Suncheon Bay Ecological Park - Biology of Suncheon Bay - Ramsar Convention

Ramsar Convention

Convention-Swamp is the most productive life supporting ecosystem. The protection of it is very important in biological, hydraulical, and economic reasons. Even so, in many parts of the earth, swamps are damaged due to irrigation, reclamation, pollution and such. To stop the damage to swamps, international conference and technological conference were held in sequence sponsored by International Waterfowl Research Bureau in 1960. As the result of conferences, a conference was joined in Ramsar, Iran on February 2, 1971. The established form of Ramsar Convention is Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat. Korea joined this convention on July 28, 1997 as the 101st. Young Swamp of Daeam Mountain in Inje-gun, Gangwon-do and Upo Swamp in Changnyeong-gun, Gyeongnam are registered as Ramsar Swamps.

Suncheon Bay started to gain attention as the fact that waterfowls enlisted in Ramsar Convention became known. Especially it satisfies 'various kinds of birds requiring different types of habitat inhabiting' part of Ramsar Conventions. It makes Suncheon Bay a very proper candidate to become a Ramsar Swamp. Suncheon bay was designated as a swamp preserving area of Korea in December, 2003, and it joined 'international network for protection of crane in northeastern Asia' in 2004. Northeastern Crane Network was organized as a protection strategy of Asian and Pacific passage birds at the 6th Ramsar Convention conference in 1996. Also, Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries of Korea will request registering of Suncheon Bay as Ramsar Swamp in August or September this year. If it becomes a Ramsar Swamp, the natural environment of Suncheon Bay, the treasure house of ecosystem, will be better preserved.