The importance of wetlands cannot be too much emphasized in preservation of aquatic ecosystem. Recently the escalating voices of worries for the plausible damages to wetlands are detected. For more information, it is needed that we make sure the basic notions about the wetlands as one of the terrestrial biomes.
Wetland, being considered most biologically diverse of all ecosystem, is an area of land which soil is saturated with moisture either permanently of seasonally. As to the wetland in Korea defined from Wetland Preservation Law, it is the area covered by fresh water, brackish water or salt water permanently or temporarily, it can be classified as 'inland wetland' and 'coastal wetland'. The inland wetland's subcategorization includes lake, swamp, marsh and bog.
In 'Ramsar Convention', the International Wetland Conservation Treaty, wetland is defined as the area with wet soil of marshland or bog with depth of water under 6 meters in ebb tide, no matter what, it is natural or artificial, permanent or seasonable, stagnant or flowing, of fresh, salty, or brackish.
Due to the Four Major Rivers Restoration Project, our rivers will be rich volume of water that results in broadened water surface. When water surface expands, the surface of wetland also get larger to 120 million m2 from present 116 million m2. Provided that secured water amounts hold the retention in influx of rivers, the much better conditions will be created for natural function and role as natural wetland. This is definitely ideal to flourish richer biodiversity for the species habitats.
Actually, to make the project more environment-friendly, we recreated 27 spots of creek-type wetland in the confluences which main rivers meet with small stream, also 3 spots open-type wetland, and 9 spots of purifier-type wetland having function of filter contaminants, consequently total 39 places of newly created wetlands(43.5 km, KRW 146,000 million of budget) more than before the project. Among these newly created wetlands, 10 locations having outstanding ecological value and favorable accessibility are planned to be utilized as wetland parks. In wetland parks, information board for further comprehension and observatory deck will provide vivid experience of ecological wetland to anyone.
Up until now, existing wetlands have hardly permitted our visit, however, as it became to give openness to us so that children came to observe the thankful nature and its creatures. Hence we can expect these change will create precious chances of ecological education in everyday life, with letting them flourish both human and nature.
