Seoul Faces Climate Crisis... 'Ecological City Forum' to be Held on the 8th

The '150th Ecological City Forum,' which will discuss ways to utilize urban ecological status maps in response to the climate crisis, will be held on the 8th at 2 p.m. in the main conference room of the Seosomun 2 Building, Seoul Metropolitan Government.

This forum is a research group on ecological cities launched in 1998, centered around experts from the private organization 'Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice (CCEJ),' and is open to anyone interested.

This year, Seoul has set the main theme of the Ecological City Forum as 'Urban Ecological Management Directions of Seoul in the Era of Climate Change.'

This forum is the second of the year and will be held under the theme 'Utilization Tasks of Seoul's Urban Ecological Status Maps in the Era of Climate Change.'

Seoul faces many environmental problems such as urban heat islands and urban flooding due to the increase of impervious surfaces in the city center caused by rapid urbanization.

In response, the city aims to establish eco-friendly and sustainable urban planning and has been surveying the urban ecological status across Seoul since 2000?the first in the nation?creating maps that are updated every five years.

The urban ecological status maps produced contain various information, including land use changes over five-year periods, vegetation distribution, biotope grades, as well as the habitat status of fish, birds, and amphibians and reptiles. Currently, these maps serve as basic data for environmental review criteria in urban management planning, standards for development permits, and detailed evaluation items in environmental impact assessments.

At this forum, Song In-ju, Senior Research Fellow at the Urban Infrastructure Planning Center of the Seoul Institute, will present the main topic. Following this, Professors Park Chan of the University of Seoul, Song Young-geun of Seoul National University, and Lee Chang-bae of Kookmin University will participate as discussants to deliberate on ways to utilize Seoul's urban ecological status maps, followed by a Q&A session with participants. The discussion will be chaired by Professor Cho Yong-hyun of Kongju National University.

Anyone interested can participate in the forum without prior registration or application. Additionally, the entire forum will be broadcast live through a YouTube channel.

Lee Kwang-gu, Director of the Facilities Planning Division of Seoul City, said, "As abnormal weather becomes more frequent these days, the role of cities is increasingly important, and especially urban ecological environments play a crucial role in responding to climate change by mitigating heat islands and providing wind corridors." He added, "We hope that this forum will bring forth various insights to further maximize the utilization of urban ecological status maps."