The Republic of Korea celebrates the 2014 WDCD

The Korea Forest Service (KFS) joined the celebration of the 2014 World Day to Combat Desertification by hosting the International Symposium on Combating Desertification and organizing a tree-planting ceremony in Mongolia. Both events were held in collaboration with the Republic of Korea's National Assembly Caucus on Tree Planters.

On 10 June 2014, the International Symposium on Combating Desertification was successfully held at the National Assembly Member's Building in Seoul and was attended by over 150 participants from home and abroad. Presentations on the actions taken by the UNCCD secretariat, Korean and Chinese Government, academia and CSOs highlighted the importance of land. In particular, the Symposium enhanced the understanding of Republic of Korea's ODA (official development assistance) projects in the forestry sector that aim at combating DLDD. The audience also learned about the activities being undertaken by the KFS towards the implementation of the UNCCD and the Changwon Initiative. A number of insightful comments and suggestions regarding the relevant policies were made during the panel discussion.

Following the Symposium, tree planting activities took place in the dry area of Bayankhangai, one of the Korea-Mongolia Greenbelt Plantation Project  sites on 13 June 2014. Participated by over 100 people, including parliamentarians, government officials, local residents, volunteers and journalists from Korea and Mongolia, the event was held in a very amicable atmosphere. The media coverage by the Mongolian local and national broadcasters of the event certainly contributed to raising the public awareness on the issue (link http://www.olloo.mn/n/2178.html).

The Korea-Mongolia Greenbelt Plantation Project is a 10-year project (2007-2016) with the aim of planting 3,000ha of trees in the Gobi Desert. The KFS and the Mongolian Ministry of Environment and Green Development have joined hands to prevent desertification and mitigate effects of dust and sand storms. So far, the projected was implemented in the area of over 1,500ha. Capacity building and joint research programmes are also well underway.

For more information, please contact Ms. YANG Soun Sonya (yangsonya@korea.kr, +82-42-481-8822)