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        Discussion Area °Q½×°Ï >> Conservation ¦ÛµM«O¨| >>  Saemangeum destruction given go-ahead Áú°ê·s¸UÀAÀã¦a¥¢¦u
        
(Message started by: HKBWS Project on Dec 23^rd, 2005, 5:00pm)

Title: Saemangeum destruction given go-ahead Áú°ê·s¸UÀAÀã¦a¥¢¦u
Post by HKBWS Project on Dec 23^rd, 2005, 5:00pm

Saemangeum destruction given go-ahead

http://www.birdlife.org/news/news/2005/12/saemangeum_decision.html

22-12-2005

In a massive blow for conservation and wildlife, the Seoul High Court has decided that the South Korean Government can resume the Saemangeum wetland reclamation, which according to the Korean media is "designed to transform large tidal flats off the country¡¦s southwestern coast into farmlands and a freshwater reservoir". (http://times.hankooki.com/)

The 40,000ha Saemangeum project on South Korea's west coast has generated enormous controversy as the area is one of the most important wetland sites for migrating waterbirds in Asia, with around 400,000 waterbirds annually passing through the wetlands or using them as a staging area.

The wetlands also support the highest fish diversity in Korea, and are a vitally important spawning ground. The livelihoods of 25,000 Korean fishermen depend on them.

"The Saemangeum project will have one of the biggest environmental impacts of any construction project in Asia over the coming decade." ¡XRichard Grimmett, BirdLife Asia

Richard Grimmett, Head of BirdLife International's Asia Division said: "The Saemangeum project will have one of the biggest environmental impacts of any construction project in Asia over the coming decade. It will mean the loss of tidal mudflats and a feeding area for vast numbers of shorebirds on their East Asia-Australasian migration, and will impact fisheries and livelihoods in the Yellow Sea."

The project to reclaim Saemangeum for rice growing began in 1991. It met with local and international opposition that resulted in a one-year suspension in 2001, before again being suspended in 2003. However by that time around 90% of the sea wall had already been completed. The Korean Government's own expert panel advised that the reclaimed land would be of too poor quality for agricultural use. Historical precedents reinforced their doubts - the Shihwa reclamation, completed in 1994, cannot be used for agriculture because of water pollution.

South Korea is a signatory to the Ramsar Covention on Wetlands and the Convention on Biological Diversity and has been chosen as the next venue of the Conference of the Parties to the Ramsar Convention in 2008. Ramsar's mission statement reads: "The Convention's mission is the conservation and wise use of all wetlands through local, regional and national actions and international cooperation, as a contribution towards achieving sustainable development throughout the world."

Ironically by the time the conference takes place, the Korean Government may have overseen the destruction of one of the world's great wetlands. Hope still remains however, as campaigners are seeking an injunction to bar the resumption of work and bring the case to the Supreme Court.

Title: Re: Saemangeum destruction given go-ahead Áú°ê·s¸U
Post by Webcreeper on Dec 23^rd, 2005, 9:46pm

Previous Post ±µÀs

Korea appeal to support key waterbird site Áú°ê¤ô³¾«O¨| (http://www.hkbws.org.hk/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?board=Conservation;action=display;num=1134296255)

Title: Re: Saemangeum destruction given go-ahead Áú°ê·s¸U
Post by Karl on Dec 28^th, 2005, 11:45pm

Would like to understand what HKBWS will help in this very occasion. anybody can tell us the details?

Title: Re: Saemangeum destruction given go-ahead Áú°ê·s¸U
Post by Webcreeper on Mar 3^rd, 2006, 11:48pm

on 03/03/06 at 18:07:41, HKBWS Project wrote:

Message from:
Korean Federation for Environmental Movement (KFEM) and
Friends of the Earth Korea (FoE Korea)

An Urgent Plea for Support in Stopping the Saemangeum Reclamation Project in South Korea

http://www.birdskorea.org/saemref.asp

Environmentalists in South Korea and around the world request urgent support for the most important environmental Supreme Court case in South Korean history. Environmental groups, fishers, and bird conservationists are fervently working to stop the reclamation of 40,100 hectares of tidal flats and shallows that are vitally important for an estimated 500,000 waterbirds annually. The Saemangeum estuary supports 30 waterbird species in internationally important concentrations, including the globally-threatened Spoon-billed Sandpiper, Spotted Greenshank, Black-faced Spoonbill, and Saunders¡¦s Gull.

