His Excellency Mr Lee Tae-Sik
Embassy of the Republic of Korea
60 Buckingham Gate
London SW1E 6AJ
19th August 2003
SAEMANGEUM RECLAMATION PROJECT
Your Excellency,
I understand that an appeal is shortly to be heard
regarding the continuation of the Saemangeum Reclamation Project, and Friends
of the Earth would like to express concern about the damage that this project
could cause to the environment and biodiversity of the Yellow Sea.
Friends
of the Earth England, Wales and Northern Ireland is the UK's most influential
national environmental campaigning organisation. It is part of Friends of the
Earth International, the most extensive environmental network in the world,
with almost one million supporters across five continents and over 60 national
organisations worldwide, including the Korean Federation for Environmental
Movement (KFEM) in Korea.
The conservation and sustainable use of natural coastal
resources has become a major issue under the Convention on Biological Diversity
and the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, to both of which Korea is a party.
Strong efforts to maintain the ecological and economic functions of coastal
wetlands including tidal flats are underway in many regions of the world,
including Asia
The Saemangeum tidal flats (comprising both the Mankyeung
and Tongjin estuaries) are one of the most important stop-over sites in East
Asia for shorebirds and other waterbirds on their migration from their breeding
grounds in North-East Asia. Research indicates that the coastal wetlands around
the Yellow Sea are vitally important feeding areas for these migrant birds, and
that the Saemangeum tidal flats are probably the single most important site in
the entire region. If large areas of the tidal flats around the Yellow Sea are
reclaimed, such as those at Saemangeum, there is a real danger that the global
populations of many species of waterbirds will be severely reduced.
Some 30 species of waterbird occur at Saemangeum in
concentrations recognised by the Ramsar Convention as “internationally
important”. Many of these species are of global conservation concern, and
several are listed as globally threatened in the Threatened Birds of Asia: the
BirdLife International Red Data Book (BirdLife International 2001). Some of the
highest recent counts (anywhere in the world) of the Spoon-billed Sandpiper
Eurynorhynchus pygmeus and Spotted Greenshank Tringa guttifer were made at
Saemangeum, and other globally threatened species which occur there in
internationally important concentrations include Saunders's Gull Larus
saundersi, Black-faced Spoonbill Platalea minor and Chinese Egret Egretta
eulophotes. The site is also particularly notable for supporting a high
proportion of the total global populations of several other shorebirds,
including Great Knot Calidris tenuirostris.
I understand that the Saemangeum area also supports
economically important fish stocks and that local communities use it for
fisheries, salt production and seaweed production. Indeed, 25,000 Korean
fishermen depend on Saemangeum for their livlihoods. Although much money has
already been spent on the project, the loss of the Saemangeum tidal flats to
reclamation would cause much greater expense in the long term through loss of
fishery resources, increased pollution and damage to South Korea's international
image. In addition, it is very likely that in the future this globally
outstanding site will generate additional wealth through its amenity value. For
example, in North America (Canada, the United States and Mexico) bird watching
has become a major industry which generates US$25 billion per year and employs
over 60,000 people, according to a front-page report in the New York Times
(4/2/2001). The article noted that birdwatching is a non-consumptive use of
renewable resources that depends upon the protection of wildlands and
wilderness habitat, and thrives and grows on the protection of biodiversity.
There has been a rapid growth in public interest in birds and other wildlife in
many Asian countries, including in Korea, and birdwatching and similar
activities could soon develop into a major leisure industry in the region.
As I am sure that you are aware, the
issue has already attracted one of the largest-scale protest campaigns seen in
South Korea to date, as well as great international, public and media attention. A documentary on the implications of
the Saemangeum Reclamation Project was recently shown worldwide on BBC World,
and the International Herald Tribune newspaper and Australian and New Zealand
media have also given the issue great prominence.
We would respectfully like to ask that
the government of Korea will take firm action in cancelling the Saemangeum
Reclamation Project, recognising its obligations under both the Convention on
Biological Diversity and the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. By taking this
action, Korea would win respect worldwide by taking the lead in the protection
of the globally important coastal wetlands around the Yellow Sea. We will
follow with interest all efforts being made by your government to conserve the
area.
Yours sincerely,
Liana Stupples
Policy and Campaigns Director
Friends of the Earth, England Wales and Northern Ireland
Friends of the Earth
England, Wales and Northern Ireland
National Office 26-28 Underwood Street London N1 7JQ
Telephone 020 7490 1555 Fax 020 7490 0881 Email info@foe.co.uk Website www.foe.co.uk
Friends of the Earth Limited Registered in London No 1012357
