Gwangju to Host Public-Private-Academic Workshop on Wetland Conservation and Management

Ministry of Environment to Host Workshop on Wetland Conservation and Management,
Discussion on Preservation and Management Strategies to Take Place on June 27-28
Gwangju City to Promote Ramsar Registration of Jangrok Wetland,
the Nation's First Urban National Wetland

Jangnok Wetland panorama. Provided by Gwangju City

A forum for policy discussions on wetland conservation will be held in Gwangju, which is home to Jangrok Wetland, the nation's first national wetland located within an urban area.

The city of Gwangju announced on the 25th that, hosted by the Ministry of Environment, the "2025 Joint Public-Private-Academic Workshop on Wetland Conservation and Management" will be held for two days from the 27th to the 28th at Central Gwangju Hotel & Residence. The workshop is organized to commemorate World Wetlands Day (February 2) and to discuss wetland conservation policies and management strategies.

About 130 participants are expected to attend the workshop, including Ko Gwangwan, Gwangju Deputy Mayor for Administrative Affairs; Cha Euncheol, Director of the Nature Ecology Policy Division at the Ministry of Environment; Lee Changseok, President of the National Institute of Ecology; Gil Kyeongik, President of the Korean Wetlands Society; as well as wetland experts, private organizations, and local government officials from across the country.

On the first day, the 27th, there will be keynote presentations and discussions on wetland conservation policies. Five presentations will be given: "Key Points and Implementation Plans for the 2025 Wetland Conservation Policy" by Jo Younghun, an official from the Ministry of Environment; "Current Status of Jangrok Wetland and Efforts for Future Generations" by Kim Ilkwon, a researcher at Gwangju Research Institute; "Understanding and Management Directions of Ramsar Information Sheet (RIS)" by Lim Jeongcheol, a researcher at the National Institute of Ecology; "Wetland Conservation for Sustainable Development" by Park Miok, a professor at Nazarene University; and "Utilization of Wetlands for NBS-based River Management" by Kim Sujeon, a professor at Inha University.

Following the presentations, the presenters and Cha Euncheol, Director at the Ministry of Environment, will participate as panelists in a discussion on the 2025 wetland conservation policy and future management directions.

On the second day, the 28th, participants will visit Jangrok Wetland, located in Seobong-dong, Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju, which has been designated as the 26th national wetland protected area in Korea. The visit aims to raise awareness of the importance of wetland conservation and to share sustainable management strategies.

Jung Hyunyun, Director of the Climate and Environment Bureau, stated, "The city of Gwangju plans to strengthen the management of Jangrok National Wetland, which serves as a repository of biodiversity and plays a climate regulation role, by pursuing its registration as a Ramsar Wetland this year."

Meanwhile, in order to systematically preserve and utilize Jangrok Wetland, the city will invest 19.5 billion KRW (70% funded by the national government) to build a wetland ecology center and related facilities on a 11,051-square-meter site in Seobong-dong, Gwangsan-gu, by 2026.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.