The Saemangeum Project, which is already 400 million USD over-budget and will require at least another 4.3 billion USD to complete, was recently allowed to go ahead when the Seoul Administrative Court¡¦s landmark decision against the project was overturned on appeal. The Korean Supreme Court will begin hearing the Saemangeum case on February 16th, 2006. The timing is crucial given that all but 2.7 km of the 33 km seawall has already been built. The Ministry of Agriculture wants to complete the initial seawall during the month of April, 2006. The completion of the seawall will severely affect populations of birds that migrate along the East Asian-Australasian Flyway. For background in English on the Saemangeum project and the numerous globally threatened bird species it will affect, please visit the websites of the Korean Federation for Environmental Movement-FoE Korea: <http://english.kfem.or.kr>; and Birds Korea: http://www.birdskorea.org/saemref.asp. We would like to thank you for your past support and hope that you will speak out again against the Saemangeum project at this key moment. Please continue reading for a brief account of the legal struggle against the project and use the model protest letter at the bottom to voice your disapproval.

Brief History of the Legal Battle against the Saemangeum Project

The movement against the Saemangeum project became a national movement in 1998 when environmental groups and religious leaders became fully aware of the destruction it would cause to not only the environment, but also the 25,000 people whose economic livelihoods depend on the estuary for fish and aquaculture. Numerous protests were held at Saemangeum and in Seoul from 1998 onwards, with the project gaining international attention, especially as the area has been identified as the single most important site for shorebirds in the Yellow Sea - itself a key region for global shorebird conservation. Saemangeum and the movement against it became one of the most important environmental and media issues in South Korea in the spring and summer of 2003 with the ¡§3 Steps and 1 Bow¡¨ Campaign. A Catholic Priest, Buddhist Monk, Protestant Reverend, and Won Buddhist Monk, along with tens of thousands of supporters, took part in an arduous 65 day campaign in which they walked from Saemangeum to Seoul whereby they took 3 steps and then 1 full bow to the ground. After garnering national news throughout the summer, symbolic reenactments were performed in the U.S., UK, and Italy.

(to be continued)

Title: Re: Saemangeum destruction given go-ahead Áú°ê·s¸U
Post by Webcreeper on Mar 3^rd, 2006, 11:48pm

on 03/03/06 at 18:10:24, HKBWS Project wrote:

(An Urgent Plea for Support in Stopping the Saemangeum Reclamation Project in South Korea)

As part of the movement against the Saemangeum project, 3,500 local people and leading Korean environmentalists filed a court case to stop the construction of the 33 km seawall in August 2001. This case brought some relief as the court ordered new construction on the seawall to stop in July 2003. After a month, however, construction resumed. On February 4th, 2005, the Seoul Administrative Court ruled that the project should either be cancelled or required to apply for new permits given that the intent of the project had changed. The Court ruled that the environmental impact assessments conducted were inadequate, that the original plan to create more farmland was no longer the real objective given that Korean rice farming is no longer competitive and thus declining nation-wide, and that there was no way to ensure that the water would be usable given concerns about pollution.

The Ministry of Agriculture did not apply for new permits, but rather successfully appealed the ruling at the Seoul High Court on December 22nd, 2005. The Appellate Court argued that the economic cost of abandoning the project now outweighs the environmental cost. Furthermore, because of global warming and possible reunification with North Korea, South Korea should pursue self-sufficiency in rice. This is an odd argument, however, given that the land given to rice production has declined 10% in the last two years. Furthermore, WTO regulations and Korea¡¦s push to sign Free Trade Agreements with the US and other major agricultural exporters contradicts the goal of food self-sufficiency. This is but a minor contradiction, however, when one considers the fact that South Korea is a signatory to both the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance and the Convention on Biological Diversity. South Korea will also host the next Ramsar Convention in 2008. It is thus surprising for the government to continue supporting the destruction of the most biodiverse and internationally important wetland system in the nation, and one of the most important anywhere in the entire East Asian-Australian Flyway. The 3,500 fishers and environmentalists who brought the original case have now appealed to the Supreme Court.

