(image: Ministry of Environment)
SEOUL, Aug. 29 (Korea Bizwire) — The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries announced yesterday that it was re-designating protective marshlands to include expanded areas of the four marsh areas in South Korea currently protected by law.
The four areas are the Seocheon Tidal Flats in South Chungcheong Province and Gochang Tidal Flats in North Jeolla Province, as well as the Sinan Tidal Flats and Boseong’s Byeolgyo Tidal Flats, both situated in South Jeolla Province.
The ministry has been protecting the tidal flat areas after designating them as special protective zones in 2001 in an attempt to preserve the eco-diversity of the biological organisms that live in the areas’ shores and waters.
According to the laws that protect the areas, activities such as construction, mineral exploration and culturing, capturing and collecting plants and animals are prohibited.
The new areas that have been included into the protective zones total 1,185 square kilometers, twice the size of Seoul.
The ministry expects that with the new protective measure in place, 57 percent of Korea’s entire marshlands will be better preserved and managed.
Protection, by law, of the new areas was deemed necessary by the government as a diversity of marine organisms were found to be living in the tidal flats.
An official at the ministry said that he hoped the new measure would instill a heightened awareness in the public about the importance of the tidal flats.
H. S. Seo (hsseo@koreabizwire.com)
