Full-Fledged Preparation for

Ramsar 10^th Meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties (CoP10)

□ On December, 19, Lee Chi-beom, Minister of Environment and Dr. Peter Bridgewater, Ramsar Secretary-General signed the MoU concerning CoP10 to be held in 2008.

  ○ In accordance with this MoU, the 10^th Conference will be held in Chang-won, Korea, from Oct. 28 to Nov. 4, 2008 with approximately 1,300 participants including representatives of about 150 countries, 30 international organizations such as UNEP, and NGOs.

     ※ Change-won city, Gyeong-nam province, was selected as the venue of CoP10 at CoP9 which was held in Kampala, Uganda, in Nov. 2005.

  ○ Moreover, the Ministry and the Ramsar Secretariat agreed on details to prepare and host the Conference ？ such as side events, visa and customs and the host country’s contributions.

□ On the occasion of the conclusion of the MoU, the Ministry plans to form task force teams and to implement detailed measures through close cooperation with Gyeong-nam local government, wetland experts and NGOs.

○ The “Ramsar CoP10 National Committee” will be set up during the first step (from Jan. to Sept., 2007) and co-chaired by the director-general of the Nature Conservation Bureau and that of International Cooperation Office. The Committee will regularly monitor and review whether the Ministry and Gyeong-nam local government are preparing well for the Conference. In addition, the “Wetland Advisory Committee” will be operated to obtain consultations and opinions on wetland policies.

  ○ The COP10 Preparation Task Force will be launched from October, 2007. Under the leadership of Vice Minister, the Task Force will coordinate and push forward projects for the preparation of CoP10 ？ such as strategic planning, publicity and international cooperation, support for side events.

□ As follow-up measures, the Ministry will share the views with the Ramsar secretary-general on draft agenda and theme candidates of CoP10 which were developed through discussions with interested parties at home and abroad. It will continue to cooperate with member countries in selecting themes at the 35^th Meeting of the Standing Committee to be held in Gland, Switzerland, Feb. 2007

○ If themes are selected, sector-specific details will be developed ？ such as the creation of a logo, agenda development, and the preparation of side events.

□ On the occasion of hosting CoP10, the Ministry will promote globally Korea’s well-preserved wetlands such as the Upo swamp in Changnyeoung and mudflats in Sun-cheon Bay as a result of successful wetland conservation policies for about ten years since Korea joined the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands in 1997. On top of that, the Ministry will strive to actively join international efforts to conserve wetlands, habitats for migratory birds, thereby enhancing the image of the country in preserving wetlands and the environment.