First Advisory Group Meeting Held to Strengthen Commitment to Successful Project Implementation
Advisory Committee Meeting for the Successful Promotion of Janghang National Wetland Restoration Project
Chungnam Province and Seocheon County have formed an advisory group of experts to successfully lead the 'Janghang National Wetland Restoration Project' being promoted by the Ministry of Environment, and have officially begun its operation.
On the 25th, Chungnam Province announced that it held the first expert advisory group meeting for the Janghang National Wetland Restoration Project at the Seocheon County Office's External Cooperation Room, attended by related officials from the province and Seocheon County, as well as experts.
The advisory group is composed of experts who hold positions or possess specialized knowledge and experience in various fields such as architecture, ecological environment, ecotourism, operations management, and regional development.
Moving forward, the advisory group will hold regular and occasional meetings until the end of this year, when the basic plan and detailed design services are completed, to gather opinions from the province, Seocheon County, and local residents. Chungnam Province will then deliver these opinions to the Ministry of Environment and work to ensure they are reflected in the project.
The National Wetland Restoration Project is a government policy initiative to clean up the area around the former Janghang Smelter, which operated as a copper refinery from 1936 to 1989 and was contaminated by heavy metals such as cadmium, lead, and arsenic. The project aims to create ecological wetlands, ecological forests, wetland observatories, and walking trails in the area.
In December 2023, the Ministry of Environment designated the Janghang National Wetland Restoration as the first natural environment restoration project for a contaminated area, allocating a total of 68.5 billion KRW in national funding by 2029. The project is being carried out on a 600,000 square meter site around the former Janghang Smelter in Songnim, Jangam, and Hwacheon-ri, Janghang-eup, Seocheon County.
Additionally, Chungnam Province and Seocheon County plan to maximize the effectiveness of the project by securing an additional 15 billion KRW to establish an Ecotourism Center, which will serve as an integrated hub for ecotourism and be linked with Seocheon's excellent ecological and cultural infrastructure.
The province expects that upon completion of the National Wetland Restoration Project, it will help heal the pain of local residents caused by Japanese exploitation and heavy metal contamination, and become a new growth engine for the region.
Kim Youngmyung, Director of the Environmental and Forestry Bureau of the province, said, "We will actively participate in the Ministry of Environment's basic and detailed design to enhance the completeness of the re-naturalization project around the contaminated former Janghang Smelter area," adding, "We will also strive to maximize the project's functions by linking it with existing infrastructure such as the National Institute of Ecology and the National Marine Biodiversity Institute of Korea."
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