Capacity Building of Local stakeholders of Ganghwa tidal-flat – Through Establishing a Ganghwa Tidal-flat Community Action Network (GTCAN)

Korean Federation for Environmental Movement (KFEM),Seoul, Korea

 

The proposal aim to:

1.      Organise a community-based network, ¡°Ganghwa Tidal-flat Community Action Network (GTCAN),¡± to build and strengthen the capacity of local stakeholders to manage the ecosystem and natural resources in the Ganghwa tidal-flats. 

The Ganghwa Tidal-flat Centre, established in 2005 in co-operation with the Ganghwa County Government, the Incheon City Government, and the KFEM, will serve as a base for the GTCAN, utilizing the existing co-operative relationship with some of the above target stakeholders.

 

2.      Organise a training programme to educate local people, described as ¡°Selected Trainees¡± below to become ¡°Local Eco Interpreters¡± and members of the ¡°Ganghwa Ecology Monitoring and Management Team.¡± 

 

Goal of the Training Program:

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2.1. To be a Local Eco Interpreter for Ganghwa Tidal-flat and Han River Estuary

KFEM has been establishing the training program to raise ¡°Local Eco Interpreters¡± since 2001 in many important areas in Republic of Korea.  The people who are aware of the ecological importance of their area can be local eco interpreter after the completion of the training program.

The Local Eco Interpreters who have completed the training program has been acting to introduce and to educate local people, students and visitors the importance of their area and the proper attitude in nature.

The trainees of the ¡°Ganghwa tidal-flat school¡± (referred to as ¡°Sustainable Wetlands School¡± in the proposal) are expected to do act as the Local Eco Interpreters in Ganghwa tidal-flat and Han River Estuary after the completion of the program.   

 

2. 2. To be a member of the Ganghwa Ecology Monitoring and Management Team

Besides of their educational and interpretational function as the Local Eco Interpreters, the trainees can be a member of the ¡°Ganghwa Ecology Monitoring and Management Team¡± after they get some knowledge to carry out the simple ecology survey of birds, vegetation, benthos and tidal-flat.

 

3.            Conduct regular monitoring by local people who complete the training programme that is described above.  The GTCAN will provide local people with the basic information about the biodiversity of the Ganghwa tidal-flats.  The data and information collected through the monitoring activity will then be used for a specialised group consisting of researchers and bird-watchers to conduct detailed studies.  The monitoring data and information will also be used for raising the awareness of the general public about the importance of the tidal flats. 

The Information will be posted at the Ganghwa Tidal-flat Center and the Website of Ganghwa County at http://www. ganghwa.incheon.kr.  The GTCAN will be link with the researchers group for Ganghwa Tidal-flat and Han River Estuary to provide the first hand information for more intensive survey.

 

4.            Implement an outreach programme for sustainable and responsible eco-tourism.  The main target audience of this programme includes visitors to the Ganghwa Tidal-flat Centre, tourist offices.

 

The members of the GTCAN will have a regular public awareness program for the visitors at main tourist sites in Ganhwa Island, such as Ganghwa Tidal-flat Center, Dongmak Beach, Buno-ri donde, and Sundu-ri.

For this purpose, the GTCAN will produce separately the simple leaflet to give visitors the information on the ecology of Ganghwa Tidal-flat and the guideline as visitors.

 

5.            Provide all the data and information collected through the above activities in websites, including the one of the Ganghwa Tidal-flat Centre.