Han River MPA

On the 29th to 30th of September, 2005, the PMO attended the 1st International Workshop on the Cooperative Establishment of a Peace Park for Korea. The workshop hosted by the Korea Maritime Institute and sponsored by the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Presidential Commission on Sustainable Development and the National Research Council for Economics, Humanities and Social Sciences, proposed the establishment of a marine peace park for the Han River in South Korea, for “Protection, Peace and Prosperity”.

The delegates reviewed international case studies and considered the cooperative initiative discussing the natural features of the Han River Estuary (environmental characteristics and ecological characteristics, intrinsic value), socio-economic features, SWOT analysis (area of high military tension) and issue identification.

The group also discussed the sharing of ‘good practices’ for cooperative management in transboundary areas, addressing the major activities for Korean Cooperation and their implications for coastal transboundary cooperation, and made recommendations for the inclusion of Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and the establishment of the marine peace park.

The PMO has been invited to participate on the advisory committee for this project and is awaiting formal notification.

Rice field with the Han river and North Korea in the distance