Wetlands - Korea's most-threatened habitat: 3Even the Watercock Gallicrex cinerea, once a common and familiar bird in Korea, has suffered very extensive declines and now has a very localised distribution, probably being commonest in very extensive areas of recently created rice-fields made through tidal-flat conversion, e.g. in Seosan and Haenam. Such areas still lack extensive road systems and buildings, and being only recently used for agriculture presumably still have invertebrate-rich soils. Happily, however, some species are increasing through utilising such areas, including most egret species (an effect also of global warming and/or reduced persecution?) and especially the Baikal Teal, which has increased from an estimated 80,000 in 1995 to c. 400,000 in 2001/2002. In recently-created habitat in Seosan and Haenam they find safe daytime roosting and extensive rice-fields in which to feed at night.
Conservation Initiatives Although South Korea is still stubbornly pressing on with many wetland-reclamation projects, dreamed up for the ill-informed National Master Plan for Land Reclamation by the military government of the 1980s, and although so much has already been lost, there is still very much to work for and many increasingly bright signs of progress. There are probably 60 or more sites nationwide still meeting Ramsar criteria for identification as internationally important, and still an estimated 50 species of waterbird supported by South Korean wetlands in internationally important concentrations. Probably 13 of these species are considered globally threatened: Chinese Egret, Black-faced Spoonbill, Swan Goose, Baikal Teal, Mandarin Duck, Hooded, White-naped and Red-crowned Cranes, Eastern Curlew, Nordmanns Greenshank, Spoon-billed Sandpiper, Saunders's Gull and Relict Gull. In addition, there are at least three threatened populations (Mute Swan, Black Brant and eastern Oystercatcher) not listed by the Asia Pacific Migratory Waterbird Conservation Strategy that occur regularly in internationally important concentrations in Korea. What of these species future?
With a strengthening economy and a growing international role, South Korea has started to shift its wetland policies noticeably in recent years, canceling the massive Yeongsan reclamation project in 1998 (which would have led to the eventual loss of most of the important southwest tidal-flats), and is starting to respond to the demands of international conventions such as Ramsar and the Convention on Biological Diversity. Although still only designating two Ramsar sites, both a Wetlands Conservation Act (in 1999) and a Natural Environment Conservation Act have been introduced, and the Ministries of Environment and of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (who carry the largest responsibility for wetlands under national legislation) have voiced their public opposition to coastal reclamation, while working to designate national Wetland Protection Areas (at the time of writing, unsuccessfully, due to local stakeholder opposition). Further government-led initiatives include increased participation in the Site Network activities (carried out as part of the Asia-Pacific Migratory Waterbird Conservation Strategy), and also participation in bilateral bird conservation talks with neighboring Japan. A series of other major projects are also ongoing, including two full-scale UNDP-GEF projects (one covering the Yellow Sea; the other the Tumen River and regional catchment), and one further South Korean Wetlands Biodiversity Project, still in its Project Development Phase B. In addition, although still extremely small scale, there have been some recent moves made at local sites towards altering management regimes in individual rice-fields (allowing some to remain flooded in winter for waterbird use, e.g. Lee H. 2001), and the start of a nationwide scheme covering c. 1,000 ha at five sites to subsidise farmers to manage their rice-fields for biodiversity. The recent shift in government stance has been assisted by a growing interest in birds and their conservation, fuelled by the media and the rapid increase in the popularity of birdwatching: though still small scale, there are now believed to be an estimated 1000 or more birdwatchers nationwide. Domestic NGOs have started to become involve in bird surveys (participating in Ministry of Environment organised and funded waterbird surveys), and some are increasingly starting to cite bird protection as a reason for opposing reclamation and developments affecting wetlands. Through the same domestic wetland conservation work, some are even participating in international conservation initiatives, working with Japanese and Chinese NGOs. South Korea really is a worthy conservation cause. After eventual unification of the Korean peninsula, expertise and conservation experience built up now in the South will be of great value for the resource-stretched North. The DMZ and much of the Yellow Sea will increasingly become Koreas responsibility. The future of charismatic bird species, and the well-being of a huge human population, will very largely depend on the wetland wise use management techniques and conservation initiatives developed now. Bibliography
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