• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.1-13
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• 2003

Conservation of wetlands are important because wetlands are hatcheries for fishes and habitat for migratory birds and mammals. Wetlands also function as a filter for polluted water and material and transition zone for harboring numerous species of plants and animals. This paper reviewed the importance of wetland conservation and policy on management of wetlands in Korea. Wetland Conservation Act(1999) and Maritime Management Act(1999) are two legislation for conservation of wetlands. Wetland Conservation Act is issued by both Ministry of Environment and Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries. The definition of wetlands are so diverse, but this paper categorized wetlands as both natural and man-made lakes, mud flat areas and inland wetlands. Management application was considered for each wetland categories.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.477-484
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• 2013

In 1999, Wetlands Conservation Act was enacted for the domestic implementation of the Ramsar Convention in Korea. According to the Act, wetlands have been managed by the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries(MOF). In the field of coastal wetland of which MOF is in charge, starting with the designation of Muan coastal wetlands as protected area in 2001, there are 12 wetland conservation areas up to $218.96km^2$. Even though there has been rapid growth of protected areas, it is time to give attention to the effective implementation of wetland conservation policies. This study aims to analyze institutional and operational problems related to wetland management and give some recommendations for the improvement of the wetland conservation policy and legal framework.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.519-527
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• 2013

The Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Korea set up 'the $2^{nd}$ Fundamental Plan for Wetlands Conservation' to facilitate systematic surveys and management of various national wetlands and to promote sustainable conservation and use of those wetlands. The mid-term fundamental plan was established in accordance with the Article 5 of the Wetland Conservation Act, which spans 5 years from 2013 to 2017 and covers national wetlands including inland wetlands and coastal wetlands stated in the Act. The fundamental plan aims to promote the wise use of wetlands through establishing policies for sustainable conservation based on the assessment of implementation of the $1^{st}$ Fundamental Plan, setting up a scientific framework for establishment and implementation of national wetland policies by improving wetland survey systems and enhancing basis wetland data, improving the ecological health of wetlands and securing biodiversity conservation of wetlands by strengthening conservation and management system of national wetlands, and through raising public awareness and diversify education and promotion tools. The main objectives of the $2^{nd}$ Fundamental Plan is to revise the entire Wetland Conservation Act, to create a new monitoring system of national inland wetlands, to upgrade the national wetlands inventory, to reflect the 'Ecological Map' for promoting precautionary management of wetlands, to improve the 'Wetland Restoration and Management' system to build wetlands resilience, and to systematize the wise use of wetlands that benefits local people. As the Ministry of Environment plans to establish its other master plan for wetland conservation based on the $2^{nd}$ Fundamental Plan, this document introduces the $2^{nd}$ Fundamental Plan to stakeholder and wetland professions.

• Ecology and Resilient Infrastructure
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.120-132
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• 2021

The ecosystem and landscape conservation areas of Seoul were designated according to the Natural Environment Conservation Act and the Natural Environment Conservation Ordinance. With the adoption of the "Rapid Assessment of Wetland Ecosystem Service (RAWES)" approach and the "wetland ecosystem service" for the Ramsar Wetland City Accreditation at the 13th Meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands in 2018, the need for data evaluating wetland ecosystem services has become a necessity. Therefore, in this study, we selected five wetlands from the ecosystem and landscape conservation areas in Seoul, having high ecological conservation values, and evaluated their carbon sequestration and economic value assessment using the InVEST model, which is an ecosystem service evaluation technique. The evaluation results for carbon storage in each wetland are as follows: Tancheon Wetland: 3,674.62 Mg; Bamseom Island in the Hangang River: 1,511.57 Mg; Godeok-dong Wetland: 5,007.21 Mg; Amsa-dong Wetland: 7,108.47 Mg; and Yeouido Wetland: 290.27 Mg. Particularly, the Tancheon Wetland showed the lowest carbon sequestration of 1,130.37 Mg, as compared to the results acquired in 2013, of 4,804.99 Mg. When the average effective carbon rate of $16.06 (US) was applied to the decreased carbon sequestration value, a loss of $15,910.58(US) was calculated. Furthermore, if the average social cost of carbon ($204 (US)) is considered, which includes the impact of climate change on productivity and ecosystems, the total loss is equivalent to $202,101.97 (US). This study aims to examine the natural resource value of urban wetlands by evaluating selected major wetlands in Seoul. This study can be utilized as basic data to plan for the protection and management of the ecosystem and landscape conservation areas. Additionally, because wetland value assessment is considered essential, the results of this study can be used in future research to provide measures for evaluating ecosystem services in the Ramsar Wetland City Certification System. Moreover, this study can be utilized for selecting important wetlands as Ramsar sites, and to raise awareness about the significance of conserving urban wetlands, and for expanding international exchange among the Ramsar Wetland sites.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.151-155
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• 2003

