Gyeonggi Province has developed a biodiversity exploration app called ‘LUCA’ that allows residents to record and store information about the living organisms in their neighborhoods, and will begin operating it from July 1.
Biodiversity exploration is an activity where both biological experts and the general public work together to find and list species in a local area. Gyeonggi Province plans to build a digital repository through the ‘LUCA’ app to enable residents to easily record species.
The records stored in the repository will be reviewed by ecological experts and participants will be awarded points. These points can later be linked to climate action income opportunities and converted into rewards (local currency).
To commemorate the launch of LUCA, Gyeonggi Province will conduct activities from this month until October, targeting elementary, middle, and high school students?the future generation?to record species living in their schools, nearby forests, and parks.
Ecological experts will visit schools that applied in the first half of the year, such as Namgok Elementary School in Yongin City, to observe animals and plants living in the school and nearby ecological parks and record them in the LUCA app.
Gyeonggi Province will also promote focused explorations to document the value of ecologically excellent areas within the province together with ecological experts. To this end, 10 ecologically excellent areas, including Hwanggujicheon in Suwon, were selected last year.
Ecological explorations will be conducted mainly by ecological experts and local activists. General residents can also apply for focused explorations through the LUCA app to experience professional ecological activities.
All biodiversity exploration participation promoted by Gyeonggi Province can be done through the LUCA app.
Park Rae-hyeok, Director of the Climate and Environment Policy Division of Gyeonggi Province, said, "The biodiversity exploration app ‘LUCA’ is meaningful in that it goes beyond expert-centered ecological surveys to biodiversity recording led and participated in by residents," adding, "We hope it will raise interest in natural ecology in the era of climate crisis and further lead to voluntary climate action."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
