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From: "Ken Rogers" <>
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Subject: Fw: Tidal flat reclamation in Korea halted! Please sign
petition.
Date: Wed, 23 Jul 2003 09:19:55 +1000
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Many of you will be aware that the South Korean government has been =
reclaiming the Saemangeum area on the west coast of South Korea since =
1991. It is planning to build a 33 km long seawall to enclose 40 100
ha =
of intertidal flat and shallows. This area (containing the Mangyeung =
and Dongjin estuaries) is the single most important site for waders in =
South Korea, and possibly the Yellow Sea. Daily peak counts reach 155 =
000 waders, and perhaps 500 000 birds use the area through the year.
27 =
species of bird use the area in internationally important numbers, =
including Spoon-billed Sandpiper (max count 280, out of perhaps 2 000
in =
the world), Spotted Greenshank (>100, out of 1 000) and Great Knot (119
=
000, out of 380 000).
Last week, a court ruling halted the entire project, and demanded a =
re-evaluation of the aims of the project. This provides an unexpected =
opportunity to intensify public opposition to the project. =
Coincidentally, the New Zealand Prime Minister, Helen Clark, is
visiting =
South Korea and hopefully the NZ government will raise the issue =
formally with the South Korean government. Both NZ and South Korea are
=
signatories on the Ramsar Convention and the Convention on Biological =
Diversity. NZ is also a member on the Bonn Convention on Migratory =
Species. A final decision on the project is expected within the next =
2-3 months; equally so, a decision within the next 2-3 weeks is =
possible. This may be our ONLY chance to shift opinion on this =
appalling habitat destruction. I encourage EVERY WADEROLOGIST to read =
the information below (provided by Nial Moores, a conservationist =
working on waterbirds in South Korea) and to check out the Saemangeum =
website (http://www.wbkenglish.com/saemref.asp). If your computer is
up =
to it, watch the BBC documentary "Dike Hard". It will give you a very =
good idea of what is happening.
An on-line petition is being run by WBKEnglish, and will be forwarded
=
to the Korean Ministry of Trade and Affairs. To add your name to the =
petition, go to http://www.wbkenglish.com/petition01.asp and enter your
=
details. Your name will be added to the list.
Please send this e-mail around to anyone who may be interested.
Many thanks, Phil Battley
------------------------------------------------------------------------
-=
-----
From Nial Moores, WBKEnglish, South Korea
Dear All,
Thank you in advance for any support you can offer us here in South =
Korea.
I am writing in relation to the Saemangeum reclamation project on the
=
South Korean west coast: the world's largest ongoing reclamation =
project, originally aiming to convert 40 100 ha of tidal-flats and =
shallows into rice-field and agricultural reservoir =
(http://www.wbkenglish.com/saemank.asp).
Although all of us as environmentalists are prone to see every battle
=
as the most significant, issues could not come much bigger than this =
project.
The Saemangeum area comprises two free-flowing estuaries (the =
Mangyeung and the Dongjin), extensive salt-marsh, tidal-flats (up to 25
=
km wide) and extensive shallows. The area supports the largest =
concentrations of shorebirds known at present in the whole of the
Yellow =
Sea - with a peak day count of ca 150 000 individuals. These include =
maximum day counts of 3 350 and 8 430 Bar-tailed Godwit Limosa
lapponica =
(Kuaka) at the Mangyeung and Dongjin estuaries respectively (Barter, =
2001: "Shorebirds of the Yellow Sea: Importance, Threats and =
Conservation Status"; Wetlands International Global Series 9, =
International Wader Studies 12). In total, ca 30 species of waterbird =
(including 8 globally threatened species) are found there regularly in =
internationally important concentrations.
With the visit of New Zealand Prime Minister Clark to South Korea =
between July 24th and July 28th, there is a real chance to influence
the =
future of this reclamation project: especially after a historic court =
ruling passed on July 15th 2003 (see Press release: =
http://english.kfem.or.kr).
The project has long been mired in controversy. Designed by the =
military government of the 1980s, construction of a 33 km long outer
sea =
dyke was started in 1991. Increasingly opposed by a large percentage of
=
the Korean people, by all the leading environmental organisations and
by =
the two major ministries charged with wetland conservation here, the =
project was even suspended for 1 -year (in 2000) due to environmental =
concerns and protests (including letters sent by Birdlife
International, =
Wetlands International, FOE-International, WWF-International etc). =
However, it was re-launched for political reasons in 2001, and the =
newly-elected president Roh also reaffirmed his decision to continue =
with the reclamation on June 5th 2003 (despite his admitting that there
=
is now no clear end-use for any land created). A surprise court
ruling =
on July 15 however, happily again threatens the project's continuation,
=
as it found that the reservoirs created by the project will be too =
polluted to use as proposed and the expense of resolving water
pollution =
issues too high. In a very positive move, the Court demanded that =
construction on the outer dyke (already 80% completed) must stop =
immediately, while a higher court decides how to proceed.
The domestic media has covered the court's ruling, and the nation is =
again plunged into debate. The Ministry of Agriculture, the proponents =
of the project, insist it must continue; while others worry about the =
waste of money involved in either stopping or continuing on with the =
project. As conservationists we must raise the issue of South Korea's =
responsibility to both the Ramsar Convention and the Convention on =
Biological Diversity; we must alert and inform media and other =
governments of the costly impacts of this reclamation - to coastal =
fisheries, migratory bird populations and South Korea's international =
image.
Although last week the reclamation project was aired (and slammed) on
=
BBC World's Earth Report (see: =
http://www.tve.org/news/doc.cfm?aid=3D1190, and =
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3046368.stm ) international involvement in
=
the issue has been surprisingly sporadic. with the court's ruling, we =
believe the visit by New Zealand's Prime Minister could really help to =
tip the balance in favor of canceling the Saemangeum project..
We ask your help in taking this chance, to kill off the last of the =
massive reclamation projects in South Korea, and to help turn the tide =
in the Yellow Sea towards conservation.
For more information and images please refer to the media-friendly =
reference page:
http://www.wbkenglish.com/saemref.asp
Nial Moores
Wetlands and Bird Conservation Specialist
South Korea
Http://www.WBKEnglish.com
82-11-9303 1963
------------------------------------------------------------
Phil Battley
533A Ruahine St
Palmerston North
New Zealand
---------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------
Phil Battley
533A Ruahine St
Palmerston North
New Zealand
---------------------------------------------------------
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