This is the biggest environmental case in Korea's history, and the future of Saemangeum is vitally important to the East Asian-Australasian flyway and the Yellow Sea eco-region. Urgent international support is crucial in halting this environmentally devastating and economically wasteful project.

Please send your endorsement for the following letter to Mr. Ma Yong-Un, international campaigner of KFEM, ma@kfem.or.kr, by March 8 as KFEM is going to submit the endorsement in early March before the final ruling of the Supreme Court is made in mid March.

Thank you for your support.

Ma Yong-Un
International Campaigner
Korean Federation for Environmental Movement (KFEM)-Friends of the Earth Korea (FoE Korea)
http://english.kfem.or.kr/
ma@kfem.or.kr

Title: Re: Saemangeum destruction given go-ahead Áú°ê·s¸U
Post by HKBWS Project on Mar 8^th, 2006, 3:15pm

Message from: Ma Yong-Un, KFEM

Dear friends,

Thank you very much for your support for the Saemangeum wetland which is very much encouraging.

According to newspaper reports, the Supreme Court of South Korea is going to make the final ruling on March 16. It is a very critical moment for the wetland that South Korean environmentalists, religious leaders and local fishers are working very hard to stop the reclamation project.

Local fishers organized a big rally yesterday, March 6. About a thousand local fishers gathered at the southern end of the sea wall to urge Korean government to stop the project. You can see photos from the internet address below.

http://nongbalge.or.kr/bbs/view.php?id=issue&no=13&category=&page=1

And, from today, March 7, religious leaders including Father Mun Gyu-Hyun are going to start a hunger strike in the middle of downtown Seoul.

Please send me your endorsements, spread the message across among your members and networks and encourage people to endorse the following letter by tomorrow, March 8.

All the best,

Ma Yong-Un

Title: Re: Saemangeum destruction given go-ahead Áú°ê·s¸U
Post by HKBWS Project on Mar 20^th, 2006, 3:26pm

BirdLife INternational

Future looks bleak for shorebird stronghold

17-03-2006

The long-running saga over the Saemangeum reclamation project in South Korea now appears to be reaching a conclusion. In a move that has dismayed conservation groups, the Korean Supreme Court has ruled that reclamation project is not illegal per se, allowing the government to continue building the seawall that will permanently close off 40,000 hectares of bird-rich tidal flats and shallows from the sea.

Although two of the thirteen judges declared that the project is based on a seriously flawed Environmental Impact Survey, and that it has costs that will need to be borne by future generations, the Supreme Court as a body fell short of demanding the project be cancelled.

The decision for restarting or cancelling the project now falls once again then to the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and the government as a whole. Based on developer's claims, the 33 km long seawall will be completed at the end of April this year, in time to choke the tidal-flats (and the several hundred thousand shorebirds they support on migration) this Spring. After that time, discussions will be held on how to use any land created.

Domestic protests have flared in recent weeks, with hunger strikes, sit-ins, and public condemnation of the project ¡V including one of the nation's leading and most influential intellectuals.

"The finalisation of the Saemangeum project will cause a major loss of feeding habitat for the waterbirds which migrate through East Asia, including several globally threatened species, making the protection of the remaining inter-tidal wetlands around the Yellow and China Seas an even higher conservation priority." ¡XMike Crosby, Research & Data Manager of BirdLife¡¦s Asia Division

The impacts on migratory shorebirds are expected to be enormous and long term. The site is famous for holding concentrations of globally threatened species such as Spoon-billed Sandpiper Eurynorhynchus pygmeus and Spotted Greenshank Tringa guttifer. It also is thought to hold up to 30% of the world's Great Knot Calidris tenuirostris.

The Australasian Wader Studies Group and Birds Korea will conduct a shorebird monitoring program at the site and in adjacent areas, to gather data on the project's impact on birds and their habitats. Approximately 12 international researchers will join domestic counters to carry out the work, starting on 31 March and continuing until the end of May.

Title: Re: Saemangeum destruction given go-ahead Áú°ê·s¸U
Post by Karl on Mar 20^th, 2006, 11:14pm

Hello HKBWS Manager,

What should we do then?

Karl.