The resources conservation system is comprehended, making Taean-haean National Park a research material by applying the fact of landowning, designating an LOP and Korea and Japan's Natural Park Act. Following conclusions were obtained in this study; Most of land areas of the National Park are privately owned; Only a few have been designated as Natural Reservation, a core reserved area on LOP, and a sandy beach, a sand dune, a sand spit, a tidal flat, a wetland, etc are distributed in the natural environment area so they were exposed to development; As seen in most of coastal type of National Parks, 13 commercial beaches are established. The annual rush to the beaches appears in July and August; Sand dune areas that have to be managed in terms of conservation, are turned into beaches. Moreover, the collective facilities areas are randomly developed. So they fail to function originally; The current Natural Park Act has no systematic devices for conservation of the natural resources on the seashore or offshore.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.481-488
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• 2011

Various development activities have lead to the destruction of the ecosystem such as natural wetlands. In order to protect these natural wetlands, the Ministry of Environment (MOE) in Korea enacted the Wetland Conservation Act in 1999 and designated protected areas for wetland conservation. The MOE adapted the use of Best Management Practices (BMP) such as retention ponds and constructed wetlands to treat the polluted water before entering the water system. One of these projects was a free-water surface flow (FWS) constructed wetland built as a secondary treatment unit for piggery wastewater effluent coming from a livestock wastewater treatment facility. Water quality monitoring for the constructed wetland was conducted during rainfall events. The results showed that the average removal efficiencies of TSS, BOD, TN, TP were 86, 60, 45, 70%, respectively. It was observed that the removal efficiency of particulate matter and phosphorus was high compared to nitrogen. Therefore, a longer hydraulic retention time was needed in order to improve the treatment efficiency of nitrogen. The results of this study can contribute to the wetland design, operation and maintenance of constructed wetlands.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.71-81
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• 2019

This study aims to provide basic data for the decision-making process in selecting sites for wetland restoration projects. To this end, the current list of demaged wetlands was identified based on the findings from the nationwide monitoring project in 2016 targeted at wetlands in inland areas. Then, to determine the necessity of restoration for these demaged sites, the cause of demage was investigated, and their conservation value was examined from an ecological and legal perspective. The 2016 monitoring project identified a total of 20 demaged wetlands, of which one site was deemed to have high conservation value through analysis of its ecological and legal values and on-site reviews. The results of this study are expected to support policymakers' decision-making in selecting wetlands for restoration projects since it identifies priority sites among demaged wetlands that require immediate restoration efforts. It should also be pointed out that wetlands in South Korea cannot benefit from legal protection despite their high conservation value unless they have a designated status as protected areas.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.453-460
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• 2006

Upo wetland is the largest inland wetland in Korea as Ramsar Convention Area. The purposes of the study were to investigate the levels of heavy metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn) in the sediment and Cipangopaludina chinensis malleata from three sites of the wetland and to assess the potential of the gastropod as a bioindicator for heavy metal levels. The gastropods were dissected into shell and soft tissue without the digestive and excretive organs. The levels of Cd, Cu and Pb were below the guideline of Soil Environment Conservation Act and the heavy metals except Cr were slightly different among the sites. Cd was higher in Upo site ($0.32{\mu}g/g$) than Sajipo site ($0.28{\mu}g/g$). Cu and Zn showed the highest value in Sajipo as $43.5{\mu}g/g\;and\;39.8{\mu}g/g$, respectively while the concentrations of Pb and Zn were the highest in Upstream as $58.8{\mu}g/g\;and\;138{\mu}g/g$, respectively. In the soft tissues and shells of the gastropod, the overall common trend in the concentrations of the heavy metals was revealed with the following order: Zn > Cu > Cr > Ni > Pb > Cd and Ni > Zn > Cr > Cu > Pb > Cd, respectively. Although the soft tissues exhibited higher concentrations of the heavy metals except Ni than the shell in the gastropod, the levels of Cd and Pb in the gastropod were generally below the restrictive values set up by Korea Food & Drug Administration. From Duncan's Multiple Range Test (DMRT) results, the concentrations of Pb and Zn in the sediments among the sites were reflected on the soft tissue (Pb) and the shell (Pb and Zn) of the gastropod in the same order. The lower value of coefficient of variation (CV) in Pb concentration of the shell than in that of the soft tissue supports the usefulness of the shell as a bioindicator for Pb pollution. Although the CV value in the shell was a little higher than in the soft tissue, DMRT results and the stability of incorporated Zn into the shell support the use of the shell of the gastropod as a potential bioindicator for long-term contamination of Zn.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.52 no.1
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• pp.272-287
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• 2019

The Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) was established in 1953 by the Korean War Armistice Agreement. It extends from the estuary of the Imjin River, in the west, to the coast of the East Sea. It is 4 km in width and 148 km in length. However, the ecosystems of the civilian control zone (CCZ) located between the southern border of the DMZ and the civilian control line (CCL) and the CCZ in the estuary of the Han River and the Yellow Sea are similar to those in the DMZ, and, therefore, the ecosystems of the DMZ and the CCZ are collectively known as the "ecosystems of the DMZ and its vicinities." The flora in the DMZ and its vicinities is composed of 1,864 species, which accounts for about 42% of all the vascular plant species on the Korean Peninsula and its affiliated islands. Conducting a detailed survey on the vegetation, flora, and fauna in the DMZ is almost impossible due to the presence of landmines and limitations on the time allowed to be spent in the DMZ. However, to assess the environmental impact of the Munsan-Gaesong railroad reconstruction project, it was possible to undertake a limited vegetation survey within the DMZ in 2001. The vegetation in Jangdan-myeon, in Paju City within the DMZ, was very simple. It was mostly secondary forests dominated by oaks such as Quercus mongolica, Q. acutissima, and Q. variabilis. The other half of the DMZ in Jangdan-myeon was occupied by grassland composed of tall grasses such as Miscanthus sinensis, M. sacchariflorus, and Phragmites japonica. Contrary to the expectation that the DMZ may be covered with pristine mature forests due to more than 60 years of no human interference, the vegetation in the DMZ was composed of simple secondary forests and grasslands formed on former rice paddies and agricultural fields. At present, the only legal protection system planned for the DMZ is the Natural Environment Conservation Act, which ensures that the DMZ would be managed as a nature reserve for only two years following Korean reunification. Therefore, firstly, the DMZ should be designated as a site of domestic legally protected areas such as nature reserve (natural monument), scenic site, national park, etc. In addition, we need to try to designate the DMZ as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve or as a World Heritage site, or as a Ramsar international wetland for international cooperation. For nomination as a world heritage site, we can emphasize the ecological and landscape value of the wetlands converted from the former rice paddies and the secondary forests maintained by frequent fires initiated by military activities. If the two Koreas unexpectedly reunite without any measures in place for the protection of nature in the DMZ, the conditions prior to the Korean War, such as rice paddies and villages, will return. In order to maintain the current condition of the ecosystems in the DMZ, we have to discuss and prepare for measures including the retention of mines and barbed-wire fences, the construction of roads and railroads in the form of tunnels or bridges, and the maintenance of the current fire regime in the DMZ.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.318-326
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• 2022

The Convention on Biodiversity (CBD) recommends that 17% of the land be designated as a protected area to counter global environmental problems. Korea also realized a need to designate protected areas according to the international level and explain the significance of designating protected areas. Accordingly, studies on ecosystem services are required. In Korea, the protected areas are designated as national parks, provincial parks, and county parks by hierarchy under the Natural Parks Act. However, as priority was on political and administrative aspects, research on ecosystem service value evaluation and habitat management were concentrated in national parks, and provincial and county parks were relatively neglected. Therefore, more studies on provincial and county parks are necessary. In this study, habitat quality for Gajisan Provincial Park, where there were few studies on habitat management and ecosystem service valuation, was evaluated using the InVEST Habitat Quality model among the InVEST models. The analysis results were compared with 16 mountainous national parks. The results showed that the habitat quality value of Gajisan Provincial Park was 0.83, higher than that of the surrounding areas. The analysis of habitat quality in three districts showed 0,84 for the Tongdosa and Naewonsa districts and 0.83 for the Seoknamsa district. By use district, the nature conservation district, the natural environment district, the cultural heritage district, and the park village district had the highest habitat quality value in that order. Compared with the existing habitat quality analysis results of national parks, Gajisan Provincial Park showed naturalness at the level of Mudeungsan National Park. These results can be used as objective data for establishing policies and management plans to preserve biodiversity and promote ecosystem services in provincial parks.