Mt. Jiri, the first national park in Korea, has a variety of flora and fauna. (image: Wikipedia)
SEOUL, Nov. 21 (Korea Bizwire) – Korean national parks are globally certified as one of the well-managed top protected areas.
Three national parks including Mt. Jiri, Mt. Seorak and Mt. Odae will be put on the Green List at the sixth World Parks Congress 2014 in Sydney, Australia, from November 12 to 19 hosted by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN).
The IUCN Green List of protected areas is “a new global initiative that celebrates the success of effective protected areas, and encourages the sharing of that success so that other protected areas can also reach high standards,” according to the IUCN. The list has been developed from 2012 to 2014, with a full launch scheduled for this congress in Sydney.
Including three Korean parks, a total of 23 national parks from eight countries were on the list: Three in Korea, one in Spain, one in Italy, two in Australia, two in Kenya, five in France, six in China and three in Colombia.
Korean national parks were highly appreciated as they are in the north-south mountain range stretching from Mt. Baekdu in the north to Mt. Jiri in the south abundant with biodiversity, natural resource conservation and safe exploration systems. The north-south mountain range, also called the Baekdu Daegan, is referred to as the spine of the Korean Peninsula.
Mt. Jiri, the first national park in Korea, has a variety of flora and fauna. In particular, the government has tried to protect endangered Asiatic Black bears for more than ten years, originally inhabiting the mountain.
Mt. Seorak was designated as a biosphere zone by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. It boasts well-preserved beautiful scenery. Mt. Odae with various animals and plants, located in the center of the Baekdu Daegan, has been selected as the best national parks for two consecutive years by the Korea National Park Service.
The IUCN makes the list the ground scheme to protect nature worldwide. South Korea has worked with the global institution since 2012 with other countries including Spain, Italy, Australia and France in order to boost the Green List scheme.
The Korean agency will put forth its utmost effort to allow other Korean national parks to be on the list. “Thanks to the designation by the IUCN, Korea can promote its image as a nation to enthusiastically protect nature,” said Kim Jong-chun, director of the agency.
By Veronica Huh (veronicah@koreabizwire.com)
