Gyeonggi Province Concludes Public-Private “Biodiversity Exploration”

Gyeonggi Province, in collaboration with Hyundai Motor Company’s Namyang Research Institute, has concluded the “2025 Public-Private Partnership Gyeonggi Biodiversity Exploration,” which was held in the Hwaseong area during June and July. The Gyeonggi Biodiversity Exploration is a citizen-participation ecological monitoring program where participants directly investigate and record species of plants, insects, birds, and other organisms.

This year, the program took place in three locations in Hwaseong City that are recognized for their high ecological value: Maehyang-ri Peace Ecological Park, Bibong Wetland Park, and Mubongsan Natural Recreation Forest. A total of 120 pre-registered residents of the province participated, observing and recording more than 400 species of organisms.

Participants observed a variety of organisms, including plants, insects, and birds, while listening to explanations from experts in each biological group. In particular, at Mubongsan Natural Recreation Forest, programs such as insect specimen making and nighttime insect exploration were conducted. Following this exploration, two additional surveys are scheduled to take place in September at Maehyang-ri Peace Ecological Park and Bibong Wetland Park.

Night Exploration Using Insect Attractant Lights and Insect Nets

Gyeonggi Province is accumulating the biological information collected during the exploration as biodiversity data by recording it in the “LUCA” app. The LUCA app is a citizen-participation platform where anyone can register species. Exploration participants contributed to the biodiversity record by photographing organisms in the field and entering the data.

Meanwhile, in December 2024, Gyeonggi Province established the “1st Gyeonggi Province Biodiversity Strategy (2025-2029)” and has been promoting mid- to long-term policies for biodiversity conservation and sustainable use. This exploration serves as an implementation case for the core task of “raising biodiversity awareness.”

Hyundai Motor Company’s Namyang Research Institute supported the operation of the exploration by providing donations to the Gyeonggi Environment and Energy Agency and by having its employees directly participate in the activities, thereby joining efforts in ecological conservation.