Daegu Dalseong Wetland 'Destroyers' Rooted Out... Public-Private Joint Effort to Eradicate Gasi-bak

Commemorating 'Biodiversity Day', Removal of Invasive Species

Removing Young Roots and Blocking Vines of Gasi-bak Before Flowering

Bass and Red-eared Slider Buyback Projects in Nakdong River and Geumho River

Removal work for Cissus, identified as an invasive species living in Daegu Dalseong Wetland, will take place on the 24th.

Daegu City holds an event every year ahead of May 22, the ‘2023 Biodiversity Day,’ to remove the widely spread Cissus in the wetland and carry out environmental cleanup.

About 70 participants, including members of civilian groups such as the Citizen Rescue Volunteer Corps and Nam-gu Environmental Monitoring Group, as well as staff from the Dalseong Wetland Management Office, will take part in this event.

Cissus is an annual climbing plant that usually grows about 4 to 8 meters but can extend over 20 meters in favorable habitats. It wraps around other plants, hindering their growth or killing them, and with its strong reproductive ability, it spreads widely along rivers such as the Nakdong River and Kumho River, threatening the ecosystem of native species.

This event aims to completely remove young seedlings by hand, pulling them out by the roots before flowering, focusing on areas where Cissus is densely distributed within the Dalseong Wetland, to prevent the spread of vines in advance.

In addition to removing the invasive plant Cissus, Daegu City is also promoting a buyback program for invasive species such as bluegill, bass, and red-eared slider turtles to secure habitats for native species and maintain biodiversity through continuous efforts.

The prices Daegu City offers for invasive species are 5,000 KRW per kilogram for bluegill and bass, 5,000 KRW per red-eared slider turtle, and 20,000 KRW per nutria.

Ji Hyeong-jae, Director of the Environmental Water Resources Bureau of Daegu City, said, “We will strive to create a healthy ecological space where various species coexist in rivers and wetlands by eradicating invasive species that threaten the ecosystem.”