmap for systematic management of the national protected area network; measures to identify new biological resources and promote their wise use; and plans to expand ecotourism opportunities with special reference to wetlands”.
A wide range of festive activities to celebrate the day took place in the beautiful island of Jeju.
Places at and around the celebration venue, 24 programmes of activities and exhibitions were held, including ‘Wetland Insects Toy-making’ and ‘Nakdonggang Estuary Eco-experience’ programme. Among them, the ‘Ecotourism at Sunheul-ghot (Sunheul cape)’ programme, organized by locals at Sunheul Village near the cape, provided visitors with good opportunities to experience what it is like to enjoy pristine ecosystems and at the same time engage in nature conservation. A workshop, organized by the Jeju Government, brought together local people and government officials who engaged in discussions on how to make management of protected areas more effective and efficient. The local government also held an expert seminar on wetlands and biodiversity.
The International Day for Biological Diversity is a UN-sanctioned international day to mark the day, May 22, 1992, when the CBD went into effect. The World Wetland day marks the date of the signing of the Ramsar Convention on February 2, 1971 (the Ramsar Convention encourages its Parties to hold a ceremony on a different day, if necessary, on their discretion, if the day falls in a season in which the weather conditions are not favorable to hold outdoor activities).