Gwangju Buk-gu Unites Efforts to Preserve Mudeungsan 'Pyeongdume Wetland'

Buk-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City, has pledged to join forces between the public and private sectors for the efficient conservation and utilization of the Mudeungsan Pyeongdume Wetland.

According to Buk-gu on the 17th, a "Pyeongdume Wetland Efficient Conservation and Utilization Business Agreement" was signed on the 16th with the participation of five public and private institutions and organizations: ▲Buk-gu Office (Mayor Moon In) ▲Mudeungsan National Park Office (Director Kang Jae-gu) ▲Bitgoeul River Network (Representative Kim Hyung-gon) ▲Gwangju Environmental Movement Federation (Co-Chair Lee Cheol-gap) ▲Gwangju Jeonnam Green Alliance (Standing Representative Kim Young-sun).

The Pyeongdume Wetland is a natural fallow wetland formed in rice paddies that are not farmed. It serves as a collective breeding ground for various amphibians and is home to a total of 786 species of wild animals and plants, including endangered species, natural monuments, and rare plants, making it an area of very high conservation value. Buk-gu and the Mudeungsan National Park Office are in the process of registering it as the first Ramsar Wetland in the Gwangju area and the 26th in South Korea.

Accordingly, Buk-gu has prepared this agreement to organically cooperate between the public and private sectors to protect the Pyeongdume Wetland, which is expected to be registered as a Ramsar Wetland, in order to conserve the unique wetland type and the value of diverse biological habitats of the Pyeongdume Wetland.

The main contents of the agreement include mutual cooperation among the five signing institutions in ▲conservation and management of biodiversity in the Pyeongdume Wetland ▲development of ecological education programs for the Pyeongdume Wetland ▲ecological monitoring and promotion and awareness-raising activities related to the Pyeongdume Wetland.

With the establishment of a public-private cooperative system for the protection of the Pyeongdume Wetland, Buk-gu expects that the local consensus on the conservation value of the Pyeongdume Wetland will widely spread, contributing to the Ramsar Wetland registration and enhancing the image of a nature-friendly ecological city.