Eco-Logers, Hi all. I want to thank David for bringing attention to an ecologically important but often ignored (at least by ecologists) region of the planet. I have been working as a science adviser to Birds Korea, an organization dedicated to avian conservation on the Korean peninsula and Yellow Sea ecoregion. In the past decade I have witnessed an astonishing loss of biodiverse habitats on Korean peninsula. This includes vast reclamation of tidal flat and coastal wetlands including the recently completed 33km long Saemangeum seawall that "reclaimed" over 30,000 ha of intertidal wetlands (not far from the previously mentioned National Ecological Institute; also see http://www.birdskorea.org/Habitats/Wetlands/Saemangeum/BK-HA-Saemangeum.shtml). Reclamation of intertidal wetlands continues at remarkable pace with major reclamation taking place at several sites across the country including at Song Do where a new International Business District (http://www.songdo.com/songdo-international-business-district/why-songdo/sustainable-city.aspx) is being developed on top of critical habitat for a number of endangered species and yet is being advertised as a "sustainable development". Several North American Universities are currently being courted to house an international campus on this site (for a complete list http://saveinternational.org/saveinaction/song-do-tidal-flats/). Away from the coast the "Four River's Project" will detrimentally impact South Korea's 4 major river systems and result in the construction of 30 new dams, the dredging of over 400 miles of river, and an additional 200+ miles of concrete lining along the four rivers and their tributaries (http://e360.yale.edu/content/feature.msp?id=2188).
I hope that the development of this new National Ecological Institute is a sign that perhaps the tide is turning on environmental protection and conservation in the region and not just another "green" smokescreen by the ROK Ministry of the Environment. I hope for the aforementioned but tend to believe the latter. I hope that I am proven wrong and that this new institute will draw researchers from around the world and will bolster environmental and ecological sciences within ROK. I look forward to more updates on the development of the National Ecological Institute. If anyone has more info please pass it along. Cheers, Tyler L Hicks PhD Student Washington State University - Vancouver E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.thingswithwings.org "Back off man, I'm a scientist!" - Bill Murray, Ghostbusters > Date: Sun, 11 Sep 2011 22:07:00 -0400 > From: [email protected] > Subject: [ECOLOG-L] Ecology in Korea > To: [email protected] > > I made a trip to Korea earlier this month to talk at a symposium > organized by the National Ecological Institute, which was created > recently by the Ministry of Environment. The NEI has started > construction on a 100ha $330 million facility near Seocheon, about a > 3-hr bus ride south of Seoul. We took a field trip to the site, where > a large number of research greenhouses are finished, and work is > proceeding on an ecology education center, a guest house for 300, an > ecosystem exhibit area (somewhat reminiscent of Biosphere II), an > endangered species research center (5,200 m2), and an ecology > research center (8,400 m2) (some architectural information at > <http://architecture-now2.blogspot.com/2010/04/ecorium-project-of-national-ecological.html>http://architecture-now2.blogspot.com/2010/04/ecorium-project-of-national-ecological.html). > > There's an adjacent reservoir and wetland area for research use, an > agricultural garden area, and a variety of plantings of types of > forest representative of Korean ecosystems. They intend to hire a > staff of 300, largely ecologists, and plan an inaugural symposium for > late 2012. NEI head is Dr. Chang-seok Lee, a restoration ecologist > and formerly a faculty member at a university in Seoul. There will be > an inaugural conference in late 2012, when the facility is expected to open. > > David > > > Dr. David W. Inouye, Professor > Dept. of Biology > University of Maryland > College Park, MD 20742-4415 > > Rocky Mtn. Biological Laboratory > PO Box 519 > Crested Butte, CO 81224 > > [email protected] > 301-405-6946
