Birds Korea
Encyclopedia
Birds Korea is the organisation dedicated to the conservation of bird
s and their habitat
s in South Korea
and the wider Yellow Sea
Eco-region. Founded in 2004 and based in the port city of Busan
, Birds Korea has regularly updated websites in both English
and Korean
. Birds Korea works on a wide-range of conservation projects, including research, advocacy, and education programs. As such, the organisation has received wide domestic and international coverage of their work in both online and mainstream media, on issues ranging from Korean outbreaks of H5N1
avian influenza (2005–2006), to the impacts of the Taean oil spill (2007), to pilot restoration work at the Mokpo
Namhang urban wetland (2007–2008), and to concerns over avian biodiversity threatened by the proposed Korean Grand Canal Project
(2008).
Most notably, in 2006 Birds Korea developed the Saemangeum
Shorebird Monitoring Program (SSMP) in partnership with the Australasian Wader Studies Group
, monitoring the impacts of the world's largest known coastal reclamation (the 40,100 ha Saemangeum) on populations of migratory shorebirds. Prior to seawall
closure in April 2006, Saemangeum
was considered to be the single most important shorebird site in the Yellow Sea (Barter, 2002). The SSMP documented (following seawall
closure) very major declines of several species of shorebirds
within the Saemangeum reclamation area and adjacent wetlands (Moores et al., 2006; Rogers et al., 2006; Moores et al., 2007), and through further coordinated survey effort (e.g. the 2008 Birds Korea National Shorebird Survey), declines of species such as Spoon-billed Sandpiper
Eurynorhynchus pygmeus (Critically Endangered) and Great Knot
Calidris tenuirostris at the national level too. SSMP and other shorebird data gathered in 2008 is to be published in time for the Tenth Conference of the Parties of the Ramsar Convention
(to be held in Changwon City
, South Korea
, between October 28 and November 4, 2008), to inform and influence the increasingly urgent debate on the need to better conserve the intertidal habitats and biodiversity of the Yellow Sea.
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
s and their habitat
Habitat
* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
s in South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
and the wider Yellow Sea
Yellow Sea
The Yellow Sea is the name given to the northern part of the East China Sea, which is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean. It is located between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula. Its name comes from the sand particles from Gobi Desert sand storms that turn the surface of the water golden...
Eco-region. Founded in 2004 and based in the port city of Busan
Busan
Busan , formerly spelled Pusan is South Korea's second largest metropolis after Seoul, with a population of around 3.6 million. The Metropolitan area population is 4,399,515 as of 2010. It is the largest port city in South Korea and the fifth largest port in the world...
, Birds Korea has regularly updated websites in both English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and Korean
Korean language
Korean is the official language of the country Korea, in both South and North. It is also one of the two official languages in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in People's Republic of China. There are about 78 million Korean speakers worldwide. In the 15th century, a national writing...
. Birds Korea works on a wide-range of conservation projects, including research, advocacy, and education programs. As such, the organisation has received wide domestic and international coverage of their work in both online and mainstream media, on issues ranging from Korean outbreaks of H5N1
H5N1
Influenza A virus subtype H5N1, also known as "bird flu", A or simply H5N1, is a subtype of the influenza A virus which can cause illness in humans and many other animal species...
avian influenza (2005–2006), to the impacts of the Taean oil spill (2007), to pilot restoration work at the Mokpo
Mokpo
Mokpo is a city in South Jeolla Province, South Korea, on the southwestern tip of the Korean Peninsula. Mokpo has frequent train service to Seoul and is the terminus for a number of ferry routes serving islands in the adjacent Yellow Sea...
Namhang urban wetland (2007–2008), and to concerns over avian biodiversity threatened by the proposed Korean Grand Canal Project
Grand Korean Waterway
The Grand Korean Waterway, officially known as the Pan Korea Grand Waterway, is a proposed long canal connecting Seoul and Busan, two of South Korea's largest cities. The canal would run diagonally across the country connecting the Han River, which flows through Seoul into the Yellow Sea, to the...
(2008).
Most notably, in 2006 Birds Korea developed the Saemangeum
Saemangeum
Saemangeum is an estuarine tidal flat on the coast of the Yellow Sea in South Korea. It was dammed by the government of South Korea's Saemangeum Seawall Project, completed in April 2006, after a long fight between the government and environmental activists, and is scheduled to be converted into...
Shorebird Monitoring Program (SSMP) in partnership with the Australasian Wader Studies Group
Australasian Wader Studies Group
The Australasian Wader Studies Group , established in 1981, is a special interest group of the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union, also known as Birds Australia. It publishes a journal, The Stilt, usually twice a year, with occasional extra issues...
, monitoring the impacts of the world's largest known coastal reclamation (the 40,100 ha Saemangeum) on populations of migratory shorebirds. Prior to seawall
Saemangeum Seawall
The Saemangeum Seawall, located on the southwest coast of the Korean peninsula, is the world's longest man-made dyke, measuring 33 kilometres. It runs between two headlands, and separates the Yellow Sea and the former Saemangeum estuary....
closure in April 2006, Saemangeum
Saemangeum
Saemangeum is an estuarine tidal flat on the coast of the Yellow Sea in South Korea. It was dammed by the government of South Korea's Saemangeum Seawall Project, completed in April 2006, after a long fight between the government and environmental activists, and is scheduled to be converted into...
was considered to be the single most important shorebird site in the Yellow Sea (Barter, 2002). The SSMP documented (following seawall
Saemangeum Seawall
The Saemangeum Seawall, located on the southwest coast of the Korean peninsula, is the world's longest man-made dyke, measuring 33 kilometres. It runs between two headlands, and separates the Yellow Sea and the former Saemangeum estuary....
closure) very major declines of several species of shorebirds
Wader
Waders, called shorebirds in North America , are members of the order Charadriiformes, excluding the more marine web-footed seabird groups. The latter are the skuas , gulls , terns , skimmers , and auks...
within the Saemangeum reclamation area and adjacent wetlands (Moores et al., 2006; Rogers et al., 2006; Moores et al., 2007), and through further coordinated survey effort (e.g. the 2008 Birds Korea National Shorebird Survey), declines of species such as Spoon-billed Sandpiper
Spoon-billed Sandpiper
The Spoon-billed Sandpiper , is a small wader which breeds in northeastern Russia and winters in Southeast Asia.- Taxonomy and systematics :...
Eurynorhynchus pygmeus (Critically Endangered) and Great Knot
Great Knot
The Great Knot, Calidris tenuirostris, is a small wader. It is the largest of the calidrid species.Their breeding habitat is tundra in northeast Siberia. They nest on the ground laying about four eggs in a ground scrape. They are strongly migratory wintering on coasts in southern Asia through to...
Calidris tenuirostris at the national level too. SSMP and other shorebird data gathered in 2008 is to be published in time for the Tenth Conference of the Parties of the Ramsar Convention
Ramsar Convention
The Ramsar Convention is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable utilization of wetlands, i.e., to stem the progressive encroachment on and loss of wetlands now and in the future, recognizing the fundamental ecological functions of wetlands and their economic, cultural,...
(to be held in Changwon City
Changwon
Changwon is a city in and the capital of Gyeongsangnam-do in South Korea. Changwon city is 8th most populous city in South Korea, with a 2010 established population of 1,089,039. It encompasses a land area of on southeastern of South Korea. The population of Southeastern part of Korea, that...
, South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
, between October 28 and November 4, 2008), to inform and influence the increasingly urgent debate on the need to better conserve the intertidal habitats and biodiversity of the Yellow Sea.