Mayor Lee to Attend Ramsar COP... Janghang Wetland Makes International Debut

Goyang City to Attend Ramsar Convention COP15
Mayor Lee to Present Janghang Wetland Conservation Efforts and Achievements
Strengthening Cooperation Through Meeting with Ramsar Convention Secretary-General

Lee Donghwan, Mayor of Goyang Special City, will attend the 15th Meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties to the Ramsar Convention (COP15), which will be held from July 24 to 27 in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. This conference marks the first time that Goyang City, officially invited by the Ramsar Convention Secretariat, will introduce the ecological value of Janghang Wetland and the city's leading wetland conservation efforts to the international community.

Last May, Musonda Mumba, Secretary-General of the Ramsar Convention, visited Goyang Janghang Wetland Ecology Center with Lee Donghwan, Mayor of Goyang Special City. Photo by Goyang Special City

The Conference of the Contracting Parties to the Ramsar Convention is an international body in which 172 member countries gather every three years to share the status of the Convention's implementation and discuss future directions for wetland protection and sustainable use.

Under the theme "Wetland Conservation for Our Shared Future," this conference will focus on 27 agenda items, including the role of wetlands in maintaining healthy ecosystems and conserving biodiversity, and will discuss strategies for global cooperation.

In 2021, Janghang Wetland in Goyang City was registered as Korea's 24th Ramsar Wetland. Janghang Wetland is recognized as an ecological treasure, visited by more than 30,000 migratory birds annually, and is well-known as a habitat for endangered species such as the White-naped Crane and the Greater White-fronted Goose. Goyang City has consistently promoted various ecological protection activities, such as preserving rice straw and creating flooded rice paddies, to conserve biodiversity.

This participation is based on an official invitation from the Ramsar Convention Secretariat and provides Goyang City with the opportunity to introduce the value of Janghang Wetland on the international stage for the first time.

On July 25, under the theme "Thriving Wetlands, Thriving Cities," five cities?Goyang in Korea, Nagoya in Japan, Kochi in India, Overstrand in South Africa, and Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe?will present exemplary cases of wetland conservation. At this event, Mayor Lee will present Janghang Wetland's conservation policies and achievements, highlighting Goyang City's eco-friendly policies and vision as an ecological city.

On July 26, Goyang City will use the East Asian Ramsar Regional Center's promotional booth to showcase the excellence of Janghang Wetland and will discuss wetland conservation policies and the introduction of new technologies with the Mayor of Nagoya, the Chair of the Ramsar Convention's Scientific and Technical Review Panel, and others. On July 27, Mayor Lee is scheduled to meet with Musonda Mumba, Secretary-General of the Ramsar Convention, to discuss strengthening cooperation for the wise use and conservation of Janghang Wetland.

Mayor Lee stated, "The Ramsar Convention COP is a meaningful stage to promote Goyang City's ecological policies to the world," adding, "We will continue to work closely with the international community to protect ecological assets such as Janghang Wetland and to further develop as a sustainable environmental city."